For me, the words “comfort food” always evoke images of mac and cheese. Any kind of mac and cheese will do, even the boxed kind will work in a pinch (I’m not a snob). There’s just something about warm pasta smothered in silky, creamy, melty cheese that does wonders for my soul. Forget about chicken soup. When I’m under the weather or in need of an emotional pick me up, it’s mac and cheese that I reach for first.

When my girls were little and I’d ask them what they wanted for lunch or dinner, I always secretly hoped that they would ask for mac and cheese just so that I would have an excuse to sneak in a bite. Although, to be honest, I never need an excuse to eat it. One sniff and all my self restraint goes out the window.

I’m not sure who created the original recipe for this wonder, but they were clearly a culinary genius and deserve a James Beard award, that is, if they don’t already have one. Of course given my love of this, what I image to be a nursery school creation, it’s not a surprise to anyone who knows me that I raised two mac and cheese obsessed humans. In fact, this is the one dish that I know both of my girls will eat any time, anywhere despite their very varied dietary preferences. We’re still working on Remy who I’m proud to report, already loves cheese.

Having said all that, I’m always looking for ways to make a new and improved version of this classic, and having lived in Maryland for most of my life, crab had to make its way into a recipe eventually. So recently, when I found crab meat on sale at a local grocery store, I decided that there was no time like the present.

Swirly rigatoni pasta covered in ooyey, gooyey, melty gruyere, sharp cheddar, parmesan, and Old Bay sauce would, under normal circumstances, have been enough. Those of you who are just coming to the end of the Passover holiday and are no doubt familiar with the song Dayenu (or Hebrew for “it would have been enough”) can now repeat this word with gusto.

However, I had to do more, so I turned a standard bechamel sauce into a browned butter one. Dayenu!

Then, in went the crabmeat. Dayenu!

Then, to top it all off, I added browned butter, Old Bay crumbs which gave the casserole a wonderful crispy, nutty crust. Dayenu!!!

The Dishy Details

I’m going to start with the browned butter because, as mac and cheese enthusiasts know, this is not a common ingredient in most recipes. However, the nutty flavor that this simple technique adds to this sauce is second to none.

Although it sounds complicated, browned butter is easy to make and it’s one of the best methods for boosting the flavor of anything from pasta to baked goods. Believe me when I tell you that once you learn how to make it, you’ll want to add it to EVERYTHING.

All you do is place the butter in a light colored pan (you can also use a dark pan but that will make it more difficult to see when it starts to brown) over low-medium heat and start stirring the butter as it begins to melt.

Continue stirring as the butter foams until it turns a golden brown and the milk solids form toasted little bits at the bottom of the pan.

Make sure to keep a close eye on the butter as it will go from toasted to burnt in a matter of seconds.

You’ll know when it’s done as your kitchen will have the most incredible aroma (and you’ll be overcome by an insane desire to drink it all right then and there).

That’s all there is to it, from this point on, I used the brown butter as the base for my bechamel. Another complicated word which basically means whisking a bit of flour into the butter (typically plain melted butter is used instead of browned butter) letting it cook for a few minutes until the flour is no longer raw, adding in milk and whisking the mixture together over low heat until it thickens. This forms a basic white sauce which will take on the flavors of anything that you add to it, which in this case, is Old Bay seasoning, gruyere and parmesan.

From this point on all you have to do is stir cooked pasta into the sauce, gently stir in the crab meat, add the browned butter-Old Bay crumbs on top and stick the pot in the oven for about 30 minutes. I used rigatoni as I love the way the ridges trap the sauce but you can feel free to use any pasta shape of your choice. I also baked the mac and cheese in the same pot as I used to make the bechamel to save on the amount of cleanup. However, if you prefer, you can certainly bake it in a large casserole dish.

I hope that you decide to give this Browned Butter Crabby Mac And Cheese recipe a whirl. If you do, please let me know what you think or tag me on Instagram. I always love to hear from everyone and to see pictures of any recipes that you make. And above all, thanks so much for stopping by.