What's not to love about pasta in a rich, gooey cheese sauce with a crunchy topping? This perennial family favourite is the perfect side, but there are so many ways to transform mac ’n’ cheese into a truly exciting main course. Whether you take it to the next level with tasty additions like chorizo or lobster, or you use mac ‘n’ cheese as an ingredient in its own right by adding to burgers, pizzas and sandwiches, there's a recipe here for everyone. Our collection of must-try ideas and hacks will make mac ’n’ cheese your new go-to dish.

This is a fantastic recipe for using up any bits of cheese you might have in the fridge. You'll need around 9oz (250g) grated cheese – any combination will do, but we think this one works really well. To serve four, use 14oz (400g) pasta and 16fl oz (500ml) white sauce. For extra creamy richness, add 3 tbsp crème fraîche. To the sauce, add a mixture of soft blue cheese, grated Gruyère, crumbled feta for extra tang and grated Parmesan. Scatter over more grated Gruyère before baking in a hot oven for 20 minutes or so.

All the family will love this easy dish. To serve four, fry off 9oz (250g) bacon lardons until crisp, then drain on kitchen paper. Toss into the pasta – you could use penne instead of macaroni, as the sauce sticks to it particularly well. Add a drained 14oz (400g) can of cherry tomatoes, pour over the cheese sauce, plus extra grated cheese, then bake in a hot oven until piping hot. If you have any leftover ham, add that too. You could use halved cherry tomatoes, instead of tinned.

The twist that makes this dish even easier is that there's no traditional cheese sauce to make. It can be tricky to find a baking dish that fits your air fryer, but we've found that four deep ramekin dishes fit into most models. To serve four, cook 9oz (250g) macaroni for a few minutes under the cooking time. For the sauce, whisk together 9fl oz (250ml) evaporated milk with two eggs and season well. Add 9oz (250g) grated mature Cheddar, then pour over the pasta. Top with more cheese and cook at 180ºC/350ºF for 20 minutes until golden and bubbling.

This is a great one for the kids – it's filling, high in protein and a perfect way to sneak in extra vegetables. To serve four, you'll need 14oz (400g) macaroni or penne, 14oz (400g) blanched broccoli florets and around 10fl oz (300ml) cheese sauce. You can add sweetcorn, peas and cooked carrots, too. Make the sauce with a mild Cheddar, then add cubes of mozzarella on top to melt.

This recipe sounds fancy and tastes amazing, but it's actually very easy to make with a few store cupboard ingredients. Make your cheese sauce using half mature Cheddar and half Gruyère. Toss four handfuls of frozen spinach (chopped and thawed) into the nearly cooked pasta along with a jar of cooked and halved baby artichokes. Top with a mixture of breadcrumbs mixed with a little melted butter and grated Parmesan and bake for around 20 minutes until golden and bubbling.

This is a cheesy carb overload if ever there was one. Use a stovetop macaroni cheese method, where the raw pasta is added to a white sauce and cooked for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Then add the grated cheese, using half Cheddar and half smoked cheese, which goes perfectly with the burger. Top a cooked beef patty with a slice of cheese, then pile the mac ’n’ cheese on top. Fries are definitely optional here...

Adding roasted squash to mac ’n’ cheese gives sweetness and texture, plus it's a great way of adding a vegetable which kids tend to love. To serve four, you'll need around 1.25lb (600g) butternut squash, cut into cubes then tossed in olive oil and seasoned with some fresh thyme or rosemary. Roast in a single layer in a hot oven for around 25 minutes, until tender. You could substitute the butternut with pumpkin, too. Stir the squash into some macaroni and cheese, then top generously with grated cheese and breadcrumbs. Bake for around 20 minutes until golden and bubbling. 

Adding smoked ham brings another layer of flavour and texture to mac ’n’ cheese and it's a great use for leftovers. We love it with gently sautéed leeks, too. To serve four with 9oz (250g) macaroni and 21fl oz (600ml) cheese sauce, you'll need 5oz (150g) ham and two leeks, finely sliced. Try adding half smoked cheese for an extra kick of smokiness.

How can you make macaroni cheese without cheese, you may ask. It's very possible, as long as you have a blender – the trick is to use cashew nuts and nutritional yeast, which provide the texture and savoury flavour. To make the sauce for four, using 10oz (300g) macaroni, soak 6oz (175g) raw cashews overnight in water. Put the nuts into a blender with 4 tsp nutritional yeast, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp cider vinegar and 6fl oz (175ml) unsweetened plant milk. Blend until smooth, then heat gently to add to the pasta.

