This crab cake macaroni and cheese combines the deliciousness of crab cakes with everyone’s favorite comfort food! It is macaroni & cheese taken to a whole new level of amazing!

Every year when we go on our family vacation we each take turns cooking dinner for everyone. I always try to pick something extra special, I like to treat my parents because they rent the house for us each year. This year I broke out one of my most special recipes, my crab cake macaroni and cheese!

This is an extra special recipe for a couple of reasons, the first is because it is an absolute favorite of my hubby’s. We were both raised in Maryland so “Old Bay” is a food group of it’s own, and crab cakes are something you can’t order at any old restaurant! I spring for real crab meat when I make this, I have to fight my cheapness because crab isn’t exactly cheap when you’re buying it in Ohio! So there is the deliciousness of it, the slightly higher than I usually spend on a weeknight dinner, cost, and then there is the clean up.

One pan for pasta, one for the cheese sauce, a bowl for the crab mixture, and then the pan that it is all baked in… baked on cheese and pasta you are not my friend.

But for vacation? Time to break out the big guns and serve the family something amazing!

Here’s what you’ll need for the crab cake macaroni and cheese-

-16 oz. Crab Meat ( I used claw meat)

– 16 oz. box Penne Pasta

– 8 oz. Cream Cheese

– 8 oz. Monterey Jack Cheese (shredded)

-1/2 Medium Size Onion (finely chopped)

– 2 Tbsp. Butter

-1 Cup Chicken or Vegetable Stock

-1 1/2 Tbsp Flour

– 2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning

-1 1/2 Cups Mild

1 Tbsp. Stone Ground Mustard

1/2 Cup Panko Bread Crumbs

Salt to taste

Preheat your oven to 425 and lightly butter a 13×9 inch pan.

In a medium size bowl combine your crab meat (well drained) and your Old Bay seasoning, give it a stir to mix the seasoning through the crab meat.

The next thing you’ll want to do is get your butter melted in a skillet over medium heat, once it’s melted add in your finely diced onion. Let that cook until the onion is soft and translucent.

While your onion is cooking get your pasta water on and bring it to a boil lightly salting it.

Add your flour into the butter and onion mixture stirring frequently over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Now stirring constantly slowly pour in your stock.

(Pour your pasta in the boiling water if it’s ready now! Follow your package directions for best results!)

Still stirring constantly slowly pour in half of your milk. Now add in your cream cheese and stir until completely incorporated and smooth. Stir in the rest of your milk. Next put your monterey jack cheese and mustard in and stir until it is all melted and incorporated. Add in a pinch of salt if needed.

Once your pasta is ready pour it into the bottom of your prepared baking pan. Top the pasta with half of your cheese sauce. Now evenly layer your crab meat on top of the pasta and pour over the rest of the cheese sauce. Top it all off with an even layer of Panko bread crumbs.

Now you’re ready to bake! Pop it in the oven for about 25 minutes or until nice and golden brown, now your crab cake macaroni and cheese is ready to eat!