If you’ve ever tried Trader Joe’s mac and cheese that’s found in the frozen section, then you’re going to flip for this copycat recipe which recreates the dish perfectly!
Trader Joe’s is my go-to grocery store, and they carry a boxed mac and cheese that is one of the very few packaged foods I sometimes buy.
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It doesn’t contain any “junk”, my kids love it (it will probably be my son’s staple food this year at Georgetown.) It’s good to keep on hand for those times when there’s no food in the house (hey, it happens–well, I may be exaggerating just a wee bit!)
You may remember this Trader Joe’s copycat buttermilk pancake recipe?
However, I had no idea that another item, Trader Joe’s Diner Mac & Cheese, was a treasure just waiting to be discovered, only one aisle over in the freezer section! I don’t recall who it was, but a friend was talking about the frozen Trader Joe’s mac and cheese as if it was the best thing she’d ever eaten in her entire life, so naturally, I was curious.
Another fabulous Trader Joe’s copycat recipe for Aebleskivers: Danish pancakes!
The next time I was at Trader Joe’s, I examined the ingredients and nutrition label, and although the ingredients looked good, the super high calorie and fat content only confirmed what I was thinking: it was going to be fantastic! I decided that my husband and I would share a box, just this one time, and took that baby home.
After heating it for a few minutes, the texture of the sauce was perfectly smooth, and it really looked appetizing, despite being a pre-made meal. One bite, and I understood why my friend had been raving about this Trader Joe’s Diner Mac and Cheese! I honestly couldn’t believe a frozen meal could taste this good!
Well, if you read my blog regularly, you’ll know what I was thinking the very next minute, “Could I recreate this from scratch?” The answer is “yes”, and because all the ingredients are actual items which one can aquire from a grocery store (instead of a chemistry lab), it was actually quite easy. This means you can make it too, especially if you are nowhere near a Trader Joe’s!
EDITED March 2020: Trader Joe’s has added a frozen Hatch Chile Mac and Cheese and so have I!
However, a word of advice: I would not advise buying already grated packages of cheese–
1. The quality of cheese is sub-par in any of these cheeses.
2. There are additives to keep the cheese from clumping which are unnecessary.
You’ll be making a béchamel sauce which is the same as you’d use in this lasagna recipe.
PLEASE NOTE: the following recipe will make enough cheese sauce for about 2 lbs of pasta. Because the cheese sauce freezes perfectly, it’s worth making a larger batch and freezing half for another time. To make less sauce, halve the sauce recipe.
Trader Joe’s
Mac & Cheese Copycat Recipe
recipe created by Christina Conte by inspired by Trader Joe’s grocery store
makes about 4 1/2 cups of sauce, enough for 2 lbs of pasta (see note above)
Ingredients
- 2 oz (1/4 cup) butter
- 2 oz (about 1/3 cup) all-purpose flour
- 4 oz good quality white Cheddar cheese, grated
- 3 oz good quality Havarti cheese, grated
- 2 oz good quality Gouda cheese, grated
- 1 oz good quality Swiss cheese, grated
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 24 oz milk (3 cups) whole milk
- white pepper
- nutmeg
- 1 lb good quality small shaped pasta (preferably made in Italy)
Start by putting a large pot of water on to boil the pasta-make sure to salt it well.
Now, start making the cheese sauce, but if the pasta water comes to a boil before you add the cheese to the sauce you are making, turn it down.
Melt the butter in a medium sized pan over medium heat, then add the flour and stir well. Continue to cook while stirring for about 3 to 4 minutes, but do not let it brown. (Cooking the flour well is important because the sauce will have a “raw-flour” taste if it isn’t cooked long enough.)
Have the milk closeby in a jug that is easy to pour from, and add a little drop of milk. The milk should sizzle and steam immediately, if it doesn’t, turn up the heat a little. Once the milk does sizzle, begin adding a little at a time, and stirring quickly to keep the sauce smooth.
The secret to not having lumps in white sauce is to gradually increase the amount of milk you add each time; if you add too much at once, especially early on, chances are you will end up with lumpy sauce (which is completely reparable with an immersion blender!)
Start with about 2 tablespoons of milk, then 2 more, then a little more each time.
Once the sauce begins to form, you can add more milk each time. Just make sure all the milk has been absorbed after each addition, before adding more.
Once the sauce is finished, add salt, nutmeg and white pepper to taste, and lower the heat.
CONGRATULATIONS, you have just made a besciamella sauce (white sauce/bechamel sauce) which you can use as a base for many soups and cream sauce recipes!