Hungry kids will go mad for this carb-filled cheese toastie and it's a great use-up for any leftovers. Toast and butter the bread, and while it's still hot, add a slice of cheese to each piece. Add the mac 'n' cheese, which should be piping hot to melt the cheese, then sandwich together. You could add ketchup, chilli sauce or yeast extract for added flavour.

This is pretty much a store cupboard dish and a winner with all the family. If you don't have macaroni, penne or tagliatelle work well. Use tuna canned in oil if you can, as tuna in brine tends to dry out quickly. Flake the tuna, add to the pasta, stir in frozen peas and cheese sauce and top with more grated cheese to bake. 

The ultimate late-night snack or treat to watch a big game with. To make it, wrap a hot dog in bacon, then grill until crisp; you can use the back of a flat-bladed knife to stretch the bacon so it's easier to roll around the hot dog. Make the macaroni cheese using the stove-top method, put the hot dog into a roll then top with the pasta, extra cheese and your chosen condiments.

In this crowd-pleasing recipe, all the flavours of your favourite pizza are transformed into a hearty pasta dish. Toss some just-cooked pasta into a cheese sauce and stir in some sliced cherry tomatoes and a squeeze of tomato purée. Pile into a dish then top with slices of pepperoni, oregano and plenty of grated mozzarella and Parmesan. Add a drizzle of olive oil or chilli oil before baking in a hot oven for around 20 minutes.

The perfect marriage of two of the best comfort foods ever! You'll need to steam or blanch the cauliflower florets until they are just tender, draining well if necessary so the dish isn't watery. A small cauliflower is sufficient for two. Stir it into some macaroni and cheese, then top generously with grated cheese and breadcrumbs. Crispy bacon, cooked chicken or ham could be incorporated, too. Bake for around 20 minutes until golden and bubbling. 

This is the German take on mac ‘n’ cheese called käsespätzle (or cheese spätzle). Spätzle are basically homemade egg noodles which are short and quite small, just a tad bigger than macaroni. This recipe is very rich and you need a strong cheese such as Gruyère to make it. Start by layering fresh spätzle noodles, grated cheese and caramelised onions in a dish, then bake in a hot oven for about 10 minutes. You'll find ready-made spätzle in European delis if you don't want to make your own.

A real crowd-pleaser and a dish you can make ahead, then just pop into the oven to cook through. For six, you'll need 21fl oz (600ml) cheese sauce flavoured with a few teaspoons of mustard powder, 10oz (300g) each of macaroni and chunks of fish. The flavour is enhanced if you add some smoked fish to the mix, but any mixture of fish or shellfish will work. You don't need to pre-cook it either, as it will cook in the sauce. Top with extra grated cheese and bake in a hot oven for 30 minutes. 

Combine two family favourites in this decadent creation that cheese and carb fans will adore. As well as being great fun, this loaded pizza is also a great way to use up leftover mac ’n’ cheese. Brush your pizza base with olive oil and scatter a little oregano over, then bake in a hot oven for five minutes. Mix together grated mozzarella, Parmesan and mature Cheddar. Scatter a third over the pizza base, stir another third into the mac ’n’ cheese and spoon the pasta evenly over the pizza base. Top with remaining cheese and bake in a hot oven for about 20 minutes. You could add crispy bacon, pepperoni or cooked mushrooms, too.

A comforting hybrid dish of spicy, saucy chilli con carne combined with rich, cheesy pasta. Make up your favourite chilli – 1lb (450g) minced beef will make four good portions. You can cook the macaroni in the chilli for 10-12 minutes until just tender, or cook it separately if you prefer. Pile into an ovenproof dish, stir in a few spoonfuls of cream cheese for extra indulgence, top with mature Cheddar and grill until melted and browned. Add chopped coriander and spring onions to serve. 

Why not? Creamy, cheesy macaroni piled into a pastry case is a real winter warmer. Pep up the mac ’n’ cheese by adding crispy bacon, fried onions or fried chorizo. You can make a large pie or individual ones. To serve eight, you'll need 14oz (400g) shortcrust pastry which needs to be baked blind first. This quantity fits a 23cm (9in) pie dish. Once the pie crust is baked, pile in the macaroni cheese – 7oz (200g) pasta is sufficient with 16fl oz (500ml) cheese sauce. Top with extra cheese before baking for 20 minutes in a hot oven.

