Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Baked macaroni and cheese doesn’t have to be complicated with layers of ingredients to be the soul-warming food you crave. This homemade baked macaroni and cheese is my most favorite and has pleased crowds, small families, kids and picky eaters alike–give it a try and you’ll see why.
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Key Takeaways
- Stir constantly so the sauce doesn’t split and keep the heat down low.
- Use strong flavored cheeses like Swiss and sharp cheddar grated from a block and never bagged pre-shredded.
- Make sure to taste the sauce before baking and adjust with more salt or a dash of red wine vinegar to your preference.
- You can make this mac and cheese up to three days in advance and bake it later.
- It will get dry and mushy in a slow cooker. I don’t recommend one.
- Prep and bake later: Just let it cool down, put some plastic wrap right against the surface of the mac and cheese (to keep it from forming a skin) and stick it in the fridge. When ready to bake, cook until the edges are bubbling and the center is warm.
- To freeze: Can’t freeze it.
Other tips:
- Never stop stirring your milk once it hits the pan. If your skillet is too hot or you walk away and for a minute you could scorch the white sauce and it will curdle. It doesn’t really hurt the taste, but it will look sort of clumpy. Some readers have called it “grainy”. It only takes 5 minutes. Just hang out and stir until that sauce is thick enough to coat the back of your spoon.
- Use good cheese in your baked macaroni and cheese. That means avoiding bagged, pre-shredded cheeses because they contain cellulose (an anti-caking agent) that can cause your cheese not to melt as it should.
- Try to choose a melting cheese and a flavor cheese for the best flavor and texture in your baked macaroni and cheese. Sharp cheddar and Swiss are my favorites but you can go as bold as you want!
- Taste as you go. Taste your cheese sauce before you add your pasta. Is it bland? That can be because of the cheese you used or even the kind of salt you seasoned with. If it doesn’t have enough flavor, add a pinch more salt, stir it in and taste it again until it suits you.
- Feel free to add more pasta if you want to. Some people say that this recipe doesn’t have enough noodles in it, but I’ve never had that problem. And yes, you should cook your pasta before adding it to the cheese sauce.
Try a dash of vinegar for more zing
Because of the fat in the dairy, mac and cheese often needs some acid to bring the flavors to life. I love adding 1-2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar to the sauce before stirring in the pasta. Avoid strong vinegars like apple cider or white distilled.
To measure the pasta: Please follow the volume instructions and measure your pasta dry in a measuring cup meant for dry items (not a liquid one). Small pastas like ditalini or little wagon wheels can go up to about 2 cups and be fine in the recipe, and large ones like bow tie or cellentani can as well. If you will stick to elbow pasta until you get the hang of things you’ll be better off.
To double, triple or quadruple: Simply multiply the recipe below (look for the 1x, 2x or 3x on the right side of the recipe to double or triple the ingredients). Then place it in a 9×13. The bake time should be close to the same. Just bake until the center is hot and the edges bubble.
Other macaroni and cheese recipes you’ll want to devour:
- Lobster mac and cheese
- Spicy baked macaroni and cheese
- Creamy ham and sage macaroni and cheese
- Three cheese stovetop ultra creamy mac and cheese
- The best baked macaroni and cheese with tomatoes
- Truly easy microwave easy mac and cheese
- Super Creamy gluten free mac and cheese
Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups dry elbow macaroni shells or cavatappi
- 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 cups milk not skim
- 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper
- 2 cups shredded cheese I like 1 cup each of sharp cheddar and Swiss
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil; add a generous sprinkling of salt the pasta.
- While the pasta cooks, melt the butter in a skillet or pot large enough to hold the pasta when it’s done.
- Add the flour and stir over medium heat until the mixture is lightly browned; 1-2 minutes.
- Add the milk and whisk to remove any lumps and add the salt and pepper.
- Cook over medium-high heat until the sauce thickens and starts to bubble. About 6 minutes.
- Stir in the cheese and whisk until smooth and melted. Turn off the heat.
- When the pasta is almost done but still firm, drain it and add to the sauce.
- Stir the pasta into the sauce and bake in a greased 2 quart dish (or an 8×8 pan works pretty well) 20-25 minutes until browned and bubbly. You can also skip baking it if you want it super creamy and just put it under the broiler to brown the top (keep an eye on it) and then serve.
Just made the macroni and cheese, family loved it! Will make it again thanks bunches for the recipe
I’m so glad everyone liked it Joanie!It’s nice to have something everyone will eat. It’s rare around here!
Thank you for posting! This was my first time making home made Mac n cheese. This recipe is delicious! I will be adding it to my “favorite recipes” book.
Yummy!
