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Creamy Tomato Macaroni & Cheese

This Creamy Tomato Macaroni & Cheese can be on your table in under 1 hour!

Welcome to January!  The holidays are over, the tree is down and it’s time again for routines.  And I’m more than ready for it.  I love this time of year.  It feels fresh, the nights are cozy and it’s the perfect time for comfort food.  I actually really enjoy cooking this time of year…there is just something so comforting about hearty and comforting food in cold winter months.

Creamy Tomato Macaroni and Cheese

The best kind of comfort food.

Hearty, yummy comfort food.  But it’s got to be quick too!  Most days I need to be able to get dinner on the table in one hour or less.  So I’m always looking for new recipes to be able to achieve this.  And I also need recipes that use ingredients that I have on hand most of the time.  There’s a time for fancy recipes with fancy ingredients, but there’s nothing like having a recipe that’s simple and uses ingredients I have in the house.

Creamy Tomato Macaroni and Cheese

And this Creamy Tomato Macaroni and Cheese is exactly that kind of recipe.  If I have my dinner pantry stocked, more often than not I have all the ingredients on hand, making dinner prep easier than ever.

Creamy Tomato Macaroni and Cheese

Ready in under 1 hour!

Not only is this dish easy to put together, but it’s quick too…you can have it on your table in under 1 hour! It’s so good for those nights when you just don’t know what to make for dinner.  And the addition of tomato sneaks in some extra nutrition too!

Recipe Tips:

  • Cheese: Any mild, medium or sharp Cheddar Cheese or Monterey Jack cheese is delicious in this dish.
  • Tomatoes: I like to use canned tomatoes because the extra juice in them makes this dish nice and creamy.
  • Make Ahead Tip: I put my finished macaroni in an oven proof dish, covered it, and kept it in a 300 degree oven until dinner time. (Maximum time was 15 minutes.)

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Creamy Tomato Macaroni and Cheese

This Creamy Tomato Macaroni and Cheese can be on your table in under 1 hour!

  • Author: Jo-Anna Rooney
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 6 - 8 servings 1x
  • Category: Pasta

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 lb elbow macaroni
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 small onion (chopped)
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 1 cup diced tomatoes (I sometimes add 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 1/2 cups cheese (mild, medium or sharp Cheddar Cheese or Monterey Jack)
  • 2 tbsp parmesan cheese
  • salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Then drain and set aside.
  2. In a pan, melt the butter and cook the onion and garlic until lightly browned.
  3. Add the flour to the onion mix and stir, mixing thoroughly.
  4. Whisk in the milk, and stir until the mixture is thickened.
  5. Add the tomato paste, diced tomatoes and oregano. Stir until the tomatoes are warmed through.
  6. Gradually stir in the grated and parmesan cheeses.
  7. Add the pasta and stir.
  8. Serve right away and enjoy!

Notes

I put my finished macaroni in an oven proof dish, covered it, and kept it in a 300 degree oven until dinner time. (Maximum time was 15 minutes.)

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Recipe adapted from All You Need is Cheese

Let’s look again… mmmmmmmmm

Creamy Tomato Macaroni and Cheese

Creamy Tomato Macaroni & Cheese

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Have a delicious day!

This post was originally published in October 2012.  I just updated the photos!

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39 Comments

  1. I found this on Pinterest and made it tonight, it was AMAZING!! I used a mix of Monterey Jack, Sharp Cheddar and parmesan cheeses and it was so good. It is very filling for a main dish, next time I may make it a side for grilled chicken. It would be good with Sweet Italian Sausage too!

  2. My Mom use to make Mac & Cheese and add a can of tomato soup, it gave it a little zip and she always used extra sharp cheddar cheese and topped it with bread crumbs. It was yummy.(I still do it )

  3. Made it & it was good! Next time tho, I will double the sauce to make it creamier! Thanks for this wonderful recipe!

  4. Thank you for the recipe. I did it today and it’s really good (I hate traditional mac&cheese), but next time I’ll add can of chopped tomatoes (I really want tomatoes to be dominant taste here :)). I already shared link to your page on facebook 🙂

  5. 5 stars
    My mom would make this with additional garlic cloves, no oregano, lesser cheese (just for garnish/condiment) plus a can of corned beef!♥ Thanx for sharing!

  6. 5 stars
    This was excellent! Thank you for sharing 🙂 I substituted the flour for almond flour and the pasta for red lentil penne for a gluten free option. It came out AMAZING!

  7. 5 stars
    My 15 month old gobbled this up! Thanks for sharing an easy recipe for the whole family.

  8. it’s delicious! but not enough sauce for my pasta! next time I’ll make the sauce 1.5x 🙂 I also put some cheese on top and baked it for a few minutes to get golden melted cheese

  9. 5 stars
    Amazing! I put some different things.But I put some red and green pepper and canned corn beef. I also didn’t put oregano.( my mom added bakon) very delicious! I am definitely going to use this recipe again!

  10. Far too bland for us. And both my husband and I feel that pasta should have been 1/2 pound as it was all pasta and very little else. We ended up with LOTS to redo tomorrow with perhaps sauteed green bell pepper, more onion, green onion, more tomato paste, cheese, perhaps some green chiles or roasted poblanos. As the recipe stands, yes it will feed a lot of people, but not as a good main dish. It just seems to lack all-round. Sorry. A ‘miss’ for us.

  11. Totally tasteless, and a sad variation of good Mac n cheese, 50 % of it was dumped in the trash, so I find it hard to understand the great raves about it, I’m sure you meant well, but I would never waste my time doing this one again – Sorry Jo-Anna

    1. The only thing tasteless, was your decision to comment in such a rude, and opinionated manner. If this recipe didn’t suit you, then don’t use it. No two people’s tastes are the same. Some people like certain things, in a certain way, but there is never a good reason to be so rude when someone has taken the time to share something they enjoy. I think you forgot the “B”, and the other “S”, in your name.

  12. Yummy cozy dinner! I made sauce as is with no substitutions and used Med. Sharp cheddar. The sauce came together nice and easy. I think I may try fresh sliced grape tomatoes next time 😀 Great recipe!

  13. I’ve made this many times over the past 2 years, it’s one of my favorite recipes ever! For even more decadency I sometimes top it with more cheese and put it under the broiler for 10 minutes and YUM!

  14. It turned out well! My daughter enjoyed it…I added some veggies to it (some broccoli and mushrooms and carrots). Added some extra pepper to it…BTW the salt and pepper part was missing in the recipe instructions 🤪 Overall good…and very very filling!!