Mac & Cheese
intro
Ultra-creamy, cheesy baked macaroni with a crisp golden breadcrumb top, the ultimate cozy comfort food perfect for casual Sunday family meals.
Ingredients
Steps
Boil the macaroni
Bring 2 liters of water to a rolling boil over high heat, then add 1 tablespoon of the kosher salt until it dissolves. Add 225 grams dry elbow macaroni, stir, and cook for 8 minutes (2 minutes less than package directions for al dente, as pasta will finish cooking in the oven). Drain and set aside, do not rinse.
Melt butter for roux
Set a large 3-liter oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Add 43 grams (3 tablespoons) of the unsalted butter, and melt completely for 1 minute, swirling the pan occasionally until the butter foams slightly but does not turn brown.
Cook the roux base
Whisk 24 grams (3 tablespoons) all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon dry ground mustard, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, and 3/4 teaspoon of the kosher salt into the melted butter. Cook, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes over medium heat until the mixture turns a pale sandy gold and smells lightly nutty.
Make the cheese sauce
Slowly pour 480 ml (2 cups) whole milk into the roux, whisking constantly to prevent lumps from forming. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat, and cook for 3 minutes until it thickens enough to leave a clear line when you run a finger across the back of a coated spoon. Remove the pan from heat, then stir in 280 grams (2.5 cups) of the shredded sharp cheddar until fully melted and silky smooth.
Combine pasta and sauce
Add the drained, cooked elbow macaroni to the finished cheese sauce, stirring gently with a flexible silicone spatula until every piece of pasta is evenly coated in sauce. Spread the mac and cheese mixture into a flat, even layer across the bottom of the skillet.
Add topping and bake
Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F) as you finish combining the pasta and sauce. Melt the remaining 14 grams (1 tablespoon) of unsalted butter, mix with 30 grams (1/2 cup) panko breadcrumbs and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, then sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly over the mac and cheese, followed by the remaining 60 grams (1/2 cup) of shredded cheddar. Bake for 15 minutes, until the sauce bubbles vigorously around the pan edges and the top is crisp and deep golden brown. Let rest 5 minutes at room temperature before serving to allow the sauce to set.
Tips
2.Do not rinse your cooked pasta after draining—rinsing removes the starchy outer layer that helps the cheese sauce cling tightly to each macaroni piece, leading to separated, slippery pasta.
3.Undercook your pasta by 2 minutes before adding it to the sauce; the pasta will continue to absorb liquid and cook while baking in the oven, and overcooking it first will result in mushy, soft mac and cheese.
OMG this is the ONLY mac and cheese recipe I will ever make from now on! My three picky boys went back for seconds (and thirds, no joke) at last night’s family dinner. It’s so creamy even after baking, no weird grainy cheese sauce at all. Total game changer for weeknights since it’s so easy!
Wait this is so easy even I, someone who burns toast 50% of the time, pulled this off without a hitch! It was so creamy and rich, way better than the dining hall mac. Only thing I messed up was forgetting to salt the pasta water, but it still slapped.
Brought this to my neighborhood block party potluck this past weekend and the pan was completely empty in 15 minutes. Multiple people asked for the recipe before I even got a second helping! I added a little panko breadcrumb topping for crunch and it was chef’s kiss.
Has anyone tried making this with gluten free pasta? I have celiac and have been searching for a solid baked mac recipe that doesn’t turn mushy with GF noodles. The creamy sauce looks too good to pass up!
I grew up eating my grandma’s baked mac and cheese and was skeptical this would measure up, but wow—this hits that same homestyle cozy vibe. I used a mix of sharp cheddar and colby jack like she did and it tasted just like childhood. SO good.
I make a big batch of this on Sundays for my work week lunches and it reheats so much better than I thought it would! The sauce doesn’t separate or get greasy, even after a minute in the office microwave. So easy to throw together too, doesn’t take a ton of fancy ingredients. Perfect for meal prep!
This was really tasty, but I wish the recipe noted how much the sauce thickens as it bakes! Mine got a little thicker than I prefer, next time I’ll add a splash more milk to the sauce before popping it in the oven. Flavor was 10/10 though, my kids loved it and asked for seconds the next night.
Pro tip for everyone: mix a half cup of crushed Cheez-Its into your breadcrumb topping for this. I saw someone do that on TikTok and tried it with this recipe and it was insane. The salty cheesy crunch pairs so perfectly with the creamy sauce!
I’ve never made baked mac and cheese before, I always thought you had to make a fancy roux and it would be super hard, but this recipe was so straightforward! The instructions were super clear, I didn’t mess up a single step. It came out golden and bubbly, my roommate thought I ordered takeout lmao.
I added a handful of steamed broccoli and some grilled chicken chunks to this to bulk it up for a higher protein meal, and it was chef’s kiss. The creamy sauce coats every bite so you don’t even feel like you’re eating “healthy” swaps. Will be on my regular rotation!
Has anyone frozen this before baking? I’m stocking my freezer for after my baby arrives next month and this seems like the perfect easy meal to pull out and pop in the oven on tired new parent days. Would it hold up?
Tested this out ahead of our Thanksgiving dinner this year to see if it should make the menu, and it’s officially locked in. Way less fussy than the fancy truffle mac I made last year that no one ate, this is the homestyle stuff everyone actually craves at holiday meals.
I stirred in a couple tablespoons of hot sauce into the cheese sauce and a sprinkle of cayenne on top before baking to give it a little kick, and it was incredible. The heat cuts through the richness of the cheese so you don’t get that heavy too-full feeling after eating. Highly recommend if you like a little spice!
I accidentally used whole milk instead of heavy cream because that’s all I had in the fridge, and it still came out so creamy! I was panicking I ruined it, but no, it was perfect. Saved me a last minute grocery run in the rain, so that’s a win in my book.
This is a really solid base mac and cheese recipe! I swapped half the cheddar for smoked gouda because I love that smoky flavor, and it turned out amazing. The sauce texture is perfect, no clumps at all, which is where most homemade mac recipes fail for me.
I’ve tried so many vegetarian mac and cheese recipes that taste bland or use weird nutritional yeast substitutes, but this one is just straight up cheesy, creamy perfection. No weird add-ins, no fancy ingredients, just classic comfort food. My meat-eating partner didn’t even miss the meat in it!
Wait the cook time says 40 minutes total? Is that accurate? I usually block out over an hour for baked mac and cheese, but if this is really 40 minutes that would be a total weeknight game changer for my family.
Leftovers of this are elite. I ate a cold scoop straight from the fridge at 2am last night after a concert and it was even better than it was fresh out of the oven. Don’t judge me, it was worth every bite.