Scallion-Miso Mac and Cheese Recipe • 5★ • 1 hr

Updated November 13, 2025

Kate Sears for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff.

This cozy creamy baked pasta has a unique miso-laden béchamel base and a buttery, crushed Ritz cracker and scallion topping. The triple-cheese sauce combines sharp Cheddar, tangy Gruyère and nutty Parmesan, but feel free to use all Cheddar, if preferred. The mac and cheese gets a kick from spicy Dijon mustard, which cuts through the rich sauce. Pasta shells have great pockets for catching the cheesy sauce, but classic macaroni will also work great. Serve the full-bodied dish with a crisp bitter green salad on the side.

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1 pound medium or large pasta shells

6 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 tablespoons melted plus 4 tablespoons unmelted)

3 ounces buttery crackers (preferably Ritz), finely crumbled (1 cup)

¼ cup all-purpose flour

4 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons white miso

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 cups/8 ounces coarsely grated sharp Cheddar, preferably aged

1 cup/4 ounces coarsely grated Gruyère or Comté cheese

¼ cup/1 ounce freshly grated Parmesan

1 cup finely chopped scallions (from 3 to 4 scallions), plus more for garnish if desired

Step 1Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water according to package directions until a few minutes shy of al dente. Drain.

Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water according to package directions until a few minutes shy of al dente. Drain.

Step 2Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the melted butter and crackers and mix until well blended.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the melted butter and crackers and mix until well blended.

Step 3Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large Dutch oven, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter over medium. Add flour and cook, whisking frequently, until well incorporated and flour is no longer raw, about 1 minute. While whisking constantly, add milk in a slow, steady stream. Add miso, season with salt and pepper and bring back to a simmer, whisking occasionally and mashing the miso to help it dissolve. Cook, whisking frequently, until mixture is smooth and slightly thickened, 3 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large Dutch oven, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter over medium. Add flour and cook, whisking frequently, until well incorporated and flour is no longer raw, about 1 minute. While whisking constantly, add milk in a slow, steady stream. Add miso, season with salt and pepper and bring back to a simmer, whisking occasionally and mashing the miso to help it dissolve. Cook, whisking frequently, until mixture is smooth and slightly thickened, 3 minutes.

Step 4Turn off heat and add mustard, Cheddar, Gruyère and Parmesan. Whisk until smooth and season with salt and pepper.

Turn off heat and add mustard, Cheddar, Gruyère and Parmesan. Whisk until smooth and season with salt and pepper.

Step 5Add pasta to the cheese sauce and mix well. Stir scallions into the cracker mixture, then scatter it over the top of the pasta in an even layer. Bake until golden brown, 20 minutes.

Add pasta to the cheese sauce and mix well. Stir scallions into the cracker mixture, then scatter it over the top of the pasta in an even layer. Bake until golden brown, 20 minutes.

Step 6Serve warm in shallow bowls. Garnish with more scallions and pepper, if desired.

Serve warm in shallow bowls. Garnish with more scallions and pepper, if desired.

this african american household can offer some ways to improve the blandness to which some have referred. (let me also say that i believe that the ritz cracker-scallop crust to be a genius technique)

first: where it says season with salt and pepper, i recommend sprinkling onion and garlic powder LIBERALLY. compliments the creaminess with some needed savoriness to complement the umami of the miso

second: learn from the vegans. a tablespoon of nutritional yeast goes a long way in complementing the nuttiness of the gruyere without adding gruyere cost.

three, and i cannot recommend this enough: you do not need that much milk. makes sauce too watery. i did two cups milk and one cup of BROTH. flavor was hitting.

fourth: maybe this will be tacky to the more refined palate, but combine sharp and smoked cheddar.

follow my african american household technique and this recipe will slap, as we say in oakland, california.

NYT must have some BIG scallions! 4 scallions gave me a scant 1/3 c. Ended up chopping about 8 scallions to get 3/4 c. Made for a very scallion-y topping which I think is the intent. Added some parm to the topping too.

Increased miso to a healthy 3 TB bec everything is better with miso!

Overall a 5 star dish! A big upgrade from traditional Mac n cheese.

@Marc Wortsman maybe GF panko for the Ritz sub

Made as written, only changes were less milk (1 ½ cup heavy cream and 1 cup 2% milk) and a little extra miso (red miso instead of white) because that’s what I had on hand. Also made a little extra topping, and used only cheddar. Delicious and subtle flavor. Will make again.

Like a good Trini, add some yellow mustard and a bit of ketchup, along with onion & garlic powder. And some scotch bonnet Trini hot sauce on the side is great, but this is not for the faint of heart, or stomach.

I do not think I have ever before seen a recipe that is more than 1200 calories per serving!

Source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/761873220-scallion-miso-mac-and-cheese