🍤 Creamy, cheesy, and loaded with succulent seafood—this isn’t your average mac and cheese! Imagine tender shrimp, flaky crab, or buttery lobster folded into a velvety three-cheese sauce, then baked until golden and bubbly. Restaurant-quality indulgence, right at home!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
✅ Elevated comfort food – Fancy enough for date night, easy enough for weeknights.
✅ Customizable – Use shrimp, crab, lobster, or a seafood mix.
✅ Crispy, golden topping – Panko breadcrumbs add the perfect crunch.
✅ Make-ahead friendly – Assemble ahead, bake when ready.
✅ Ad-optimized structure – Keeps readers scrolling (and ads loading!).
Ingredients
*(Serves 6-8)*
For the Mac and Cheese:
12 oz (340g) elbow macaroni (or cavatappi for extra nooks)
4 tbsp butter
¼ cup (30g) flour (or cornstarch for GF)
3 cups (720ml) whole milk (or half-and-half for extra richness)
2 cups (200g) shredded sharp cheddar
1 cup (100g) shredded Gruyère or fontina
½ cup (50g) grated Parmesan
1 tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional, for a kick)
Salt & black pepper to taste
For the Seafood:
1 lb (450g) cooked seafood (shrimp, crab, lobster, or mix), chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp chopped parsley
For the Topping:
½ cup (50g) panko breadcrumbs
2 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp grated Parmesan