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.
Jump to Recipe
Sometimes you buy that glowing yellow macaroni in the box. Your kids like it, but it glows like the kryptonite they used in the old Christoper Reeve Superman movies.
That’s not normal people.
And I hate to break it to you, but there’s nothing real in that box either.
I hate feeding it to my kids and I dare say that you hate it too. But I can also guess you don’t know many other alternatives. Sure, you can get a box of Velveeta and melt that over some noodles. That works too, but that stuff doesn’t even need to be refrigerated. It’s mystery cheese.
So if you’re looking for the real deal, the old school baked macaroni and cheese the way your grandma might have made it–this is it.
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.
Can I make this macaroni and cheese ahead and bake it when I’m ready?
Yes you sure can. 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.
If you have a few minutes to bring it out and let it warm slightly before you bake it, do that. But if you can’t, just bake it till the center is hot and the edges are bubbling.
Can I freeze macaroni and cheese?
I get asked that a lot and my answer is always no.
As the pasta and cheese sauce sit, it will thicken and when you thaw it and bake it, the creamy consistency is just gone. It’s thick and gloppy.
Plus if you freeze it and it’s still a bit warm, water crystals will form and then thaw into your dish and could make it separate when you bake it.
Besides, it’s so fast to make, there’s not really a reason to freeze your macaroni and cheese.
Tips for the best macaroni and cheese you’ll ever eat
Feel like you may still need some help? If you have time, jump over to this post for the juicy details: 18 Secrets to the Richest, Creamiest Mac and Cheese You’ll Ever Eat or focus on these 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.
Do I have to bake my macaroni and cheese?
Not if you don’t want to. You can actually eat it right from the pan or just stick it under the broiler for a few minutes to brown the top if you’d rather.
It works just as well and is a great shortcut when you are running low on time.
How can I dress up my macaroni and cheese?
This baked macaroni and cheese may be the most versatile dish ever.
Add in some red pepper for kick, any cheeses you like (Fontina is glorious in here), add veggies like broccoli and chopped chicken and it’s a one-dish meal even.
Or BACON. Hello. Yeah. Make some garlic bread crumbs for the top if you want some crunch and throw those on. It’s really endless. I use this recipe for the base of these ham and sage creamy noodles.
How to measure pasta for this recipe
This recipe is written by volume (cups) and sometimes people think that since a cup is 8 ounces (ounces is a weight measurement) that they can simply use 12-16 ounces of pasta or go by the weight of the dry pasta written on the box.
You’ll end up with problems if you do this.
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.
I’ve made this recipe with every pasta shape on the market and if you will measure in cups, your recipe will be just right.
How to double baked mac and cheese
Simply double 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.
What should I serve with my macaroni and cheese?
Avoid the temptation to make more starchy foods (like potatoes) with your mac and cheese. Instead, try:
- Crispy fried chicken tenders
- Classic stuffed peppers
- Southern cornbread
- Homestyle meatloaf with brown sugar glaze
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….
* FIRE*! So good. A bunch of flavor. YUM!!
I made this tonight with our Easter ham dinner. It was such a hit. The family lived it. Everyone went back for a huge second helping. I was nervous but as soon as we tasted the sauce before stirring in the noodles we knew it was amazing! I used large macaroni noodles and I increased all ingredients to 3 times the size but decreased the milk by 2 cups. It would have needed 6 cups, but used 4. So I used 2/3 of the amount of milk. I shredded a little extra cheese on top and broiled it till their was a delicious crunch. I also used 2/3 the amount of arrow root in place of flour because I didn’t realize I didn’t have flus! It was perfect! Our Easter dinner is now unforgettable thanks to the Mac and cheese!
Congratulations Linda! It sounds like you adjusted and perfected this recipe just the way it is intended to be! And I could drink that sauce with a straw :). I love it too. I’m so so glad you found success here and that your Easter dinner is now unforgettable. That’s high praise if I do say so–but YOU are the star here anyway. I just provided the base and you brought it to life in your own kitchen. So way to go! I hope you’ll come back and find a lot of other recipes you like on Feast and Farm. I work hard to create only recipes that are successful and tasty. 😉 I hope you had a lovely Easter. –Rachel
I think I see what the problem some people are having is. You say two cups of cheese. Some people will say. ‘8oz is a cup, so 16oz is two’ and use a whole block. Other people will say, ‘I grated an 8oz block and it gave me two cups of cheese.’ That might be where some people are going wrong. Respectfully, I prefer a recipie that gives concrete measurements, i.e. 8oz, 16oz, etc. But I appreciate this recipie nonetheless, it’s quite tasty. (And you can never go wrong with more cheese!) 😀
Hey Mandy, I certainly do see your train of thought on that. But it seems like this recipe is getting a lot of over thinking. It’s always worked just fine with the method I use and my mother and grandmother used. Grate some cheese. Put it in a cup. Do that twice. That’s the amount of cheese to use. UNLESS a home cook has a digital scale, things get confusing and I test my recipes in a way that I know works and that is most doable without special equipment. I do have one but I usually only use it for baking. Just trying to keep things simple and still successful. –Rachel
Hi Rachel,
I just made it as the recipe states and I grated cheese, put it in a cup, then did the same for the second cup. Keeping it “simple” is a tried-and-true way to cook… at least it works best for me! I love this no-fail recipe, and if I have different cheeses that I know melt well, I use them. Thanks for the tip on how to use it as a make-ahead recipe also. I love this! ❤️
I’m enjoying your approach to cooking!
