Celebrity

‘The Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond’s 5 Cheese Pasta Is So Cheesy It’s ‘Almost Obscene’

Ree Drummond is a big fan of cheese. Here's her recipe for 5-cheese pasta.

by Sheiresa Ngo

Published on March 20, 2022

3 min read

Ree Drummond’s 5 cheese pasta

The Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond speaks at a Pioneer Woman event for her magazine. | Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Hearst

Drummond says this is going to be “the most incredible baked macaroni you’ve ever tasted.” This recipe contains five different types of cheese (mozzarella pearls, fontina, white cheddar, Romano, and Gruyére). Drummond jokes that her daughter Alex wouldn’t have “grown and developed if it weren’t for mac and cheese.” She says mac and cheese is “responsible for her growth.”

Drummond starts by boiling fusilli pasta. She says this is one of her favorite pasta shapes. Drummond also cooks bacon in a pot. She then adds chopped onions, thyme, and garlic to the pot after removing the bacon. She sautés the onion and garlic in the bacon grease for roughly 3 to 4 minutes until they get soft. Next, she adds ½ cup of white wine. She says the purpose is to deglaze the pan.

Making the pasta mixture

Next, Drummond turns up the heat so she can reduce the mixture. Then she adds heavy cream. Next, Drummond adds the cheeses to the pan. She advises home cooks to add the cheeses slowly. “Add a little at a time and stir,” says Drummond. First, she adds Gruyére. She then adds fontina, grated white cheddar, parmesan cheese, and cracked black pepper.

Once the pasta is done, Drummond drains the water. She says it’s OK to leave a little bit of water in the pasta because it helps thin out the sauce. She says it gives you more liquid to work with. She then pours the pasta on top of the white sauce, telling home cooks to “stir and watch the magic unfold.”

Drummond says the goal is to get the pasta to a “saucy and soupy” consistency. She says it will cook more once it’s in the oven, so it’s OK if it’s a little on the watery side. “This is going in the oven for a couple of minutes, and that’ll give it a little bit of leeway in the oven because the noodles will absorb the sauce a little bit,” says Drummond.

Putting the finishing touches on the macaroni

Drummond fills small gratin dishes with the pasta. “If cheese strings from the pan, then you’ve done it right,” says Drummond. She puts the rest of the pasta into a regular baking dish. Drummond lets the pasta cool off and then covers it and places it in the fridge. She typically makes a casserole the next day. “I kind of get two dinners out of one mess,” jokes Drummond. Mauricio says her idea for stretching meals is “genius.” Drummond goes on to say she’s “always planning ahead.”

For the finishing touches, Drummond sprinkles mozzarella pearls on top of the pasta. She places the pasta under the broiler for three minutes until the mozzarella is melted and starts to turn brown. Drummond says the final result is “Heaven” and “looks incredible.” She invites Paige, her camerawoman for the day, to get in close to show the bubbling of the cheese. “It’s almost obscene, really, when you think about it,” jokes Drummond.

Drummond completes her pasta meal by sprinkling bacon and green onions on top. She says you can also stir the bacon into the pasta. Drummond declares this is “one of the best 42 things I’ve ever eaten.” She says it’s definitely in her “top 20.” You can find the complete recipe and ingredients here.

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