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.
Made this today and the sauce was a little grainy but I used Wondra flour. Maybe that’s why? The flavor was amazing, still, added ham and it was a hit.
Hey Donna,
First, I’m glad the flavor was good! As far as the texture, it could have been the Wondra flour or it could have been the cheese believe it or not. Any time we substitute an ingredient that’s different we run the risk of getting something that’s a little “off”. I had to read up on Wondra (I’ve seen it but never used it) to check on it and from what I read, it is supposed to make a final product that’s smooth but it looks like it may not always substitute on a cup-for-cup ration and could have been the issue. Also, sometimes if we use pre-shredded cheese it can have anti caking agents/powders included that can make the cheese do odd things when it tries to melt. And my final thought is that I know some people make this dish hoping to get that smooth fake cheese texture. Most homemade macs are drier and won’t have that synthetic “slippery cheese” thing going on. I hope that helps. Maybe give it another shot and let me know how it turns out. I’m glad your family liked it. –Thanks, Rachel
The taste was great but the texture was similar to mashed potatoes. I cooked it for 40 minutes. Did I do something wrong or is this how it’s suppose to be? I was looking for creamy, similar to velveeta. Thanks! 🙂
Hey Candace,
Well mashed potatoes, huh? Bummer! The first thing that comes to mind is that the pasta overcooked. Remember when you boil the pasta, make sure to undercook it slightly because of that 40 minute bake time. The noodles should hold their shape even after its baked. The next issue of course is to remember that a real mac and cheese won’t come out with that slippery cheese texture because the ingredients (thankfully) weren’t made in a lab somewhere. It should be a little bit drier, and you may get an occasional string of cheese out of it, but that Velveeta texture just won’t be there. Unless, of course you want to use Velveeta, then by all means go for it. Just add the amount you like to your thickened milk and flour. I have a friend who just lays slices of Velveeta over the top of the dish before she bakes it. I’m glad the flavor was good–maybe give it another shot and cook those macaroni just a few minutes less. The back of the box should tell you how many minutes to “al dente” or something like that–cook it about two minutes or so less. See if that helps–let me know, okay? Thanks, Rachel
Why not skim milk? That’s all we drink at my house…
Hey Erika,
That’s a good question. I post the recipes using the ingredients that I know make the best results. We are used to at least a 2% milk and that’s what I recommend for richness but if you’re family is used to skim you can certainly use it. I hope you give it a try!
How thick is the sauce mixture supposed to be before adding everything together and baking? Are we supposed to let it thicken/boil or just hot enough to where the cheese is thoroughly melted?
Hope this makes sense!
Well Cass, it’s just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. When you run your finger over the back the sauce should stay separated and not run back together. Does that help? And no it does not need to boil at all. Just warm enough to melt the cheese in, then add your pasta and you’re good to go. Let me know if any of that sounds crazy. 🙂
I make this often. Sometimes when I’m in a hurry I don’t bake it. I serve out of the pot. My kids love it!!
Kendall I think that’s great! I eat the sauce right off the spoon and out of the pan so I don’t see why you couldn’t eat it without baking when you’re in a hurry. I’m glad you all like it so much. It’s nice to be able to serve something good without all those mystery ingredients! Thanks for letting me know!–Rachel
Made this today. It was easy and delicious!! I used a cheddar/monterey jack cheese and added some crumbled bacon on top! Yummy! Thanks for the recipe.
Mmmmm! That sounds like an awesome combination Denise! I’m glad you liked it. –Rachel
Can I make this ahead of time, refrigerate, and bake when it’s closer to serving time?
Hey Kristin,
You sure can. If you plan to let it sit overnight, I’d consider adding a 1/2 cup of milk to the mix before you bake it just to make sure it’s not too thick. Otherwise it will be just fine! Great question.
Will an additional half a cup of milk dilute flavor? Should I add some extra seasoning too?
Hey Jill! Sorry for my slow reply. No I don’t think an additional half cup will hurt anything. You’ll just have to taste it and see if it has enough salt to suit you after you add the cheese. If you want to make it more saucy (I’m assuming that’s why you want to add more milk?) you’d want to increase all the ingredients in the recipe by the same amount for the best outcome. If you just want to thin the sauce, just adding extra milk is fine.
This is in the oven right now. I chose this recipe because I am hoping it is mild enough for the 9 year old. She won’t eat any homemade mac and cheese. I usually do a recipe like this, but I melt onions in with the butter and I also add dry mustard. I am hoping that leaving that out will get her to eat it this time.
Rena you’ll have to let me know if she ate it! I have a 9 year old daughter also and she really stumps me sometimes on the things she has decided she “doesn’t eat” anymore. This is a mild recipe for sure. I hope you found a winner! Let me know either way how you liked it.
==Rachel
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I made it tonight and it was a big hit. I added some left over Easter ham and it was delicious. This is definitely going into my regular recipe rotation.
I’m glad you liked it Libby! Isn’t it nice to have a recipe that’s versatile and that everyone likes? This mac and cheese is a perfect example. You can put pretty much anything in it and it’s still good. 🙂 It’s my goal to give my readers lots of those types of recipes so they can adjust them to their own family’s taste. Thanks for letting me know! That makes me happy. 🙂
How many servings does this recipe make? Thinking about making it for an Easter dinner with friends.
Hi April,
This recipe will feed 5-6 depending on how big they eat. I’d make at least a half batch extra for ten–but you could double it just to be safe. I hope that helps and that everyone loves it.
–Rachel
Thanks so much! Looking forward to trying it. Have you ever added stewed tomatoes to this recipe? My mom used to make homemade mac & cheese w/ tomatoes when I was little.
Hey April,
When I make macaroni and tomatoes I add the stewed tomatoes to my uncooked macaroni noodles and cook it together that way. I leave the cheese out completely. Did your mom use cheese?
Yes, she would make it like a normal baked mac & cheese just with tomatoes added into the mixture. By the way, I made your recipe for Easter dinner, and it was a BIG hit! Thank you.
Wow April!I’ll have to look in to that. I’m thinking in my head about how I’d keep the texture. But man–it sounds goooood!