Wonderful meatless comfort dinner that’s easy and packed with flavor. This is baked mac and cheese made with corn, black beans, jalapeno, avocado and variety of cheeses!

Comfort food is the best!!

Comfort food is not something we all eat every day but it’s something that we MUST make once in a while. Don’t tell me that you don’t want to curl up on a couch, put your feet on a coffee table (aha, I went there!) and devour a bowl of warm, cheesy, gooey mac and cheese!! I know you do!

This Tex Mex Mac and Cheese is just what you need on one of those days and it has a great kick of flavor to it!!

This dish is meatless but you can always add some chicken. You can cook a couple of full chicken breasts with some lime juice, salt and chili powder and then shred it. Mix it in before baking. (You can chop the chicken just as well.)

If you want to add a little more heat to this dish, try adding a habanero pepper or choosing hotter jalapeno and adding extra.

How can you tell if a jalapeno is hot just by looking at it?? Very easy! I learned this trick from a guy at a farmer’s market and I’m grateful because I would have never thought that.  Look at the jalapeno, if it’s completely smooth and firm, it will be less hot. As jalapeno ages, it gets hotter. It will develop lines on its skin. The more lines on the skin, the hotter the pepper will be!!

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Tex Mex Mac and Cheese

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb dry elbow macaroni
• 3/4 cup sweet corn canned of fresh cooked
• 3/4 cup black beans canned
• 1 jalapeno seeded and minced
• 1/3 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 5 oz Monterrey Jack cheese shredded
• 4 oz Pepper Jack cheese shredded
• 1 cup of shredded Mexican cheese mix
• salt
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 avocado chopped (for mixing in after baked)
• 1 tsp minced fresh cilantro for topping + a little more for sprinkling while baking

Instructions

1. Cook pasta, strain and set aside.
2. Add corn, beans and minced jalapeno to pasta.
3. In a small sauce pot, over medium heat, saute onions with a little bit of oil until translucent. Add heavy cream and when heavy cream is heated through, gradually add all shredded cheeses. Stir slowly while adding cheese.
4. Once all the cheese is melted and smooth, add it to pasta.
5. Preheat the oven to 350.
6. Mix pasta, cheese and veggies well. Add salt, cumin and chili powder. Mix well and taste to see if you need to add a little more spice.
7. Lightly grease a casserole dish (8x8 would work great) and transfer the pasta mixture into it. Sprinkle a little more cheese on top and bake for 12-15 minutes.
8. Mix in chopped avocado and cilantro as you serve .

Recipe Notes

Recipe from Lyuba @ willcookforsmiles.com All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to share this recipe, please simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.

Check out these great recipes from other bloggers:

Homestyle Mac and Cheese from High Heels and Grills

Jack Daniel’s Smoky Bacon Mac and Cheese from Slow Roasted Italian

Parmesan Mac and Cheese from Wanna Bite

More Comfort Meals From Me:

Zesty White Mac and Cheese

Baked Crab Mac and Cheese

Pasta Primavera Skillet

Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta Dish

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