Cuban Sandwich Mac & Cheese

You Guys! This Cuban Mac & Cheese recipe is amazing! I modeled it after a Cuban Sandwich and it turned out crazy-pants delicious! This is mac and cheese with ham but so much more!

I love it when an idea for something comes together and is better in real life than you imagined!

If you enjoy macaroni and cheese recipes, you just have to try my Cuban Macaroni & Cheese. The flavors of this are really delicious, everything works together and makes this dish a home-run!

Inspired by the flavors of a Cuban sandwich, this mac & cheese sings with flavor, the ingredients all compliment one another. It's fun, flavorful & different!

Anytime I have made this when the kids have had friends over they go crazy for it and then the next thing you know parents are asking me what I fed their child and how do they make it, lol! Love that!

This mac and cheese with ham has a panko topping to both mimic the bread in a Cuban sandwich as well as to be a vehicle for the mustard typically found on those sandwiches.

It's a great dinner recipe, side dish recipe or recipe for a BBQ or party. You can also bake his in individual large ramekins.

This recipe hits every note for me and the addition of pickles, yes pickles, to the mac and cheese was magical! Do NOT leave out the pickles 🙂 

Ingredients

• pasta
• butter
• flour
• chicken stock
• milk
• Monterrey Jack cheese, Gruyere cheese & American cheese and or Swiss cheese
• diced ham
• kosher pickles 
• jalapeno & parsley
• salt & pepper
• panko
• coarse Dijon mustard

Tips

• I am all about variations when it comes to cooking, however for this recipe I do recommend sticking to it as written. The pickles are a must!! The chopped pickles give great flavor and texture to the dish.
• The cheese can be swapped if you like for your favorites as long as they have good meltability.
• As with any mac and cheese recipe, in my opinion, its best enjoyed hot from the oven.

Variations

• The only variations I would say are you can swap a cheese or two however just make sure whichever cheese(s) you use melt well.
• For a more authentic Cuban sandwich taste, add in shredded roast pork as well (or not, its delicious as is).

My husband, especially, is on cloud nine any time a ham is on the table or in the fridge and while he does some serious damage, I always have plenty left over ham and enjoy coming up with various ways to use it in recipes.

Need a leftover ham recipe? Check out this Ham & Cheese Hash Brown Bake or these easy to make Ham & Cheese Buttermilk Biscuits which you can enjoy as-is or use to make sandwiches, yum!

Other Recipes Using Ham

I hope you love this mac & cheese recipe as much as my family & I do!! XO Colleen

Recipe originally published April 2017, Updated May, 2025.

Colleen Kennedy is the author of 3 cookbooks and has appeared on QVC and other shows inspiring home cooks of all levels. She has a popular TikTok channel @ColleensCooking with hundreds of short recipe videos. Colleen lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and kids, she started the food blog, Soufflé Bombay in 2009. Read more about her here.

Cuban Sandwich Macaroni and Cheese

Colleen Kennedy

Cuban Sandwich Style Mac & Cheese. The flavors of a Cuban Sandwich in a Mac & Cheese recipe! Perfect leftover ham recipe. Mac and cheese with ham.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Servings 6 servings

Calories 809 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 pound elbow macaroni pasta
• 4 TBS butter
• 4 TBS flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup shredded Monterry Jack Cheese
• 1 cup Gruyere Cheese or Swiss cheese
• 6 slices white deli counter American cheese torn up
• 2 cups diced ham
• 1 cup chopped Kosher pickles I like hot & spicy pickles
• 1 jalapeno minced leave seeds in for heat if you like
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• Salt & pepper
• For topping
• 2 cups plain Panko
• 2 TBS melted butter
• 2 TBS grainy Dijon mustard I like Grey Poupon Country Dijon
• Salt & pepper

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Heat a pot of salted water for you pasta. Cook to al dente according to package directions.
• in a pot, melt butter over medium heat . Add in flour and whisk for 2 minutes.
• Add in stock and whisk constantly.
• Add in milk and whisk until smooth.
• Once mixture begins to boil, remove from heat and add in cheeses, whisk constantly until smooth, putting it back on the heat in small increments if necessary to melt it all.
• Season sauce with pepper.
• Add in chopped ham, pickles (these will make the sauce salty so no need much if any extra salt) and jalapeno.
• Scrape into a greased baking dish.
• Make topping by combining the Panko, butter, mustard and seasoning.
• Sprinkle over-top the mac & cheese and bake for 20 minutes or until the topping is golden brown.
• Serve & ENJOY!

Notes

Have fun with this mac and cheese recipe! It really is tasty and different.

If you have leftover roast pork, shred some and add it in as well. If not, its delicious as-is.

Nutrition

Serving: 6servingsCalories: 809kcalCarbohydrates: 81gProtein: 36gFat: 39gSaturated Fat: 21gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 123mgSodium: 1732mgPotassium: 327mgFiber: 3gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 1318IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 744mgIron: 3mg

Keyword Cuban Mac and cheese, mac and cheese, MAc and cheese with ham

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