As a typical college student, there is almost nothing I love more than stuffing my face with an abnormal amount of comfort food when school is giving me absolute hell. Some people turn to a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. Others prefer the cheese and grease of a large pizza.
While I am big fans of both guilty pleasures, I have a special place in my heart for mac and cheese. There’s something about all the different kinds of pasta and cheese varieties you can use to make this delicacy that makes it so appealing to me.
Now, I’m also a big fan of any good old food porn account on Instagram. Nothing makes my day a little brighter like seeing an oozy pile of mac and cheese on my timeline. You can only imagine my delight when I saw a picture of a massive hamburger topped with an overflowing amount of mac and cheese. I drooled, squealed, I stared.
Then, I realized that this was an absolutely genius idea. Why aren’t we using mac and cheese as a condiment more often? Why aren’t we making the world a more delicious place? Soon after, I found myself making a list of some foods that would taste 50 times better with a heaping scoop of cheesey goodness on top. If the pictures and ideas below aren’t enough to convince you, you should probably try to make and consume these yourself.
Hot Dogs
Photo courtesy of @foodbeast on Instagram
Picture a freshly grilled dog, hot off the griddle and stuffed in a soft bun. Now picture that hot dog with a mound of creamy mac and cheese on top. Boom. Swap out your usual ketchup/relish/mustard on your dog for some mac and cheese and prepare to never go back.
Grilled Cheese
Photo courtesy of @jkindelan on Instagram
This is one mac and cheese combination that I’ve had the pleasure of digging into in real life. This thing is messy, ridiculously gooey, and gave me a food baby the size of Texas. Let’s be real: these two carbohydrate-filled creations (mac and cheese and grilled cheese) are meant to be eaten together.
If you’re lucky enough to live in Pittsburgh, you can find one of these babies at The Yard. If not, get crafty and make your own.
French Fries
Photo courtesy of @daddyvic on Instagram
This might be the best idea for those poutine-lovers up in Toronto. Instead of just spreading straight cheese or bacon on your pile o’ fries, dump some cheesy pasta on there instead. The crunch and crisp of the fries compliments the creamy, soft pasta and cheese sauce.
Just thinking about this makes me want to head to the O, pick up a large order of fries, and smother them with mac and cheese. Even if this doesn’t taste as good as I think, you know the food porn shots will be out of this world.
Pizza
Photo courtesy of @nopatients4that on Instagram
Now we arrive at the mythical mac and cheese pizza. Imagine that for a second. Picture the cheese overload upon first bite. Just try not to drool, I dare you. As soon as I master the art of pizza making, this will be among my first creations.
Hamburgers
Photo courtesy of @theainsworth on Instagram
If the picture above hasn’t sold you on mac and cheese as a condiment, then I don’t know what will. This thing is a new twist on the classic cheeseburger, but with different texture and a lot more mess. I know for a fact that the next time I visit NYC, I’ll be hitting up the Ainsworth to *attempt* to fit this in my mouth.
Tacos
Photo courtesy of @blueduckphilly on Instagram
As far as the great debate between soft shell and hard shell goes, I’m thinking hard shell would have to be the go-to here. How else would the tortilla contain all of that gooey goodness? This would taste absolutely bomb as a substitute to queso, sprinkled cheese, sour cream, or guac. Give it a try next time Taco Tuesday rolls around then report back to me.
Waffles
Photo courtesy of tablespoon.com
Hear me out on this one — breakfast food and lunch/dinner foods are not supposed to be eaten together. But this one is reminiscent of chicken and waffles AKA the most delicious brunch food known to man. I argue that this could be the next big thing.
Swapping out syrup for creamy mac would taste unreal, especially if the waffles were made to taste more savory. This would be on my dream brunch menu. That’s a good enough excuse for me to (attempt to) make it myself.