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.
This was awesome. I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of adding about 3/4 pound of crayfish tails and claws (that I caught myself), red peppers, and green onions, and it was amazing. My 4 year old daughter loved every bite! Thank you for the recipe : ) Sent pictures to my friends and they were all envious. I guess I will have to invite them over next time!
NICK!! Why didn’t I get any?! If you knew my love for crayfish. Boy. Yes. Yum. LOL. That sounds like a recipe every 4 year old should eat at least once a week. I’m so glad you liked it and that she enjoyed it. And where are my pictures?? You should hit me up on Instagram @thecountrycontessa or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheCountryContessa/ and leave me a picture too! –Rachel
Rachel,
If I’m making for my work Thanksgiving lunch, could I do everything , and put in fridge overnight. Then bake in the morning?
Thank you!!
Hey Daphne, Yes you sure can. Once you bake it, it will thicken as it stands though–it’s just the way it is. But it will still taste good. 🙂 You could add 1/2 cup warm milk to the dish before you serve it if you need it. That helps with the thickening. –Rachel
Hey Daphne–Yes you sure can. The dish will thicken as it stands though. There’s no way to keep it creamy for hours but you can add a 1/2 cup of warm milk to it and stir it in well before you serve it if you need to loosen it up. –Rachel
I’m sure this recipe is good, however I misunderstood the directions & the milk came to a boil, scalding it & making the whole dish taste burnt. I know it was my error but I’d recommend noting for others to not allow the roux boil. Might save a couple kitchen noobies like myself some time & ingredients, (I was making double) 🙁 Will try again correctly in the future.
Well Benjamin, you know what the difference is between a noobie mistake and a confident cook? Trying again. That’s all. And I love one thing about your comment–you didn’t blame it on me. 😉 Everyone always seems to thing their flubs are my fault and taking some of that on your shoulders is quite refreshing. Just give it another go, keep that heat on medium/medium low and stir the WHOLE TIME–it does need to come to a simmer so it’s not wrong to have it bubble, you just burned it in the mean time! I hate that you were making double…chin up though. You’ll get it next time for sure. –Rachel
Made this tonight and it was a hit! We all decided that this has to be one of the side dishes at our Thanksgiving dinner. I was always terrified of making homemade Mac & Cheese because I made it once and it split. I ended up with a lumpy cuddly mess. But I read your excellent advise to another comment about not having the heat too high and to constantly stir it once the milk was added until it thickened. Thank you so much for sharing your talent. God bless!
Thank you Esther! I’m so glad you finally found success with it. 🙂 It’s a lot easier than you thought, isn’t it? And it will be great on your Thanksgiving table. I hope you’ll be back often! –Rachel
Made this for my kids, tired of the icky box stuff. I love how quick and easy it is. I add 2 cloves of minced garlic to the milk mixture my kids love it, topped with buttered crumbs and French’s fried onions. Delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Iliana, yep–we gave up the boxed stuff a long time ago in this house. And it sounds like you made your version just right for your family. French fried onions on my mac and cheese? Absolutely. 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed it. 🙂 –Rachel
Love this recipe, i’m always accused of messing with a recipe & wanted to share this. I added a can of lump crab meat & broccoli flowerettes & 2 TBS of old Bay low sodium seasoning & about 1/2 cup of Panko tossed in a TBS of butter then sprinted old Bay over the top!! This was amazing! Oh BTW I used a cup of Jarlsberg & 1cup of Extra sharp cheddar that I shredded myself! Love to be creative & thank you for the recipe to let me do that! Nothing else was needed!
Jeanne, where do you live? I’d like to move in. Old Bay is awesome, crab? Yes. Buttery bread crumbs? Jarlsberg? Yeah yeah! That sounds like 1,000 kinds of fabulous right there. I’m so glad you messed with my recipe. 🙂 –Rachel
Made this recipe (doubled because it was a main dish). Added Tabasco and Franks Red Hot to the step after the cheese. Made a GREAT buffalo mac and cheese. Will probably add chicken next time as well! ?
Emma you read my mind because I’m working on a mac and cheese book and I made a buffalo mac that was based off of this recipe and it was STELLAR. I’m so glad you enjoyed it and go ahead with the chicken next time. You won’t be sorry! 🙂 –Rachel
I love it. I tried it with Mexican cheese and it came out wonderful!:)
That’s great Rebecca! Any cheeses your family likes will really be fine so it’s great to experiment. 🙂 I’m glad it worked out well! –Rachel
I have cooked pasta. How much should I use for this recipe?
Hmmm…just a guess here, but maybe 2 1/2 to 3 cups. Whatever you want to put in will work okay. Just make sure you have some sauce and it’s not loaded with pasta and it will be fine!
Im being incredibly bad with this recipe..i am using leftover everything! (Ham,bacon,cheesecwiz..bc i need to use it and velveeta)..i took some thyme sprigs and used half bacon grease and butter in my rouge..took out sprigs at the end)..finished it up with butter parm and cracker crumbs on top..but dont worry im roadting broccoli so i did add a veggie!!
It sounds like you’re being good–using what you have but certainly bad with some of those ingredients! But I like your kind of bad. 😉 And I LOVE thyme in my mac and cheese. I think that’s a great addition. And thank goodness for the broccoli Marcia. Gotta have a little balance, right? Hahahaha! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Come see me again soon! –Rachel
Just made this recipe, and even my son that don’t like mac&cheese love it. Is a keep recipe.
I love it when a plan comes together Yesenia! If you can get your kids to try something different and it’s something they don’t usually even like AND they enjoyed it, you’ve done something really special. I hope you enjoy it many more times to come. –Rachel
My mac and cheese turned out super soupy.. not sure what I did wrong. Help?
Hey Elise, I wish I had the ability to know exactly what you might have done. But if it was soupy, the first thing I think is that you didn’t cook your butter/flour/milk mixture long enough. It needs to come to a low bubble and thicken enough that it coats the back of a spoon. You should have cooked it for about 6 minutes or so over a medium/medium low heat. Did you do that? –Rachel
If you cook it in a cast iron won’t it stick to the bottom when you try to scoop it out?
Hey Hannah–that’s a great question and the answer is no, not if you have a properly seasoned cast iron pan. They are pretty much non stick if they are seasoned properly. I like enameled cast iron too–it’s easy to use and goes right into the oven. If you’d prefer you can always transfer your mac and cheese to a 2 1/2 quart baking dish and cook it in that. No worries–it’s gonna taste the same no matter what you cook it in. 🙂 –Rachel
I made your recipe today for my wife. I never follow a recipe verbatim, so I made 1.5x the recipe, laid half of the noodle mixture into a 3qt casserole pan, covered it with chopped broccoli, cauliflower, pan fried prosciutto and ham, laid on the second half of the noodle mixture, and baked till browned. Upon serving, we topped it with some fresh chopped plum tomatoes and sided with some fresh toasted sourdough garlic bread.
The cheeses used were sharp cheddar and sharp deli Swiss.
This was our favorite meal so far this week! The cauliflower and prosciutto really matched perfectly. I wish I could have uploaded some photos. Very beautiful meal. Thanks.
Chris your wife is really, really lucky! And I don’t know how in the world I could get any credit for that amazing creation you came up with…except maybe the cheese! That sounds like one truly amazing dish. If you ever want to make me dinner and have me over I’d be there with bells on. Thanks for your kind comment. 🙂 Rachel