At this point, add the pasta to the boiling water and stir well; stir the white sauce, too, so it doesn’t stick. Now, add the grated cheeses to the white sauce, and stir until it is melted, adjusting the heat if necessary. Stir constantly or it will stick.
When the pasta is ready (al dente), drain and return to the pot. Add HALF of the cheese sauce, if you made the full recipe.
Serve hot!
If you want to gild the lily, you can put this in a casserole dish and top with breadcrumbs and put it under the broiler for a lovely, crunchy topping. Who am I kidding? As if anyone is going to wait any longer than they have to-to eat this sea of cheese-laden noodle ecstasy!
Put the extra sauce in a jar or container to cool, then place in the freezer and use within two to three weeks.
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Trader Joe's (Diner) Mac & Cheese Copycat Recipe
NOTE: this recipe makes enough cheese sauce for TWO (2) lbs of pasta. If you only plan to make one and don't want to freeze half the sauce, cut the recipe ingredients in half for the cheese sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 oz (1/4 cup) butter
- 2 oz (about 1/3 cup) all-purpose flour
- 4 oz good quality white Cheddar cheese, grated
- 3 oz good quality Havarti cheese, grated
- 2 oz good quality Gouda cheese, grated
- 1 oz good quality Swiss cheese, grated
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 24 oz milk (3 cups) whole milk
- white pepper
- nutmeg
- 1 lb good quality elbow pasta (I like De Cecco)
Instructions
- Start by putting a large pot of water on to boil the pasta-make sure to salt it well.
- Now, start making the cheese sauce, but if the pasta water comes to a boil before you add the cheese to the sauce you are making, turn it down.
- Melt the butter in a medium sized pan over medium heat, then add the flour and stir well. Continue to cook while stirring for about 3 to 4 minutes, but do not let it brown. (Cooking the flour well is important because the sauce will have a “raw-flour” taste if it isn’t cooked long enough.)
- Have the milk close by in a jug that is easy to pour from, and add a little drop of milk. The milk should sizzle and steam immediately, if it doesn’t, turn up the heat a little. Once the milk does sizzle, begin adding a little at a time, and stirring quickly to keep the sauce smooth. The secret to not having lumps in white sauce is to gradually increase the amount of milk you add each time; if you add too much at once, especially early on, chances are you will end up with lumpy sauce (which is completely reparable with an immersion blender)!
- Start with about 2 tablespoons of milk, then 2 more, then a little more each time. Once the sauce begins to form, you can add more milk each time. Just make sure all the milk has been absorbed after each addition, before adding more.
- Once the sauce is finished, add salt, nutmeg and white pepper to taste, and lower the heat. At this point, add the pasta to the boiling water. Stir well, and stir the white sauce, too, so it doesn’t stick. Now, add the grated cheeses to the white sauce, and stir until it is melted, adjusting the heat if necessary. Stir constantly or it will stick.When the pasta is ready (al dente), drain and return to the pot and stir in the HALF of the cheese sauce; serve hot. Put the other half of the cheese sauce in a quart jar and freeze.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1 bowlAmount Per Serving:Calories: 747Total Fat: 33gCarbohydrates: 80gProtein: 31g
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Hi. Can I make this all beforehand then heat it up in the oven?
Sure! You’ll probably need to add a little extra milk if it gets too dry, but just bring it to room temp, give it a good stir and heat it covered. If you want a crispy top you can add some some breadcrumbs (more grated cheese if you like) on top and broil it to get it brown. YUM!
Hi. My son loves this Mac and cheese but he will eat three boxes in a day! I want to make this and since it freezes well, I thought of making my own trays with the pasta and cheese together. Then he can microwave the whole thing as a meal. Have you tried this? Wondering if that would work.
Sure it’ll work! Great idea, Sue! Just be sure to cook the pasta al dente. :)
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Would you recommend how to add cauliflower and kale to be close to the now discontinued Trader Joes Mac and Cheese with Cauliflower and Kale? It is 3 or 4 years since they discontinued it and this recipe piqued my curiosity if it would work. That was my favorite thing I ever got there.
Hi Barbara, I just looked up the mac and cheese and see it was made with ditalini. Here’s what I would do: cut the cauliflower into small pieces and steam it until cooked tender, drain, salt and set aside. Chop some kale and cook that to your liking, drain, salt and set aside. Make the mac and cheese and use ditalina pasta, then added the veg and mix well. Let me know if it’s to your liking if you give it a try! :)