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Cook macaroni according to the package directions. In a saucepan, melt butter or margarine over medium heat. Stir in enough flour to make a roux.
Best Macaroni and cheese recipe – the cheesiest, CREAMIEST homemade mac n cheese you’ll ever make! Macaroni pasta covered in sharp cheddar cheese.
Add milk to roux slowly, stirring constantly. Stir in cheeses, and cook over low heat until cheese is melted and the sauce is a little thick. Put macaroni in large casserole dish, and pour sauce over macaroni.
Melt butter or margarine in a skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs and brown. Spread over the macaroni and cheese to cover. Sprinkle with a little paprika. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.
This baked mac and cheese is a family favorite recipe, loved by both children and adults. My version uses a combination of cheeses for a gloriously cheesy dish! Everyone has their favorite baked mac and cheese recipe and this is mine.
It uses a combination of cheeses, layered in the dish as well as melted into a rich and creamy cheese sauce, for the ultimate in cheesy deliciousness! Baked mac and cheese. It’s nearly the universal comfort food, and there are SO many variations! I have some other variations in the development stages, so expect them to come to the blog at some point ? In fact, I almost didn’t post this recipe today, as there are SOOOO many mac and cheese recipes available, and most people already have their favorite way of making it.
Of course, there’s no “right” way or “wrong” way, so I’m here sharing the way I like to make my mac and cheese (the way my family loves it too). It all starts with pasta, cooked about a minute shy of al dente. You don’t want to cook it all the way to al dente, since it will be baking a bit in the oven and will finish cooking there. You can use any shape you’d like. I kept it original here with the classic elbow shape, but I’ve done rotini, farfalle, cavatappi, etc.
Pick the shape you and your family love the most! I love to use a mixture of cheeses in my baked mac and cheese specifically a medium cheddar and Gruyere. The sharp tang from the cheddar and the creaminess of the Gruyere are a great combination! But you could make this with white cheddar, all mild cheddar, sharp cheddar, etc. Even with the tang from the medium cheddar, my kids literally gobble this up!
Every time I make it, which is often, they have multiple servings and happily eat any leftovers the next day ? Whenever my kids love a recipe, I consider it a winner! Now for the secret to making this baked mac and cheese SO cheesy and irresistible the layers. First, there’s the rich and creamy cheese sauce, made with part whole milk and part half and half, with 2 generous handfuls of grated cheese swirled and melted in. Seriously, when you’re cooking this sauce, you might find it incredibly hard to not lick the stirring spoon! Secondly, there’s an inner layer of grated cheese the secret weapon.
Once you add half the pasta and cheese sauce to the baking pan, sprinkle on a generous layer of grated cheese, then top it with the remaining pasta and cheese sauce. You could even be extra decadent and divide the pasta and cheese sauce into thirds and layer in 2 layers of the grated cheese! DO YOU COVER BAKED MAC AND CHEESE IN THE OVEN You could, but then you wouldn’t get that glorious bubbly cheesy “crust”. I don’t know about you, but it’s my favorite part! If you really love that crust, go ahead and broil it for several minutes after baking. HOW TO TOP BAKED MAC AND CHEESE. Grated cheese (my personal favorite – and what I’ve done here in these photos).
Buttered panko breadcrumbs (feel free to add some herbs to this as well). Bacon pieces/panko breadcrumb combo HOW LONG DO YOU BAKE MAC AND CHEESE This recipe doesn’t bake long at all, but I’ve actually baked it longer before, and it’s still every bit as delicious! Most baked Mac and cheese recipes call for it to be baked 15-30 minutes. My kids aren’t huge fans of the cheesy “crust”, so I bake mine at 325, but 350 or even 375 work as well. It’s a very forgiving dish! Of course, you could alternately not bake this mac and cheese at all, and just combine the pasta with the cheese sauce if that’s what you prefer ? I really hope you all give my family favorite mac and cheese a try I’m sure you’ll love it as much as we do! Recipe Notes Mac and Cheese can be made ahead:.
Make as directed (but do not bake), transfer to baking dish and cool completely. Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate 1-2 days ahead.
Before baking, let dish sit on counter for 30 minutes. Bake at recipe temperature for 25-35 minutes, until hot and bubbly. FIVE CHEESE VARIATION: Replace cheese amounts with the following:. 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded.
1 cup Colby cheese, shredded. 1 cup Muenster cheese, shredded.
1 1/2 cups Gruyere cheese, shredded. 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded FOR A CRUNCHIER TOPPING AND FIRMER CONSISTENCY:.
Prepare recipe as directed but bake at 350 or 375 F degrees for 20-30 minutes. Broil at the end of baking for approximately 2-5 minutes, until golden brown and crunchy. Loved loved loved this recipe! My family and I were out of town for Christmas and we voted on making a home made mac n cheese as a dinner side. I have made other recipes in the past and they were always just “meh”.
When this one came up in the search and I saw who made it, I just knew I had to try it! I ended up reversing the cheeses (4 cups of Gruyere and 2 of Cheddar) because that’s what was had on hand and it was so fantastic! It was even better as left overs! The cheese sauce turned out perfect and was not at all greasy (probably because we switched the cheese amounts.) I served it with toppings of red onion, bacon, and avocado and again, positive reviews from a very picky foodie family! I definitely recommend shredding your own cheeses. Pre-packaged cheeses are coated with a cellulose powder to prevent clumping in the bags, and it prevents them from melting evenly in the sauce.
