Lumpy Mac and Blue Cheese With Tomatoes is a baked macaroni dish built around a béchamel sauce loaded with ground beef, cheddar, and blue cheese, then topped with fresh tomatoes and breadcrumbs. It eats like a proper main course, not a side. The blue cheese and beef combination sounds bold, but the two genuinely balance each other out once baked.
Before you start
The most important technique here is building the béchamel without lumps. Add your milk and chicken stock gradually — a splash at a time — while whisking constantly over medium heat. If you dump all the liquid in at once, the flour-butter paste seizes and you’ll spend the rest of the cook chasing lumps. The second thing that matters is browning the ground beef properly before it goes into the sauce. Spread it in the pan, let it sit undisturbed for a minute or two, then break it up. A good brown on the meat adds flavor that simmering in sauce cannot replicate. Use a meat thermometer to confirm the beef hits 160°F (71°C) before you fold it in — ground beef needs to reach that temperature all the way through, not just on the surface.
Ingredient notes
- Blue cheese: Gorgonzola, Roquefort, or Stilton all work. Gorgonzola is the mildest of the three and a good starting point if you’re unsure. Avoid pre-crumbled blue cheese in a tub — it’s often drier and saltier than a block you crumble yourself.
- Chicken stock: Low-sodium stock is worth using here. The blue cheese and cheddar already bring plenty of salt, and full-sodium stock can tip the dish over.
- Tomatoes: Roma or plum tomatoes hold their shape better during baking than beefsteak varieties. Cherry tomatoes halved work too and need no prep beyond slicing.
- Breadcrumbs: Panko gives a noticeably crunchier topping than regular dried breadcrumbs. Skip the garnish — not worth the extra dish.
What can go wrong
- Sauce breaks and looks greasy: This happens when the heat is too high when you add the cheese. Take the pan off the burner entirely, then stir the cheese in. Residual heat is enough to melt it.
- Pasta turns mushy after baking: Cook the macaroni to just under al dente — it will keep absorbing liquid in the oven. If it’s fully soft before it goes in, it will be overcooked by the time the dish is done.
- Watery bake with puddles of liquid: The beef needs to be well drained after browning. Excess fat and moisture from the meat will thin the sauce during baking. Tilt the pan and spoon off the fat before adding the beef to the sauce.
- Breadcrumb topping burns before the dish is heated through: Cover the dish loosely with foil for the first two-thirds of the bake time, then uncover for the final few minutes to brown the crumbs.
- Blue cheese flavor disappears: Blue cheese loses intensity quickly when overheated. Stir it in at the very end of making the sauce, off the heat, so it melts gently rather than cooking out.
Storage and reheating
Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The pasta will absorb more sauce as it sits, so add a splash of milk when reheating to loosen it back up. Reheat individual portions in a microwave on medium power in 90-second bursts, stirring between each, until hot throughout. For larger portions, cover with foil and warm in a 350°F (175°C) oven for about 20 minutes. This dish freezes reasonably well — up to 2 months — though the breadcrumb topping softens after thawing. If you plan to freeze it, leave the breadcrumbs off and add a fresh layer after reheating.
Lumpy Mac and Blue Cheese With Tomatoes
Ingredients
12 ounces macaroni
1 ½ cups chicken stock (chicken broth or chicken bouillon)
1 ½ cups milk
6 tablespoons butter
½ cup all purpose flour (plain flour Australia and UK)
2 cups ground beef (minced beef) - pre-cooked
8 ounces cheddar cheese - shredded
4 ounces blue cheese - crumbled
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 pinch salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
4 small tomato - sliced
¼ cup breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 13×9 baking dish with butter.
- Cook macaroni according to package directions for al dente, or even slightly less time. (I cooked mine for 7 minutes.) Drain and set aside.
- Combine milk and broth and set aside.
- Melt the butter over medium heat. Add flour and let cook for 2 minutes, constantly stirring, so the flour doesn’t burn. Add milk and broth mixture in three additions, constantly whisking and making sure the liquid is well mixed before adding more. Continue whisking the mixture over medium heat until bubbly and thickened, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add the beef and let the sauce thicken.
- Remove from heat. Add both kinds of cheese and stir until melted and blended. Add nutmeg. Adjust taste with salt and pepper.
- Combine cheese mixture with pasta. Spread in prepared pan. Top with tomato slices. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the tomatoes.
- Bake the mac and cheese for 20 minutes, or until cheese is bubbling. Broil for an additional 5 minutes to toast breadcrumbs. Remove the mac and cheese from oven and let sit for a few minutes before serving.
Nutrition
FAQ
Can I use pre-cooked or leftover ground beef?
Yes, as long as it was cooked to 160°F (71°C) originally and has been refrigerated safely. Reheat it in the pan before folding it into the sauce so it’s hot when it goes into the bake — cold meat dropped into a warm sauce drags the temperature down and extends your oven time.
How do I know when the ground beef is fully cooked?
The most reliable way is a meat thermometer reading of 160°F (71°C) at the thickest part of the meat mass. Color alone isn’t reliable — ground beef can turn brown before it’s safe, or stay slightly pink even when it has reached temperature.
Can I swap the blue cheese for something milder?
Yes — an equal amount of sharp cheddar or gruyère works fine and keeps the dish approachable. You’ll lose the tang that blue cheese provides, but the dish is still solid with an all-cheddar sauce.
My béchamel sauce has lumps in it — can I fix it?
Run it through a fine mesh strainer or blend it briefly with an immersion blender. Both methods smooth it out quickly. Going forward, the fix is adding cold or room-temperature liquid to the hot roux in small increments while whisking.
Can I assemble this ahead of time and bake it later?
Yes — assemble the dish up to 24 hours ahead, cover tightly, and refrigerate. Add the breadcrumb topping just before baking, not before refrigerating, so it doesn’t go soggy. Add about 10 extra minutes to the bake time since you’re starting from cold.
More mince recipes to try
- Creamy Beef Spinach Pasta
- Ultimate Cheesy Beef Bake
- Hearty Beef Cauliflower Bake
- Beef Ricotta Lasagna Rolls
