Skillet Sausage Mac and Cheese

Ingredients

• 12 oz / 340 g Elbow macaroni
• 12 oz / 340 g Smoked sausage, sliced into coins
• 1 small Green bell pepper, diced
• 3 Tbsp Unsalted butter
• 3 Tbsp All-purpose flour
• 3 cups Whole milk
• 3 cups / 340 g Sharp cheddar, shredded
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• ½ tsp Black pepper
• A pinch, only if it needs it Kosher salt

Method

1. Boil the macaroni in salted water until it is a minute shy of tender. Drain it. Do not rinse.
2. While the pasta cooks, brown the sausage and bell pepper in a 12-inch oven-safe skillet over medium heat until the coins have color and the pepper is soft. Scoop them onto a plate. Leave about a teaspoon of fat in the pan. If the skillet is swimming in fat, pour the extra off.
3. Melt the butter in that skillet. Whisk in the flour and cook 1 minute. It should look like a pale paste, not a dark roux. Pour in the milk a little at a time, whisking, and simmer until the sauce coats a spoon, about 4–5 minutes.
4. Take the pan off the heat. Stir in the mustard, pepper, and most of the cheddar, a handful at a time, until the sauce is smooth. Fold in the pasta and the sausage. Taste. Smoked sausage is already salty, so add salt only if the pot tastes flat.
5. Scatter the rest of the cheddar on top. If you want a baked lid, slide the skillet under a hot broiler for 2–3 minutes, until the cheese spots brown. Watch it. Serve from the skillet.

Nutrition

Kitchen estimate only, not lab-verified. A rich pasta skillet. The sausage brand is the main swing for salt and fat.

Guest diet / allergy swaps

Short kitchen notes for guests. A fuller gluten-free or dairy-free ingredient list, when we have one, is in the panels below.

• Low-sodium friendly

  Look for a lower-sodium smoked sausage, boil the pasta in water that is only lightly salted, and do not add more salt to the sauce. Cheddar is still salty. Taste before anyone reaches for the shaker.

• Gluten-free style

  Use a gluten-free elbow you already like, and a cup-for-cup gluten-free flour blend in the sauce. Keep the sauce pale. Check the sausage. Some links use wheat fillers or beer.

  • United States: Gluten-free elbows and a cup-for-cup blend in the sauce. Read the sausage.
  • United Kingdom: Use free-from pasta and a gluten-free flour. A sausage with wheat or beer does not fit this plate.

• No pork

  Use a smoked turkey sausage or a chicken sausage, and read the package. The sauce stays the same.

• Dairy-free

  Butter, milk, and cheddar are the sauce. A dairy-free butter, unsweetened plant milk, and a shred that melts will not behave like cheddar. This is not a clean swap.

• No broiler

  Skip the broiler. The skillet is done when the cheese in the sauce is melted.