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🍝 Pasta & noodles

One-pot mac & cheese with unexpected cheddar spread

Fast, cozy, and deeply committed to minimal dishwashing

⏱️ Time estimate: about 15 minutes

Pasta cooks right in seasoned stock, then gets stirred together with Trader Joe's unexpected cheddar spread for a quick creamy mac situation with almost no fuss.

Creamy broccoli cheddar pasta in a bowl

Ingredients

  • 1 pound pasta
  • 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1 small head broccoli, cut into small florets
  • 1 container Trader Joe's unexpected cheddar spread

Instructions

  1. Boil the pasta. Add the pasta, stock, garlic powder, and salt to a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
  2. Cook until nearly tender. Stir now and then and let the pasta cook for about 8 to 10 minutes, until it is close to tender and much of the liquid has been absorbed.
  3. Add the broccoli. Stir in the broccoli florets and keep cooking for 2 to 3 minutes, until the pasta is tender and the broccoli is bright green and just cooked through.
  4. Make it cheesy. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the unexpected cheddar spread until smooth and creamy.
  5. Serve hot. Spoon into bowls right away while it is glossy and melty.

This is the kind of pantry dinner that feels like it showed up in slippers with a blanket and excellent timing.