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A classic combination of cheese, tomato, and pasta, this dish is a delicious nod to the past. Many folks remember going to their local Woolworth’s lunch counter and having a bite to eat after shopping. Some of these in-store restaurants only had burgers and sandwiches, while others had a full hot menu that included dishes like their famous macaroni and cheese as well as this creole macaroni.
In many ways this dish harkens back to another classic: American chop suey. These dishes were designed to make the most of expensive ingredients like meat and cheese while at the same feeding a crowd. And, this casserole certainly delivers in both flavor and in the number of portions it makes.
It only takes 1 pound of ground beef, but in the end you get 8-10 servings from this recipe. That’s quite a bargain!
The meat is cooked along with some pepper, mushrooms, celery, and onion for a really wonderful flavor. Despite the name there’s no seasoning in this dish that’s particularly creole even though it’s very tasty. Perhaps the name was more of a marketing thing.
There’s also a homemade tomato sauce that gets mixed into the casserole, too. To create this all you have to do is blitz the sauce ingredients in the food processor and then combine everything together with the meat, sauce, pasta, and cheese. I used macaroni here as the name implies, but if you want to use another short pasta you can.
A little more cheese on top and you’re ready to bake this wonderful dish. When it comes out of the oven it’s pure comfort food, full of flavor and surprisingly low in calories for such a hearty dish.
Despite looking like a decadent casserole it’s actually packed full of vegetables which adds to the taste, but not so much to the calories. I can see why this was probably a popular Woolworth’s dish as it makes a very satisfying meal full of great flavor.
Woolworth's Creole Macaroni
Yield(s): 8-10 servings
20m prep time
40m cook time
425 calories
you're making mealtime meaningful.
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 10 oz uncooked elbow macaroni
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 (14.5 oz) can stewed tomatoes, undrained
- 8 oz tomato paste
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350˚F. Cook pasta to package directions and then drain and set aside.
- Heat large skillet over medium heat. Add beef, onion, mushrooms, celery, and bell pepper to pan. Cook until beef is browned, about 10 minutes, then season with salt and pepper.
- Blitz together sugar, Italian seasoning, garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, vegetable, salt, pepper, and stock in blender or food processor. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese.
- Add beef mixture and macaroni to 9”x 13” baking dish and top with sauce. Stir well to combine. Top with remaining cheese and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling.
Recipe adapted from Food.