I’m so glad it was successful for you Diana! That makes me so happy! 🙂 That’s been my goal from the beginning to help cooks make recipes that they love and be able to use them for years to come. Yay for you girl!
What size cast iron skillet did you use? Not an experienced enough cook to know what size would hold 1-1/2 cups cooked pasta plus other ingredients. I really like the idea of cooking it in cast iron.
Hi Barbara–that’s a good question. In this picture I used an enameled cast iron skillet that was 8 inches across the bottom and the sides are only about an inch or so high. It’s perfect for holding this amount of mac and cheese, so try looking for one about that size. Remember though, that if you buy a true cast iron skillet without the enamel that it will need to be seasoned before you can cook with it properly or everything and it’s mama will stick in it. Here’s a good video from All Recipes that shows you how: http://allrecipes.com/video/28/how-to-season-cast-iron/detail.aspx
Let me know if that helps. 🙂
Thanks so much! Yes it helps tremendously. I happen to have an enameled cast iron skillet. Cannot wait to try this mac and cheese – off to the kitchen now!
I hope it turned out well for you Barbara!
It was delicious! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe.
Yay! I’m so glad!
Can you use almond or coconut milk?
Hi Diana,
Good question. I happen to really love both almond and coconut milk, but I don’t think I would recommend them in this recipe simply because they aren’t really milk, but expressed liquid or water and I’m afraid that they would make a very strange (and potentially lumpy mess) of a sauce for the pasta to cook in. Not to mention the change in flavor. If you want to give it a go, try it and let me know how it turns out but I’d be cautious.
The SoDelicious Unsweetened Coconut milk would actually do well because it lacks the coconut flavor and is thick like 2% milk…I haven’t personally made this recipe (but I will be doing so this week) but I use that particular coconut milk to make white gravy and it’s the perfect stuff! It has carageenan in it though, so anyone worried about the health facts related to that may want to be cautious!
That’s a good thought Amanda. If your family likes coconut milk, you can certainly try it. Another reader was asking about using skim milk and I think the same theory applies here: you can use what your family is familiar with and likes as far as the milk goes. I can’t guarantee the same flavor or exact richness, but it will be close. Coconut milk hardly has any flavor at all to me, so it may work fine. 🙂
I used almond milk and it turned out great! Delicious!!
Score for Kayla! That’s great. I’m glad you were able to make it work. I’m always afraid to recommend too many substitutions–I’m never sure how they will turn out and I want you and everyone who makes my dishes to be successful. Thank you for telling me!
No eggs?
No ma’am. No eggs. 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing! I was searching for a quick and easy baked mac and cheese recipe and this fits the bill. It is so yummy, I even caught the hubs taking sips of the sauce before it went into the oven. 🙂
Well I’m with your husband–I could eat the cheese sauce out of the pan myself. Actually, I have :). I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for letting me know!
–Rachel
Had to laugh because I just put this in the oven, but took a spatula and cleaned the pot out and licked it like a when I was a kid. Yummy!
Thank you Debbie! I’ve licked more than one pot myself. It really is so good, and so versatile. Let me know how it turns out for you. Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
–Rachel
Do I cover the macaroni in the oven? Can I use a tin pan?
Hi Kim,
I don’t cover mine. If for some reason you think it’s getting too dark near the end of the cook time you can lay a sheet of foil over it lightly, but it’s not necessary. And by tin pan do you mean an aluminum disposable pan? Yes of course. You can bake this in pretty much anything. Just remember that those thin pans get really flexible when they are hot so either double them up or bake it in the pan and then set the pan on a cookie sheet so you can get it in and out of the oven without burning yourself or making a terrible mess. Thanks for asking!
–Rachel
I came across this on Pinterest and will definitely be making! Thank you!
That’s great Kristan! I hope it turns out great for you. We love it. Thanks for stopping by–come see me again!
Saw this on Pinterest. It looks heavenly! Gonna make this sometime soon. Thanks for the recipe 🙂 I’m off to check out your other recipes.
Thank you Ali! It’s a great traditional recipe, and one I make a lot. I hope you found some other recipes you liked!–Rachel
Can you update the cook time and total time? It says it take 40 hr to cook…. I doubt that’s the case and suspect it’s more like 40 min.
Thanks Carolyn. You’re absolutely right. The software I use automatically plugs in the “hr” if I don’t tell it otherwise. Good catch. It’s 40 minutes for a 2 quart casserole dish, but only about 20-25 minutes if you bake it in a flatter dish, like the skillet shown in the picture. Glad you didn’t have to take 40 hours on it!
-Rachel
How many ppl does this feed…??
Thanks, Clarisa
Hi Clarisa,
It really depends on how much they want to eat, but I’d say about 4-6 adults is a safe estimate.