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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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.
I love baked macaroni and cheese it’s one of my favorites. I think your recipe stays true to the classic version I grew up with, I always made mine this way too with a roux and a cheese sauce, it’s really a great recipe! Thanks!
When you measure the pasta for the recipe is that dried before you cook it?
Hey Karie, you measure it dry. If you notice in the recipe it gives the amount of pasta and then tells you to boil it in the instructions. Some people have said they like to double the amount of pasta for theirs, so you may want to measure 2 or 2 1/2 cups dry and only use as much as you like in your sauce. –Rachel
Rachel, awesome easy homemeade mac n chx.
People always ask when i will make it again.
I do think doubling the pasta is key tho.
Thanks.
T $
Hey Terry! I’ve heard a few people say they like more pasta in theirs. I guess it depends on how much sauce you like compared to pasta, but you sure won’t mess it up adding more! Make it your own! I am so glad you enjoy it! –Rachel
Soooooo I made this recipe and only used white Cabot Vermont extra sharp cheddar… I doubled the recipe as we are HUGE macaroni and cheese people in my home… It came out beautifully! I have also twisted it a bit and added a few dashes of onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder to the sauce when I added in the salt and pepper and let me tell you-it brings the flavor profile up if you should want to elevate it a tad! Thanks for he amazing recipe! Will deff be using it as our go to!
Hey Ericka! That’s great to hear! And you did a great job making it your own. It’s such a versatile recipe, you can certainly add some of those little flavor boosters and it will turn out great. Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it. 🙂 –Rachel
I just made this favorite recipe for at least the seventh or eighth time in recent months. It always turns out perfectly! For those who are not used to making a sauce that requires continuous attention, I can imagine it would be easy to get frustrated with a failed first attempt. For me, the key is keeping the stovetop temp very low and taking more time to stir and to allow a very gradual thickening of the sauce. You cannot stop stirring even for two seconds or you risk lumping and/or burning. You also must be patient and let it thicken, because runny sauce just means you were too impatient with the process.
Thank you, Rachel, for such a delicious, old-fashioned recipe for one of my favorite dishes!
Hey Mary Catherine–Yes! I’m glad you are on this bandwagon with me. It can be a hard adjustment for some people to make when it comes to cooking from scratch and that you can’t just dump it in a pot and walk away from it. It’s just practice, persistence to keep trying if you mess up–and not always blaming the person who wrote the recipe. 😉 I’m so glad you enjoy it. It’s one of my favorites too. Thank you for your comment! –Rachel
I followed this recipe to the letter. It turned out terrible with zero flavor. It was gritty and grainy. I wisked and stirred exactly like the recipe instructed. I used sharp cheddar and Colby jack and a little pepper jack that I grated myself. That was a waste of cheese. Sorry but I won’t be making this again.
Hey Sheila, I hear your frustration and I’m sorry you feel that way. That said, I can tell you that after making this for years and after millions of other people have made it, it does work. It’s impossible for me to tell you exactly what went wrong in this version because I wasn’t there with you but I’d guess that sauce just got too hot even with your stirring. Sometimes a thin pan and just too much heat will be more than your whisk can stand up against.
And as to flavor, one fundamental I can recommend is tasting as you go. Some people feel strongly that homemade mac and cheese should taste like Velveeta or what comes out of a box–when in fact those versions are loaded with flavor enhancers and salt that aren’t in the real thing and that gets interpreted as bland. By tasting your sauce earlier, you may have been able to detect that you’d like more salt in yours.
And all cheeses vary in how sharp or bold they are. So if you ever want to try again, taste as you go. I know it’s a good recipe. –Rachel
This recipe is so good and so easy!
If I want to add a vegetable, like chopped broccoli, should I cook the broccoli first, or put it raw into the mixture and into the oven?
Hey Bonnie, Great question! I find that if I use a frozen vegetable, like broccoli, it can go into the dish after it’s been thawed and patted dry and it cooks just fine. I wouldn’t put it in fresh and uncooked though. I don’t think it will get done in time. If you have fresh, blanche it or steam it until it’s about halfway done and then put it in the mac and cheese. It will work better that way. 🙂 Rachel
Hi Rachel, I am wanting to make your Mac & Cheese recipe a week before serving it to a large group. Can this recipe be frozen & then heated & served. Many thanks, Molly
You know Molly, I’m going to have to say no on that. When you freeze a dish like this, I feel like it makes the pasta mushy and as it sits to thaw the pasta absorbs all the sauce and it becomes all thick and gloppy–not creamy like it should be. I guess I just know how good this is fresh and I hate to see you make it and have it not turn out like the picture. One compromise, it can be made about two days ahead and left in the fridge with plastic wrap laid right on the surface (so it doesn’t form a skin), then you can pull it out, add a 1/2 cup of milk if needed and bake it until it’s hot and bubbling. That works better than freezing it. I hope that helps. –Rachel
This recipe sounds delicious! I’m planning to make it as a side dish for a birthday party this weekend for about 25-30 people. I think quadrupling the original recipe would suffice but I was wondering if the serving sizes that you based the ingredients on are on the smaller or larger side. I’m thinking that the kiddos at the party will gobble it up, so I definitely want to have enough. Any advice for this many would be appreciated! Thanks!!
Hey Angie! So here are my best tips for making this for a crowd. I estimated the servings at about a half cup per person. If you have bigger eaters than that, feel free to round things up but a quadruple recipe should be PLENTY for the number of people you’re having over unless you’re only doing one or two side dishes. Also to help make things easier, you can make this ahead but just don’t bake it. Let it cool down, put plastic wrap right against the surface (so you don’t get a skin) and chill. The next day, you can add a cup or so of milk, stir it in and bake it if that’s easier for your schedule. You can cover it until it starts to get warmed through then uncover for browning so it doesn’t dry out. I hope that helps!
Thanks for the tips! I’m definitely planning to make it the night before so I don’t have to stress the day of the party. I’ll let you know how it turns out!
Okay I’ll wait to hear back Angie. Good luck girl! –Rachel
Tasted excellent! I used macaroni shells so I doubled the amount of them. For the cheeses I used, mild cheddar, colby jack, & parmesan. Will definitely make again.
Yum Angela–that sounds delightful! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I hope you’ll come back and find lots of other tasty recipes you enjoy. –Rachel