Thank you Morgan! I’m so glad the recipes are working well for you! And I’m with ‘ya…keep it simple. Put the cheese in a cup. 😉 Hahahaha!! Here’s to many more nights of really good mac and cheese! –Rachel
Hi Rachel. I made the baked verison tonight using extra sharpe and fontina cheese. I made everything in my cast iron pan and it was da bomb!!! I put some dried mustard in the flour and after I baked it I put it under the broiler. It went so well with my fried chicken. My girlfriend never had homemade mac & cheese before tonight, she was very impressed and now says I need to make it aleast once a month. Thanks for a great receipe with all side notes.
That’s so great Dee! I’m glad you enjoyed it–sounds like you did all the right things (including making fried chicken to go with it!). Way to go! –Rachel
How much ground mustard? My BF doesn’t like mustard but I’ve seen a lot of recipes call for it. So I’m thinking of adding it and seeing if he even notices. ?
You know Sarah, I don’t use it so this is just a guess. You’d be using dry mustard and not a squirt of the stuff from your fridge so make sure you’re clear on that first–but I’d say maybe a teaspoon for the full recipe? That seems to be close to what others use. Let me know if you try it, okay? –Rachel
I only have skim & evaporated milk.. could I use one of them or maybe add some extra butter or something? Trying to avoid going to the store.
Hey Bailey–sorry I missed this! You can use some skim and add some evaporated if you want to. It won’t be as rich as it would be with another type of milk, but it should still turn out okay. –Rachel
Hi! This recipe was very good but I suggest adding cheese on top and then baking it. It makes a crispy topping and it is very yummy.
Hey Morgan! Glad you liked it, and yes, a lot of people like to add all kinds of toppings–bacon, bread crumbs, extra cheese. It all works! –Rachel
Rachel , I attempted your recipe tonight it was wonderful . I had never attempted homemade Mac n cheese before . The only change I made was I used half/half instead of milk and sprinkled some cheese on top at the end and put it under the broiler for a minute or so and it was perfect. Thank you for this recipe .
Well you can’t go wrong with half and half (or cream!) and the broiler method is great for just browning the top and keeping the rest really creamy. I”m so glad you enjoyed it John–it’s so easy to do,I hope you’ll come back and make something else soon! –Rachel
Chopped up some left over ham and added to the mix. I also took a bag of cornbread stuffing mix mased it, poured milted butter on the stuffing and used it as atopper
Thanks a ton for this amazing recipe. I do most of my special cooking for my son who is so very particular about his food. Will be trying this today itself. Thanks once again
Hey Rachel,
Great recipe! Thanks for sharing. I tried making the roux and it had thickened up until I put the cheese in, and the whole thing collapsed. I started to seperate and form little clumps of cheese and the rest was really watery. Any ideas of what could have happened.
Hey Jenna,
It could have been your cheese. I always recommend using a block of cheese and grating it yourself for the best results. Pre shredded cheese has powdered cellulose on it to prevent clumping in the bag but when it hits some sauces it can really cause a problem. That might have been your issue. Also I’ve heard stories about adding your cheese too fast–that it will sometimes separate the sauce though I’ve never had it happen. Hope that helps! Try again! –Rachel
Would 1 1/2 cup bow tie noodles call for the same amount of milk and other ingredients, I know changing noodle types sometimes has an effect????
It has worked fine for me in this recipe Cierra. I often switch up noodles and don’t have a problem. I hope you enjoy it! –Rachel
Tasty and the sauce came out gorgeous and smoothe….but I think something is wrong with the noodle measurements? I followed the directions and added a cup and a half of uncooked noodles, but this is more like thick cheese soup with a few noodles in it! I ended up doubling the noodles and it came out perfect. I added bacon and sweet corn as a topping for it.
Hey Annie, nope nothin’s wrong. It’s 1 1/2 cups uncooked–measure them then cook them. They will plump up. If you had soup, you didn’t thicken your sauce enough and it just firmed up when you baked it because the pasta absorbed the liquid. But either way, I’m glad you enjoyed it. –Rachel
Hi Rachel. Thanks for the recipe. I would say, however, that I agree with the comment above. 1 1/2 cups of uncooked pasta is far too little. Since a cup is 8 oz, I threw in the whole 12 oz box of pasta and it came out perfectly. This would equal 1 1/2 cups anyway but when physically measured in cups, it would come out to more like 3.5 cups. Also, the measurement provided in cups for cheese is a bit confusing. I might suggest oz of cheese (since a block is usually 8 or 16 oz) and saying 12 oz of pasta rather than cups to avoid confusion. Tha!
Hey Nick! I’m glad you liked it and you ARE right that 12 ounces is 1 1/2 cups. But I’d love to know why the measuring cup isn’t cutting it for a few folks. I’m beginning to wonder if the size of the pasta is making the difference. My elbow macaroni are pretty small? I dunno what’s up with that but 1 1/2 cups of dry pasta has always worked fine for me–time and again. That one is a stumper.
And as for the cheese, there are a lot of people who still go for bagged cheese :/ and there’s typically two cups in a bag. What I do is shred my 8-ounce block and measure two cups (or sometimes more like three). That’s simple enough for me, and has been for a lot of readers to this point. I’ll take your suggestions in to consideration though. All good thoughts! –Rachel
Cheese and noodles are measured by weight ounces not liquid ounces. A cup is liquid ounces so you can’t convert the 2. 8 ounces cheese and 8 ounces pasta are very djfferent by volume.
Right Kristy. I weigh items like pasta or cheese on a scale. I understand the difference. I have always just kept things simple and used cup measurements and this recipe has worked out well every time. For some reason the debate over ounces has just started in the last few months among some readers… 😉 –Rachel