You’ve never tried a smoker side dish so tasty!! This Traeger smoked mac and cheese is loaded up with gouda, cream cheese, cheddar, gruyere, and a crispy panko topping. And I share how to add bacon on top, too… Let’s smoke it…
Table of Contents
Why is this smoked mac and cheese recipe so amazing?
- DECADENT. Indulgent. Creamy. Perfect.
- Fast smoke time – After whipping up the ingredients, it takes just 1-2 hours to smoke, depending on how smokey you want your mac.
- Start in the kitchen mixing the noodles and cheese sauce, then finish on the grill.
- SO EASY FOR BEGINNERS – I’m here to help you… See my step by step video for smoking mac ‘n cheese for the very first time on the pellet grill (scroll to bottom of page).
HEY THERE — Are you on instagram? See more smoker mac and cheese recipes @sipbitego.
How long to smoke mac and cheese?
It takes about 60-90 minutes to smoke mac and cheese until it picks up smoky flavor and the cheese is all melted together.
But you can leave it on the pellet grill for a smoke time of closer to 2 hours if you want extra smoke flavor.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make smoked gouda mac and cheese.
For the pasta noodles and cheese mixture
- Pasta noodles that will hold cheese sauce, like Cavatelli, shells, elbow macaroni
- Salt
- Butter, salted
- Flour
- Dijon mustard or mustard powder
- Heavy cream
- Milk
- Cream cheese
- Gouda cheese*
- Gruyere cheese*
- Cheddar cheese
*You can substitute extra cheddar for the gouda or gruyere cheese
For the panko bread topping
- Butter
- Bbq rub
- Panko bread crumbs
See the notes in the FAQ below on how to turn this into smoked bacon mac and cheese.
How to smoke mac and cheese
Now I’ll walk you through it…
Quick look at this smoker mac n’ cheese
- Cook pasta.
- Make cheese sauce on the stove. Mix pasta and cheese sauce (aka roux) together.
- Add panko topping and top smoked mac and cheese with bacon if desired.
- Preheat the pellet smoker and smoke mac and cheese for 1-2 hours.
- Cool and enjoy tremendously!
Here I’m serving this smoked side dish of mac and cheese with the always-moist smoked meatloaf.
Detailed recipe steps
- Boil smoked pasta noodles. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt to the water with pasta noodles. Boil pasta to al dente, or a minute shy of the cook time on the box (because the cooked macaroni noodles will continue cooking in the smoker). Drain and set aside.
- Preheat Traeger Grills or Pitt Boss or whatever pellet grill you’re using to 225 degrees F.
- Make the roux. Add butter to a large cast iron skillet on Medium-High temperature. Once butter is melted, add flour. Stir regularly. When the roux starts to bubble, turn the burner down to Medium heat. Continue stirring (literally: don’t leave it to sit!) until mixture is smooth, about 5-7 minutes, until it turns light brown.
- Finish making cheese sauce for smoked mac and cheese. To the cast iron skillet over medium heat, add mustard. While whisking, slowly pour in heavy cream. Once it comes up to a boil, turn down to medium-low to get a simmer. Add in milk and whisk until smooth and creamy. Add 1-2 tbsp more of milk as needed to get the sauce to the consistency of smooth pancake batter.
- Add cheese and noodles. Turn the burner to low and add cream cheese. Whisk until combined. Then slowly add in grated cheeses, stirring regularly until combined. Turn off the burner and add cooked pasta. Stir to combine and fully mix pasta with smoked mac cheese sauce. (Ours almost overflows in our large skillet, it always looks like it’s too much pasta, but once we get in there with a little muscle, it always works out!)
- Make the crispy bread topping. To a mixing bowl, add melted butter, bbq rub / seasoning, and panko bread crumbs. Whisk to combine. Add a layer of crispy topping on smoked mac and cheese prepared in the skillet.
- Smoke mac and cheese with gouda, gruyere, and cheddar for 1-2 hours as desired. Mac and cheese is done smoking when the panko topping is lightly browned and crispy. The longer you leave it on the smoker, the more smoky it will taste. (We usually can’t wait and take it off around 60-90 minutes)
- Mac and cheese will be hot. To serve immediately, leave uncovered and let it cool until it’s safe enough to eat. To keep it warm for longer, add foil on top while resting. Enjoy!
Looking for something to serve with this mac and cheese smoker recipe? Try oven baked tri tip, smoked ham, or smoked St. Louis ribs.
See how to get more smoke flavor from your favorite Traeger dishes and check out these game day smoker recipes including smoked cream cheese. It’s so good!
FAQs
You can add a sprinkle of any BBQ seasoning in with the panko bread crumb topping to change up the flavor profile. You can also add diced jalapenos or smoked bacon to the top.
This recipe for gouda smoked mac and cheese on the Traeger takes about 1-2 hours to make. The mac and cheese is melted and gooey at the 45 minutes / 1 hour mark.
So it’s pretty forgiving smoked appetizer or side if you want to leave it in the smoker while waiting on your other BBQ menu items to finish up. This is helpful when timing a party or finishing up one of my favorite burger recipes. The extra time in the smoker will build up to make a more smokey taste over time.
I usually don’t If anything, I’ll change up the flavors of the soft cheese, like use a super sharp cheddar instead of a medium heat one. Or even a smoked gouda to amp up the smokiness.
The reason being, Parmesan cheese is a hard cheese that doesn’t melt as easily. The best parmesan cheese smoker side dish I recommend is this smoked meatballs recipe. It has a ton of smoke flavor for what’s standard Italian food.
