If you're looking to take the typical mac and cheese up a few levels, try this Roasted Garlic Mac and Cheese with Sausage and Kale. With two types of cheese, lots of sausage, roasted garlic, and fresh kale, this mac and cheese is the ultimate comfort food!

overhead view of a plate of roasted garlic mac and cheese with sausage and kale with a fork and serving dish in the background and recipe title at top.

(This recipe for Roasted Garlic with Sausage and Kale was originally published in April 2013, but was updated with new photos and content in 2020).

Some people think there's no such thing as a bad mac and cheese. But I beg to differ. Like a lot.

We've all had it happen to us: You're craving mac and cheese something awful and have a nice beautiful plate full set in front of you. You take a bite and…. Nothing. It tastes like nothing. What's the point in eating a plate of pasta covered in cheese if it doesn't taste like anything?

If you're going to do it, you need to be doing it right. And that means lots of sharp flavorful cheese. And some garlic zing. And probably some sort of meat, like sausage. If you want to make yourself feel better about the whole thing, toss in some kale. Kale makes everything a well-rounded meal, right? Right??? No matter what you say, I will continue to believe so.

I made this mac and cheese on a whim. Really, because I was craving roasted garlic and felt as though it would be too strange if I roasted a couple heads of garlic and ate them right out of the skin. No?

But note that I went from craving a healthy clove or two of roasted garlic to making an entire decadent mac and cheese dish. The mind works in funny ways, doesn't it? I don't like to argue, so I usually just go with it. And then thank it later.

🧄 How to roast garlic

Let's start where all good love stories start. At the garlic. When you add roasted garlic to mac and cheese, you automatically know your mac and cheese is going to be absolutely packed with flavor.

It's easy to roast your own garlic at home with a few simple tips!

Start by pre-heating the oven to 400 degrees and getting out a muffin tin. Yes, a muffin tin! Now, peel away the outer layers of garlic skin, making sure the cloves remain intact. Cut about ¼ inch off the top of the heads, so the cloves are exposed. Place heads of garlic in a muffin tin.

Drizzle some olive oil over the tops, making sure it's rubbed into the cloves. And then wrap the tops with aluminum foil.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until the cloves get soft. And until your kitchen smells like a dream come true. Or a nightmare if you're a vampire. Guess it depends on who you ask.

Collage showing process for roasting garlic in a muffin tin, including garlic head with top cut off, garlic head with foil covering it, and garlic roasted out of the oven.

Once the garlic has cooled enough that you can touch it, pull the cloves out of the skin. Put them in a bowl, mash them with a fork, and set aside for now.

🍝 How to make mac and cheese

Now that you've made your roasted garlic (and your kitchen is smelling like heaven!), you're ready to make the rest of the mac and cheese with sausage and kale.

This recipe does seem like it has a lot of steps, but I promise that it's pretty simple to make and shouldn't take you long!

Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and boil until al dente. Drain pasta and keep pasta in colander so you can use pot for the cheese sauce (the key when making mac and cheese is to cut down on the dirty dishes as much as possible!).

While pasta is boiling, cook sausage in a medium skillet over medium heat until it's cooked through. Remove from skillet to small bowl and set aside.

Melt butter in the pot you cooked the pasta in over medium heat. Once melted, pour 2 tablespoon into a small bowl and set aside (this will be for the panko topping).

Add flour and mustard powder to the remaining melted butter in the pot and whisk for a minute, without letting the flour darken. This is the roux for the mac and cheese.

overhead view of roux in saucepan with whisk.

Whisk in milk and bring the mixture just to a boil, before reducing heat to medium-low and letting simmer for 2-3 minutes while sauce thickens.

Remove saucepan from the heat and whisk in both cheeses and the smashed roasted garlic. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

Pour cheese sauce over cooked pasta in pot.

Mix in sausage and kale and toss together so pasta is well-coated in the sauce.

overhead view of mac and cheese with sausage and kale in saucepan.

Are you kale obsessed like I am? If so, kale in a bag will change your life. No more cleaning, drying, chopping. It's already done for you. I know. I'm lazy and it's silly, but whatever gets me to eat more greens, right?

Now, put mac and cheese mixture into a 9x11 baking dish.

Add panko and ¼ teaspoon sat to the bowl with the reserved butter and stir together. Evenly sprinkle over mac and cheese.

overhead view of baking dish topped with panko mixture.

Put in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, until the panko starts browning and crisping up.

Remove from oven and serve yourself a nice, generous portion of roasted garlic mac and cheese with sausage and kale.

The bigger the serving, the more kale you're consuming. Think of it like that.

Close-up view of roasted garlic with sausage and kale on a plate with a fork.

I'm not going to lie and pretend this meal is healthy. That would be unethical of me. But I will promise you that it is delicious. It's the kind of mac and cheese that will not disappoint. Not even a little bit.

I give a lot of credit to the roasted garlic. But also to the sausage. And the gruyere and cheddar, too.

Landscape view of roasted garlic mac and cheese with sausage and kale on a plate with a fork.

The roasted garlic is powerful, but really not as powerful as you might assume considering there are two heads of roasted garlic in the dish. The cheeses are sharp and flavorful and the sausage adds a whole different level of deliciousness.

The first time I made this mac and cheese with sausage, I used a full pound of sausage and believe it or not, I actually felt like it was too much sausage, so I cut it down to ¾ pound here. But of course, you can use however much you want.

overhead view of a plate of roasted garlic mac and cheese with sausage and kale with a fork and serving dish in the background.

And let's not forget the kale. I mean. If you like kale, you'll love the little bitter bite the kale lends to the mac and cheese. If you don't like kale, well, then, you could always use spinach instead. Or simply leave the greens out and stop pretending this has any nutritional value. I won't blame you.

My favorite thing about this roasted garlic mac and cheese? It obviously makes a ridiculous amount, which means I'm set for lunch for the next several days whenever I make it. You can definitely freeze a portion of it, too.

Nothing makes it easier to get through a rough morning at work than knowing this is waiting for me come lunchtime.

What's your dream mac and cheese?

If you're looking for more delicious mac and cheese recipes, check out my Four Cheese Mac and Cheese and my Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese. And speaking of delicious mac and cheese recipes, I really want to try this Crunchy Cheetos Mac and Cheese from XO&So.

📖 Recipe