Seafood Mac And Cheese With Old Bay Crumble Recipe

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

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For many of us, including recipe developer Patterson Watkins, cheesy pasta was once synonymous with Kraft macaroni and cheese. Somewhere along the way, though, mac and cheese underwent a gourmet glam-up, and people started thinking outside the blue box and embellishing the dish with unexpected ingredients ranging from avocados to za'atar. Watkins builds on this tradition here, coming up with a recipe she calls "True-blue, restaurant-quality, impress the crew macaroni and cheese."

What makes this seafood mac and cheese with Old Bay crumble so special? It's extra-rich and creamy, thanks to both milk and half-and-half, and it also incorporates a trio of cheeses: Gruyere, cheddar, and cream cheese. That's a hefty dose of dairy right there, but the dish is also, in Watkins' words, "Chock-full of well-seasoned seafood goodness" with both crab and shrimp. As if that weren't enough, this fully loaded casserole makes ample use of one of Watkins' favorite seasonings. As she tells us, "You definitely wouldn't call this mac and cheese bland, either. You'll get that Old Bay flavor through and through, from the crushed tater chip topping to the creamy cheesy sauce base."

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

The macaroni and cheese is made with butter, flour, Old Bay seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, milk, half-and-half, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, Gruyere, cavatappi pasta, crab meat, and shrimp. Additional ingredients required for the topping include Old Bay-flavored potato chips and parsley.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Melt butter in a large oven-proof pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Once the butter is melted, add the flour, Old Bay seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder to the pot, and whisk to combine the roux. Cook for 1 minute, whisking frequently.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Add the milk and half and half to the pot and whisk to combine. Bring to a low simmer.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Once simmering, add the cream cheese to the pot in batches, whisking until melted and combined.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Remove the pot from the heat and add 1 cup cheddar and 1 cup Gruyere, whisking until melted and combined. (Save the remaining cheese for topping the mac and cheese.)

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Add the cooked pasta to the pot.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Add the cooked crab meat and shrimp to the pot and stir to combine. (If you do not have an oven-proof pot, transfer the mac and cheese to a 13x9-inch baking dish.)

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Sprinkle the mac and cheese with both remaining cheeses and place in the oven, uncovered. Bake for 15 minutes.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Place the crushed potato chips and melted butter in a medium bowl, gently stirring to combine.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Remove the mac and cheese from the oven and top evenly with the crushed chips. Return to the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly golden brown.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Remove the mac and cheese from the oven and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

There isn't just one kind of crab meat that works for this mac and cheese recipe. The crab meat shown in the photos is snow crab, but any other type of crab legs (king, Alaska, Dungeness, etc.) would taste just as good, as would blue crab. If you can afford jumbo lump crab meat, that would be fantastic, but regular lump is just fine. It's also okay to use frozen crab meat, as long as you thaw it first.

If you want to switch up the seafood, that's also doable. Lobster would be delicious, if your budget permits, but you could go with fish in lieu of another crustacean. Monkfish or salmon would both be tasty (the former is said to have a flavor similar to lobster), while surimi (aka imitation crab) can make for a more budget-friendly alternative. Yet another option is to forego the crab altogether and double the amount of shrimp.

Patterson Watkins/Mashed

Apart from switching out the seafood, there are other ingredient swaps you can make in this recipe. One thing you might need to do is change up the chips, since Old Bay-flavored ones aren't always easy to find if you don't live on the East Coast. If you want to keep to the same flavor profile, you can mix some Old Bay seasoning into the melted butter and then toss it with classic potato chips. You could also opt for a different chip flavor such as cheese, sour cream and onion, or hot and spicy.

While cavatappi pasta has a swirly shape that's great for holding sauce, you can also go with elbow macaroni, bowtie pasta, small shells, penne, or any short, chunky pasta you like. The cream cheese is non-negotiable, since it's needed to provide the sauce's creamy texture, but the Gruyere can be replaced with fontina or provolone, and you could also add some Parmesan to the mix. As for the Old Bay, you could substitute either Cajun or Creole seasoning if you prefer a seasoning blend that's spicier and less celery-flavored.