Because I find shredding cheese fresh from the block is the most reliable way to get good, melty cheese. Some shredded cheeses are better than others, but the ones that aren’t good for mac and cheese are ones that are coated with materials that keep the cheese shreds from sticking to each other, which ultimately prevents them from melting as smoothly as I like.
More Tasty Grill + Smoker Recipes
- Smoked mac and cheese
- Smoked cream cheese
- Smoked brisket flat
- 321 ribs
- Beer can chicken on the smoker
- Smoked wings
- Smoked tomahawk steak
- Traeger tri tip
- Smoked turkey breast
- Smoked turkey legs
- Whole smoked turkey
- Smoked Traeger pizza
- Smoked onion rings
- Traeger smoked ham
- Smoked whole chicken
- Smoked jalapeno poppers
- Smoked corn on the cob
- Traeger beef ribs
- Smoked leg of lamb
- Smoked shrimp
- Grilled chicken wings
- Grilled skirt steak
- Flank steak marinade
- Grilled potato wedges
- Smoked pulled pork
- Want more? See my lineup of easy smoker recipes
See my favorite smoker tools and seasonings in my Amazon Storefront.
Meat thermometer recommendations
Every home chef needs a reliable meat thermometer to cook food perfectly.
On Sip Bite Go, you’ll often see me using:
- Meater thermometer – a fancy wireless thermometer that connects to a phone app – gifted to me from a Traeger partnership.
- ThermoPro digital thermometer – which has a wire that connects the thermometer to a display box outside the oven/grill.
It’s like being psychic! The great thing about either of the thermometers above is that I don’t have to take the food out of the oven to know the temperature.
How to use ‘em… What I do is stick the digital thermometer in steak, pork, chicken, whatever… Then put the food in the oven, on the smoker, or grill.
While the meat cooks, it reads the temperature so I know exactly what temp meat is as it’s cooking. Without having to take it out and check. It’s really difficult to overcook food when you know exactly what temp it is inside!
Are you a foodie, too?
Hey home chefs, I hope that answers all your questions about smoking mac and cheese to perfection. In the future, I’ll be sharing more tips on cooking smoked cheeses.
For now, check out my smoked jalapeno poppers.
If you love a good cheese sauce, check out this white pizza sauce. It’s so tasty on smoked pizzas. Try it on Philly cheesesteak pizza on the Traeger.
If you don’t follow me on instagram you totally should @sipbitego. And for more deliciousness, subscribe to the Sip Bite Go channel and see the Sip Bite Go recipe collection.
Smoked Mac And Cheese With Gouda Recipe | Sip Bite Go
Ingredients
For the pasta noodles and cheese mixture
- 1 LB noodles Cavatelli, shell, or elbow macaroni
- 1 tbsp salt more or less depending on taste, for seasoning water
- ½ cup butter salted
- ½ cup flour all purpose
- 1 tbsp mustard dijon (or 1 tsp mustard powder)
- 1.5 cups heavy cream
- ½ cup milk more as needed
- 4 oz cream cheese full fat
- 1 cup gouda cheese fresh grated
- 1 cup Gruyere cheese fresh grated
- 2 cups cheddar cheese fresh grated
For the panko bread topping
- ¼ cup butter salted, melted
- 1 tbsp bbq rub or your favorite seasoning
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
Instructions
- Boil pasta noodles. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt to the water with pasta noodles. Boil pasta to al dente, or a minute shy of the cook time on the box (because the cooked macaroni noodles will continue cooking in the smoker). Drain and set aside.
- Preheat Traeger Grills or Pitt Boss or whatever pellet grill you’re using to 225 degrees F.
- Make the roux. Add butter to a large cast iron skillet on Medium-High temperature. Once butter is melted, add flour. Stir regularly. When the roux starts to bubble, turn the burner down to Medium heat. Continue stirring (literally: don’t leave it to sit!) until mixture is smooth, about 5-7 minutes, until it turns light brown.
- Finish making cheese sauce for smoked mac and cheese. To the cast iron skillet over medium heat, add mustard. While whisking, slowly pour in heavy cream. Once it comes up to a boil, turn down to medium-low to get a simmer. Add in milk and whisk until smooth and creamy. Add 1-2 tbsp more of milk as needed to get the sauce to the consistency of smooth pancake batter.
- Add cheese and noodles. Turn the burner to low and add cream cheese. Whisk until combined. Then slowly add in grated cheeses, stirring regularly until combined. Turn off the burner and add cooked pasta. Stir to combine and fully mix pasta with smoked mac cheese sauce. (Ours almost overflows in our large skillet, it always looks like it’s too much pasta, but once we get in there with a little muscle, it always works out!)
- Make the crispy bread topping. To a mixing bowl, add melted butter, bbq rub / seasoning, and panko bread crumbs. Whisk to combine. Add a layer of crispy topping on smoked mac and cheese prepared in the skillet.
- Smoke mac and cheese with gouda, gruyere, and cheddar for 1-2 hours as desired. Mac and cheese is done smoking when the panko topping is lightly browned and crispy. The longer you leave it on the smoker, the more smoky it will taste. (We usually can’t wait and take it off around 60-90 minutes,)
- Serve. Mac and cheese will be hot. To serve immediately, leave uncovered and let it cool until it’s safe enough to eat. To keep it warm for longer, add foil on top while resting. Enjoy!
Craig says
This amazing recipe I’ve never tasted before, it definitely helps Traeger Grill owners.