Mac and cheese is the ultimate comfort food—creamy, cheesy, and utterly satisfying. But cooking icon Nigella Lawson, has taken this beloved classic to new heights with one surprising ingredient that transforms the entire dish: sweet potato. This unexpected ingredient adds depth, colour, and a subtle sweetness to the dish, taking mac and cheese to a whole new level.

Nigella Lawson shared the recipe in her book, Simply Nigella, where she wrote: “I’m just going to say it: this is the best macaroni cheese I’ve ever eaten – better than the macaroni cheese I ate as a child; better than the macaroni cheese I brought my own children up on when they were little (they don’t agree); better than any fancy restaurant macaroni cheese with white truffle or lobster; better than any macaroni cheese I have loved in my life thus far, and there have been many.

“I don’t feel it’s boastful to say as much, as the greatness lies not in any brilliance on my part, but in the simple tastes of the ingredients as they fuse in the heat. That’s home cooking for you.”

The sweetness of the potatoes complements the savoury flavours of feta and cheddar cheese, creating a rich base for the dish.

Her recipe requires sweet potatoes, pennette pasta, unsalted butter, plain flour, full-fat milk, English mustard, paprika, feta cheese, mature cheddar cheese, fresh sage leaves, salt, and pepper.

Lawson writes that the first step of the recipe is to peel and chop the sweet potatoes into small cubes, then boil them in salted water for about 10 minutes until soft and save the water for cooking the pasta.

In a separate saucepan, melt butter, add flour, and whisk to form a roux and gradually whisk in milk, cooking it all on low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens and loses its floury taste.

Season lightly by adding mustard and paprika.

Cook pennette in the reserved sweet potato water, then drain, reserving some pasta water and mix the cooked pasta with mashed sweet potatoes, adding crumbled feta and the white sauce.

Stir in grated cheddar, and loosen with pasta water if needed.

Finally, spoon the mixture into small ovenproof dishes, top with the remaining cheddar, paprika, and shredded sage, and bake for about 20 minutes, until hot and bubbling.