Add Canned Cream Soup To Mac And Cheese For A Rich Flavor Boost

There are so many ways to make macaroni and cheese, from healthier versions that incorporate cauliflower and broccoli to ultra-goey versions that call for cheddar and parmesan. Of course, there's also everyone's childhood favorite, the boxed version, which you can doctor up by adding additional ingredients from peas to chicken broth. However, you may not know that adding canned soup to your mac and cheese is one of the simplest ways to create some extra flavor.

Different types of canned soup can yield vastly different results. To bring your meal to the next level with a creamy, rich flavor boost, try adding canned cheddar soup, tomato soup, cheesy potato soup, or cream of broccoli soup. Just think about the flavor profile you'd like to add to your mac and cheese, then pour a can of soup in while you're cooking. Each soup flavor will add something different to the comfort food favorite so here are some things you should think about. 

Many homemade mac and cheese recipes require you to melt your cheese with some milk and butter on the stove before adding it to the pasta and baking it in the oven. And, in most cases, you can add your soup to the stovetop mixture. For a regular-sized dish, add one can of soup, and you shouldn't need to adjust the baking time. 

For an even cheesier dish without the extra effort, try adding canned cheddar soup to your mac and cheese. This will upgrade the dish with a richer and creamier, cheesy flavor. For a trip down flavor memory lane, a can of tomato soup is a great addition to the dish as it will achieve a flavor reminiscent of SpaghettiOs. Plus. tomato soup is also naturally acidic and can help cut into some of the sweetness often found in mac and cheese recipes. 

If you want to bulk up this comfort food favorite, try adding a chunkier soup like cheesy potato or cream of broccoli, which will give it some texture. You can also give your soup a protein boost with cream of chicken or an extra umami flare with cream of mushroom soup.

Adding canned soup to mac and cheese results in a creamy, delicious dish and the extra moisture helps prevent your pasta from drying out while it's cooking. However, this additional liquid will add extra bulk to your recipe, so you may have to adjust the ratio of your other ingredients accordingly. 

Another caution is to be aware of the salt content of your macaroni. Cheese tends to be salty; one ounce of cheddar contains about 175 milligrams of sodium. And, this one-pot mac and cheese recipe contains four different types of cheese and 695.6 total milligrams of sodium per serving. That's about 30% of the daily recommended sodium allowance. So, when you pour in a can of Campbell's condensed cheddar cheese soup (for example), you will be introducing an additional 870 milligrams of sodium. 

Aside from it being bad for your health, too much sodium will make your mac and cheese taste overly salty. So, play around with the recipe, perhaps reducing the amount of cheese in the original dish before the soup is poured over. But, regardless of how you incorporate canned cream soup into your mac and cheese recipe, you're sure to have a delicious dish on your hands.