Mac and Cheese Soup - The Cheese Knees (2024)

A bowl of this mac and cheese soup is the perfect combination of mac and cheese and cheddar cheese soup. Enjoy as a side or a cheesy main!

The BEST Mac and Cheese Soup

We are bigmac and cheesepeople over here at The Cheese Knees, but this is our very first mac and cheese SOUP. It’s everything you love about mac and cheese and cheese soup together at last!

Mac and Cheese Soup Ingredients

• Unsalted butter: every delicious cheese sauce begins with butter. All the butter.
• ¼ small yellow onion, minced
• All-purpose flour: Flour is used to help create the roux. You can use either all-purpose flour or white whole wheat.
• Chicken broth: the broth is what differentiates this mac and cheese soup from a traditional mac and cheese! We love the flavor of chicken broth, but any broth will do.
• Heavy cream: heavy cream is used to help make the cheddar cheese soup super duper creamy.
• Hot sauce: shhh, hot sauce is the secret ingredient in this mac and cheese soup that gives it a bit of a flavor kick without overpowering the star of the show (CHEESE, of course).
• Shredded sharp cheddar cheese: shredded cheddar cheese is the star of the show! Feel free to shred your own or use pre-shredded.
• Salt & pepper: every mac and cheese needs a little s&p and this mac and cheese soup is no exception!
• Elbow macaroni noodles: we used a classic elbow macaroni for this recipe, but feel free to use any kind of shell or any kind of noodle for that matter.
• Garnishes: we’re using crumbled baconand sliced green onions for garnishes on this mac and cheese soup, but feel free to garnish with whatever you’d like!

How to Make Mac and Cheese Soup

Saute onions

Heat a Dutch oven over low/medium heat, and add 1 tablespoon of butter and the minced yellow onion. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the onions are soft and golden.

make the roux

To make the roux, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and flour to the cooked onions. Whisk often for 1 to 2 minutes. The roux should be a blond color.

Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and heavy cream, and continue whisking until all of the lumps are gone. Then stir in the hot sauce, kosher salt and cracked pepper.

fold in the cheese

Next, fold in 6 cups of the shredded cheddar cheese, and continue to cook on low for 10 minutes.

prepare macaroni noodles

While the soup is simmering, prepare the noodles according to the package instructions. Drain the noodles, and add them to the soup.

Garnish & Enjoy

Garnish with bacon crumbles, shredded cheddar cheese and green onion. Enjoy!

Top Tips for Mac and Cheese Soup

• Choosing cheese: There is a lot of cheese in this soup. Cheddar is more traditional for mac and cheese, but there is room to switch it up if you’d like! Gruyere, Monterey jack, or pepper jack could all be added in with a decrease of the cheddar.
• Soup on day 1 –> mac & cheese on day 2: This mac and cheese soup will have an amazing soupy consistency when you serve it the first time, but the noodles will continue to absorb liquid the longer it’s stored. This will give you a delish mac and cheese as leftovers! If you want to return it to its soupy state, follow the reheating instructions below 😀

FAQs

How to Store Mac and Cheese Soup

Store this mac and cheese soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

When Reheating Mac and Cheese Soup:we recommend reheating just like it’s cooked — LOW AND SLOW! Reheat on the stovetop on low, stirring frequently. This will help prevent any separating or uneven reheating.

You may need to add broth when reheating if your soup is too thick (aka more like a mac and cheese). Start with a tablespoon and increase from there.

Freezing Mac and Cheese Soup:because cheese has a difficult time with drastic temperature changes, we do NOT recommend freezing this soup.