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.
Love this recipie! I crush up some garlic butter croutons and sprinkled it on top of the mac and cheese before I poped it in the oven & it added a delicious crunch!
That is an awesome addition Marissa. That’s one thing I love about it–you can make it whatever way you like. Garlic croutons would be wonderful! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it.
Do You pour the milk in slow so it gets thick like a rue or do u just pour it all in and let it be thin?
Hey Keith,
You can pour the milk in fast, but you have to cook it until it’s thickened–that usually takes about 5-7 minutes over medium heat.
Just made the baked Mac and cheese! Mmmmm mmmm good! That’s it!
Definitely a keeper!!
Now Irene, that’s what I LOVE to hear! So glad you liked it. 🙂
OMG this was soo good. The texture was a bit looser than what im used to but the flavor was amazing! Thanks so much for the recipe! This will definitely be in rotation for family gatherings.
I’m glad Nicole! If it was too loose, make sure not to over cook the pasta (maybe knock a minute or two off your cook time if needed) and or you can add more noodles to the sauce to take up some space.
This looks like perfect comfort food. My mouth is totally watering!
Thanks Rebecca! The cooler the days get, the more I love some warm home cookin’. I’m all about apple pie and warm desserts right now too. It just feels right. 🙂
Made a gluten free version tonight…just substitutes gf flour. We all enjoyed it! Thank you!
That’s great Melanie! I have several readers who have made this mac and cheese GF and done it with great success. I’m glad your family enjoyed it!
Trying this today, only gluten free (cornstarch in place of the flour). It looks good so far! Thanks for the recipe!
I hope it worked out well for you Bethany. I know several of my readers have adapted this to a gluten free version and enjoyed it. It’s always nice to find recipes you can adjust to your family’s needs and tastes and I’m always glad to help. 😉
I can’t handle how gorgeous this dish looks AND sounds, Rachel! Seriously… now, I want macaroni and cheese. Totally normal after reading a post like this, right?
Thank you Erin 🙂
Saw this on Pinterest and decided to make it tonight. I’m adding smoked back bacon! 🙂
MMMM…that sounds awesome! I hope you liked it!
It was Fantastical!!!!!! The salt from the double smoked back bacon reminded me not to add the salt as it would have been too much. Honestly I’ll be making this many many many times as I have 2 Glam-babes* that will probably ask me to make it again..lol Thanks Rachel!
Ah good point about the salt–and I’m glad you liked it! It’s truly one of my favorites too. I’m working on a creamy stove top version to come soon as well, so stay tuned for that! Thanks for letting me know–Rachel.
All I have at home is skim or buttermilk. Is buttermilk going to be too rich/thick for this recipe? Thanks!
Hey Denise, No I’d definitely not use buttermilk. Skim may work okay–some other people have asked about that and it might be successful. But the tangy (and yes, thick) buttermilk will throw your flavor into crazy world. I’d stay away from that. I hope you like it when you get a chance to make it! -Rachel
That is what I thought, but thanks so much for replying! We ended up using 2% and it turned out fine. Thanks again!
That’s what I use also Denise. I’m glad it worked out for you–and that you decided against the buttermilk!
I love my mac and cheese extremely sharp. The recipe I use is a little different from this one, but not much, and I’ve deliberately used buttermilk in it. If you like your mac and cheese really tangy and sharp, buttermilk is a good option. I’m going to try your recipe just as written sometime soon, and then I’ll mess around with it when I try it again. It looks like a great, simple recipe!
Oh wow Terri–I never thought about using buttermilk, but that would give you some extra tang for sure! That’s the beauty of mac and cheese, it’s pretty much a blank slate for you to make your own. Thanks for coming by!