Rich and indulgent, lobster mac ’n’ cheese is perfect for the weekend. You could use crayfish or king prawns, too, if you don't want to splash out on lobster. To serve six, you'll need around 1.75lb (850g) cooked lobster. Prepare the lobster and cut into big chunks but keep the shells to infuse 25fl oz (750ml) milk. Heat it gently with an onion and some peppercorns, then set aside. Use the milk to make a cheese sauce with grated Parmesan, Gruyère and mature Cheddar. Add the lobster and 1lb (450g) macaroni. Top with more cheese and breadcrumbs then bake in a hot oven for around 20 minutes. 

Pastitsio is a Greek beef pasta bake, usually made with penne or rigatoni, but macaroni works perfectly. The pasta is cooked, then tossed into grated cheese, beaten eggs and butter, then spread over the base of an ovenproof dish. It's topped with a beef and tomato ragù, followed by a layer of thick béchamel sauce, before topping with more cheese. The Greek flavours come courtesy of a little dried mint added to the cooked pasta and using grated halloumi cheese rather than Cheddar. 

Spice up your mac ’n’ cheese with some Mexican seasoning and add crumbled feta cheese and mature Cheddar. Pile onto a taco, add some chopped spring onions, slices of pickled or fresh jalapeño chillies and a spoonful or two of refried black beans. To make the beans, fry an onion and a clove of garlic until golden, add a drained can of black beans, 1 tbsp cider vinegar, a drizzle of honey and 2 tsp each smoked paprika and ground cumin. Cook gently until warmed through, crushing them lightly with a wooden spoon. 

Translated into English as 'Alpine macaroni', älplermagronen is mac ’n’ cheese's creamier sibling and originates in the Alpine region of Switzerland. The cooked macaroni is mixed with cream or crème fraîche, lots of lovely Swiss Gruyère cheese, cooked baby potatoes and roasted onions. To roast the onions, peel then cut into thick rounds. Arrange on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and seasoning, then roast in a hot oven for around 30 minutes, until tender and slightly charred. 

Why not ditch the fries and load up your steak sandwich with some very cheesy mac ’n’ cheese? It's great for using up leftovers and also particularly delicious with slow-cooked brisket or pulled pork. Just use the stove-top method for making the pasta. We find adding a few spoons of cream cheese and a little garlic powder works brilliantly with the steak.

Rich and indulgent, this is very much a dish for a special occasion. Truffles are expensive, if you can find them, though you only need a couple of shavings to serve. The trick here is to use a ready-made paste which is a blend of truffle and porcini mushrooms. You can also add a little truffle oil but use sparingly – for 1lb (500g) macaroni which feeds six, add just 2 tbsp. Otherwise add 2.5oz (75g) paste to the cheese sauce. Give it an Italian twist by using taleggio and mozzarella cheese as well as Cheddar. 

This is a big dish of comfort, with macaroni layered up with a rich meat ragù and cheese sauce, topped with more cheese and baked until piping hot. To serve around six, you'll need your favourite Bolognese sauce recipe made with 1lb (450g) minced beef, 14oz (800g) macaroni and 25fl oz (750ml) cheese sauce. Cook the pasta for five minutes, then stir it into the cheese sauce. Layer up, starting with the ragu, then the pasta and sauce. Finally, top with extra grated cheese and bake in a hot oven for around 25 minutes. 

Kimchi, the spicy Korean fermented vegetable dish, really has a kick and works brilliantly in mac ’n’ cheese – the spice cuts through the richness of the cheese and the chopped kimchi adds crunch. To serve six, you'll need 12oz (350g) macaroni, 21fl oz (600ml) cheese sauce and 9oz (250g) kimchi. For extra indulgence, use half milk and half double cream for the sauce, adding the cream at the end of cooking. 

This spiced up Cajun-inspired dish is traditionally made using andouille, a smoky pork sausage. As it's sometimes tricky to track down, chorizo is a great substitute, adding an extra layer of spice. For four, you'll need 9oz (250g) macaroni, 21fl oz (600ml) cheese sauce, 10oz (300g) crayfish tails and 2oz (60g) cubed and fried chorizo. Add a good pinch of Cajun spicing or alternatively use paprika and cayenne pepper. Mix it all together and top with a mixture of grated cheese and breadcrumbs before baking. 

These crisp, cheesy fritters are a great use-up for leftover mac ‘n’ cheese, but they are so tasty and moreish, they're worth making from scratch. Make up the macaroni cheese and spread onto a shallow baking tin, then allow to get completely cold. Have three bowls ready of seasoned flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs. Scoop the macaroni into fritter shapes with a spoon, then dip in the flour, egg and breadcrumbs. Allow to chill completely in the fridge before deep frying. Serve with a tangy dipping sauce.

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