Fans of the Kansas City Chiefs hang on every word the team’s three-time Super Bowl-winning coach has to say. Surprisingly, Andy Reid has opinions on football and food. Living in the barbecue capital of the world made this coach a comfort food aficionado, and he’s often asked about his recipes. The one folks really want to get their hands on is Coach Reid’s mac and cheese.
I have to assume that his recipe is so in demand because he uses six (!) cheeses, including one of the best cheeses for mac and cheese.
What’s in Andy Reid’s mac and cheese recipe?
Nancy Mock for Taste of Home
Coach Reid often talks about making his mac and cheese, but he has been frustratingly tight-lipped about sharing the actual recipe. When asked by a reporter from Yahoo! Sports to share more details, Reid only said that he had to keep it secret. “I might open a restaurant,” he quipped.
Luckily for mac and cheese lovers, Reid shared one detail about his recipe with sports writer Charles McDonald (who in turn shared it on X). He folds in six different kinds of cheese: fontina, Gruyere, cheddar, Gouda, Parmesan and mozzarella. I took this cheese list and created a mac and cheese that I hope Coach Reid might find as good as his own.
While trying to hunt down Andy Reid’s recipe, I discovered that he has a secret menu dish named after him at Q39, a Kansas City barbecue restaurant: brisket burnt ends, mac and cheese and crispy onion straws. So, as an additional nod to the coach, I added a topping of crispy, french-fried onions to my take on Coach Reid’s mac and cheese recipe.
Ingredients
- Elbow macaroni: The small, twisted shape of elbows is a classic for a reason. Some macaroni brands are better than others, but at the end of the day, it’s the shape that matters.
- Six cheeses: Coach Reid packs this dish with a lot of shredded cheese. Cheddar and Parmesan bring plenty of flavor, while milder mozzarella, fontina, Gouda and Gruyere are some of the best for melting.
- Diced onion: Sauteed in butter, onions create a savory base. Here’s how to chop an onion into even dice.
- Butter: This ingredient has many jobs here. It cooks and softens the onions, is part of the roux for the cheese sauce and is tossed with bread crumbs to make a crispy topping.
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour to create the roux—the mixture of flour and butter helps create a smooth cheese sauce.
- Milk: For a creamy, rich sauce, use whole or 2% milk.
- Spices: Use a blend of ground mustard, smoked paprika, salt, pepper and garlic powder to build savory flavor.
- Bread crumbs: For a crunchy topping on the mac and cheese, use coarse panko bread crumbs.
- French-fried onions: They’re the final touch on the mac and cheese and just one of many ways to use french-fried onions.