I’ve made this mac and cheese with all combinations of milk/half and half/heavy whipping cream, and any will work. My personal favorite is 2 cups half and half, 2 cups heavy whipping cream. Definitely rich! There is a little less creaminess if made before hand, but you could make a little extra of the sauce to counteract that if you wanted ?.
Just wanted to post a “thank you” to the author. I normally follow my own recipe but decided to try this one for Turkey Day. I made 1-1/2 times the recipe for a dinner for 12 ahead of time the night before, putting a small amount in a dish in the oven to “sample” the evening before just to taste. I used mild cheddar, sharp cheddar and Gruyere cheese (lucky my local market had cave-aged Gruyere on sale for $5.00/lb!) Folks, shred your own cheese, don’t use the pre-shredded stuff. It melts better and is fresher, easy enough to do if you have a food processor with the blade.
I really recommend you.don’t. make it the night before. The sample dish we made was so much better. Don’t get me wrong, the dish we served drew rave reviews, one guest saying it was the best mac and cheese he ever had.
It was very good, just not as good as the fresh test pan we made the night before. Next time I will top it with bacon and sauteed onions. 2 of my guests don’t eat pork so I had to omit. Amazing recipe! I tried it out (exactly per your recipe/oven) for my company’s potluck today.
I am not kidding when I say everybody, and I mean anybody who tried it, ALL raved! Said it was fire, on point, amazing, delicious, and so much more! Thank you for posting this. I was ready to buy the family size deluxe boxes of Mac ‘N Cheese and call it a day until I stumbled across your recipe, and boy am I happy to have stumbled. I learned A LOT from your recipe. Never have I ever used Gruyere cheese, which is now my fav thank you, and I must say it is magical regardless of the sticker price.
It was worth it. (I doubled the recipe for my potluck and am making it again for my family tomorrow.
I will also be doubling the recipe for my family, but I am making two of the double recipe which is why I say Gruyere cheese is pricey.) However, I would spend it all again because it was definitely worth it. I cannot wait to make it again. Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing!
This will now be apart of my family’s go to recipes. I just made this recipe this morning for a work potluck and I made it in a crockpot. However, I made it slightly differently in order to keep the oven-baked goodness. The stoneware from your crockpot may be oven-safe (Crock Pot brand ones are), though they aren’t broiler-safe. So, I made the recipe like normal, then poured it into the crockpot stoneware and placed that in the oven for about 20-25min @350degrees. Then, when I pulled it out of the oven I placed it into the heating base and took it in to work.
Once at work, I plugged it in and left it on Low for a while, then reverted to Warm. Based on comments from coworkers it was a success! The last few times I’ve made mac&cheese, I’ve done it this way to reserve the crunchiness, but still have it in a functional, travel container which can keep it warm.
It’s become my go-to method these days, particularly if it’s not for a meal at home. While I’ve not yet attempted this recipe (though I plan to tomorrow), with other baked mac&cheese recipes, I’ve used a Crockpot as well. However, I’ve done a variation from your suggestion. The stoneware portion of your crockpot “should” be oven-safe (Crock Pot brand says theirs are, maybe research to be 100% sure). I’ve made the recipe and just poured it into the crockpot stoneware then placed it into the oven for the desired length of time.
Then, once it’s out of the oven, the stoneware can be dropped right into the heating base and you can turn it to warm or low to keep it warm and gooey for as long as you need. This has helped me out for potlucks and family gatherings where I wanted the baked texture but wanted to be able to keep it warm for a time as well. This recipe appears delicious and the desired “creaminess” I cannot find with others. I intend to make this as a side for thanksgiving. A quick question. I make another mac and cheese with a smoked cheddar and smoked paprika as I like the smokiness taste. Will this flow well with the Gruyere cheese?
I’d plan to use 2 cups smoked cheddar, 2 cups sharp cheddar, and the 2 cups of Gruyere. One more thing – if I top with some Panko bread crumbs should I bake them with the dish or add them after baking? Thanks a lot! I have tried EVERY mac n cheese recipe out there to try and find the right amount of gooey cheesiness and pasta heaven.
I even tried NYT recipe that used cottage cheese and mustard, etc. But THIS recipe has been our favorite find and we will not use another recipe again. My children loved it. And they are picky teenagers. (One is even in culinary school). I made it last Thanksgiving and all the guests loved it.
The gruyere and half and half are the magic to this dish. The gruyere can be a bit stinky but it is oh so yummy! Thank you, thank you for this recipe! I made this recently for my grandson’s birthday celebration and my son said it was the best he had ever had. My husband has requested it for dinner again tomorrow. I used a combination of sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack, and parmesan cheeses, as that is what I had on hand. I grated the cheeses – – – did not buy packaged.
I think this makes a big difference. I also added 1 tsp. Garlic powder and 1/2 tsp. Onion powder to the spices and used a bit less milk than the original recipe. It came out creamy and perfect! I am a mac & cheese addict.
This is by far the best that I’ve made or had. When cooking the cheese sauce, it could look like something has gone wrong when the cheese starts to melt and pull together like a sticky glob.
Not to worry! Keep cooking and stirring on low heat (I added milk and 1/2 & 1/2 as I needed). Until it is smooth and creamy! This recipe totally filled a 9×13 dish.
I am happy that I placed my dish on a sheet pan lined with foil because it definitely ran over (mostly oil from the cheeses). Of course, that made it less fattening & greasy too! I also added about a tablespoon of smoked paprika and used gouda as one of my cheeses for that smokey taste. The top was crusty, inside very moist & cheesy. It sliced instead of being runny and it was soooo good! I found my love, this is it for Me!