Mix up your dinner routine and make Italian Mac & Cheese! Loaded with cheesy goodness & comforting flavors your family loves. Perfect weeknight casserole.

Italian Mac & Cheese

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Lipton. The opinions and text are all mine.

Do you ever get stuck in a meal routine? I find it creeps up on me when I’m grocery shopping. I go into auto-pilot mode and place the same items into the shopping cart nearly every trip.

Then I get home and realize we’re eating the same meal we had last week, uh huh! And let me tell you my kids will surely bring this to my attention, my husband he’ll quietly not acknowledge it, but the kids…oh yeah they’ll let me know.

Recently I re-imagined a meal that I serve quite frequently…homemade Mac & Cheese. I prepare homemade Mac & Cheese at least 2 times a month so I decided it would be a great dish to awaken with some new flavors.

To change things up, to reinvent something that we already love, but in a different way. Plus Mac & Cheese is a hearty dish and now that the weather has started to cool down, comfort food is where it’s at.

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Without further ado, I introduce to you: Italian Mac & Cheese! All the cheesy goodness of traditional Mac & Cheese with the added bonus of: Italian sausage, seasoned diced tomatoes and you guessed it, more cheese.

When I was making this re-imagined dish I knew my family would enjoy it since it is also similar to another family favorite, lasagna. With some of the same great flavors as lasagna, I knew I was on to a winner!

Italian Mac & Cheese can easily be prepared for a weeknight meal. There’s nothing complicated within this recipe. We sat down and enjoyed this dish with some garlic bread and a refreshing glass of Lipton Cold Brew Iced Tea.

We’re an iced tea loving family and making Lipton iced tea is just as simple as preparing this meal. I simply filled a pitcher with cold water, added Lipton Cold Brew tea bags and waited 5 short minutes.

When dinner was served I poured the Lipton iced tea over ice and enjoyed right alongside the Italian Mac & Cheese! Doesn’t get much easier and delicious than this meal and Lipton iced tea together!

Dinnertime success, a re-imagined meal together as a family and a refreshing glass of Lipton iced tea! Ahhh, life is good!

Other great family friendly recipes:

Stuffed Pepper Explosion Casserole

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

Beefy Country Potato Casserole

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Yield: 6-8 servings

Italian Mac & Cheese

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Ingredients

• 1 16 oz box elbow macaroni
• 1 16 oz pkg Italian Sausage
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 envelope onion soup mix
• 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 t Italian Seasoning
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese, softened

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain.
3. In large non-stick skillet cook Italian sausage over medium-heat. Breaking into small pieces while cooking, drain fat.
4. Add to sausage: parmesan cheese, onion soup mix, diced tomatoes and Italian seasoning. Stir to combine.
5. In large bowl combine: cooked macaroni, sausage mixture, sour cream and cream cheese. Stir to combine.
6. Spray 9x13 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour mixture into pan, top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
7. Place in oven and bake 15-20 minutes or until cheese has melted. Allow to cool prior to serving.