With Halloween just around the corner and the spooky dinner party coming up, you need some recipes that go well with your theme. This mac-o-lantern and cheese bowl recipe is perfect to serve to your guests, bringing just the right amount of spook to the dinner table. It will go perfectly with your Halloween theme and the best part is that it has everyone’s favorite mac and cheese but in an edible bowl, making it a must-have on the party table. This Halloween-worthy mac-o-lantern and cheese bowl recipe will come together in about 40 minutes (depending on how many you make) and you will need only a handful of ingredients.
Ingredients
- 6 orange bell peppers, medium-sized
- 227 grams of elbow macaroni
- 1 ¼ cups half-and-half
- 227 grams of cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups mild cheddar, shredded
- Kosher salt
Preparation
- To make the mac-o-lantern and cheese bowl recipe, take two large bowls or pots. Boil generously salted water in one pot and fill another large bowl with ice water.
- Then, cut the tops off the orange bell peppers (don’t toss them, as they will be of use later), and also remove the seeds and membrane.
- Now, put the bell peppers and their tops in the boiling water and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes or until tender. Once tender, place the bell peppers immediately in the ice bath.
- Now comes the fun part! Once the bell peppers cool completely, use a sharp knife to carve a jack-o-lantern face into one side of each pepper. You can also ask your older kids to help carve the peppers for your mac-o-lantern and cheese bowl.
- Bring the water to a boil again and add the macaroni until al dente (should take about 6 minutes). Just reserve a cup of the pasta water and strain the rest of the pasta but make sure not to rinse it.
- Then, take a large saucepan and heat the half-and-half on medium heat until it starts to simmer. Continue simmering until it reduces to about ¾ cup (should take about 10 minutes).
- Once reduced, add the cream cheese and stir until melted. Also, whisk in the cheddar till it’s melted, the sauce is smooth and no lumps are remaining.
- Now, remove the saucepan from the heat, add the macaroni to the saucepan, and stir everything together until well combined. If needed, mix in some of the reserved pasta water to thin out the sauce.
- Season the mac and cheese with salt as per taste, if needed. Let it sit for about 10 minutes. Your recipe is now ready to be assembled for the mac-o-lantern and cheese bowl.
- Lastly, divide it among the peppers and place its top back to complete your mac-o-lantern and cheese bowl recipe.
Voila, your mac-o-lantern and cheese bowls are ready to be served and devoured. So, go get the ingredients, and try this easy and delicious dish this Halloween. Also, do let us know how many mac-o-lantern and cheese bowls you made in total in the comment section below.
