Irish Mac and Cheese
A cozy dish for St. Patrick’s Day, make a pan of Irish Mac and Cheese with pastrami (or corned beef)! Serve with a side salad and soda bread!
This Irish Beer Pastrami Mac and Cheese (with bacon) is to die for! If you’re looking for a good Dubliner Mac and Cheese recipe, then you’ve come to the right place. Especially for St. Patrick’s Day coming up, we love this Irish Mac and Cheese dish with corned beef (or pastrami) served with a slice of Irish Brown Soda Bread.
Irish Mac and Cheese
Add a touch o’ the Irish to your original American comfort mac and cheese recipe, for this festive main dish today. You can also bring this to an Irish potluck, as it will be the first dish to be devoured quickly.
Why I love this recipe
- We are an Irish family, so we always love to make mac and cheese at least once during the month of March.
- It’s easy to make, and guests swoon over the additional bacon flavor.
- The leftovers (if any), are out of this world.
Oh, and happy March!
Food comfort is … a big bowl of Irish mac and cheese with a bottle of Guinness beer. Right? When my husband and I went to Ireland, landing in Dublin, the first thing we did was go to Davey Byrnes for a pint of Guinness.
Not only does this tasty Irish Beer Cheese Pastrami Mac and Cheese look like a pot of gold, but it has delicious flavors of cheese, pastrami (or corned beef), and Guinness, so it tastes like gold, too! Oh, and give this Guinness Cheese Dip and Chocolate Pudding Bundt Cake a try, too!
Gather these ingredients
- Whole grain elbow macaroni
- Kerrygold butter: we love Kerrygold (Irish) but you can use any brand + white flour
- Guinness beer: or other stout
- 2% milk
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper
- Sharp cheddar
- Shredded mozzerella
- Shredded Dubliner cheese
- Pastrami: or use corned beef
- Bacon
- Chives: optional, for garnish
How do you make Irish Mac & Cheese
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil with salt. Cook your macaroni according to package directions (but make sure it is el dente)—do not rinse under water after the pasta is cooked. Set aside.
- Make the roux: In a medium saucepan, heat the butter on medium-low heat. After it has melted and begins to gently bubble, add the flour, and whisk consistently to incorporate. Smooth out any lump, and continue stirring frequently until the flour turns an off-white color and emits a nutty scent.
- Stream the warmed milk into the pan slowly and continue to stir. When milk is incorporated and the sauce is smooth, add in the beer and continue stirring. Whisk gently over low heat until the sauce is smooth and thickened.
- When sauce is smooth, remove from heat and add in 1/3 cup cheddar cheese, Dubliner, mozzarella, pasta, bacon, pastrami, and 1/4 cup chives. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated, then transfer to baking dish or skillet. Sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup of cheddar cheese.
- Bake until cheese bubbles and is slightly browned.
- Remove from oven, sprinkle with remaining chives, and serve hot.
Tips and substitutions:
- This mac and cheese is loaded with flavor, because it’s so rich, this recipe makes an 8X8 (or similar sized) baking dish. You can double the recipe to feed more people.
- Bacon is optional, but it really adds to the flavor!
- Swap out the elbow macaroni for your favorite pasta.
- Chives are a great touch for a garnish, but you can also add parsley.
Cozy winter meal – mac & cheese
Friends, we recently hiked into a hut at Edison’s Snow Park with our good friends. It was so fun, but guess what?
Comfort is a cozy fire, good food, being warm in the cold outdoors, being with your favorite people and dog.
And coming home to a dish of mac and cheese, the ultimate comfort food.
Mac & cheese is synonymous with fond memories, full bellies and family.
More Irish dishes to try:
Get the Recipe:
Irish Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- ½ pound whole grain elbow macaroni
- 2 tablespoons Kerrygold butter
- 2 tablespoons white flour
- ⅓ cup Guinness stout, or other stout
- 1 ½ cup 2% milk
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅔ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- ⅓ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups shredded Dubliner cheese, divided
- 4 oz sliced pastrami, cut into about 1’’ pieces (or corned beef)
- 4 oz bacon, cooked and cut into about 1’’ pieces
- Fresh chives, finelly chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 2 Tbsp of salt. Cook your macaroni according to package directions (but make sure it is el dente)—do not rinse under water after the pasta is cooked. Set aside.
- Make the roux: In a medium saucepan, heat the butter on medium-low heat. After it has melted and begins to gently bubble, add the flour, and whisk consistently to incorporate. Smooth out any lump, and continue stirring frequently until the flour turns an off-white color and emits a nutty scent.
- Stream the warmed milk into the pan slowly and continue to stir. When milk is incorporated and the sauce is smooth, add in the beer and continue stirring. Whisk gently over low heat until the sauce is smooth and thickened, 5-7 minutes.
- When sauce is smooth, remove from heat and add in 1/3 cup cheddar cheese, Dubliner, mozzarella, pasta, bacon, pastrami, and 1/4 cup chives. Mix until all ingredients are incorporated, then transfer to baking dish or skillet. Sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup of cheddar cheese.
- Bake for 27-30 minutes, or until cheese bubbles and is slightly browned.
- Remove from oven, sprinkle with remaining chives, and serve hot.
Notes
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
This is amazingly good and will not be reserved for St. Patrick’s Day in our household! Thank you!
Made the Pastrami Irish Mac and Cheese and my family absolutely loved it. I doubled the recipe. Good thing
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
So glad you loved it!