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.
I have been trying to find a Mac and cheese recipe my mother had in the 50’s. All I remember is the looks of the meal after she cooked it. It almost looked curdled, and the elbow ends were very crispy.
I think it had eggs and scalded milk.
Hey Curt…well it could have looked curdled if she used eggs in it and then baked it but I’m not sure. I’m sorry I don’t have any further information–I’ve never tried a version like that–but if I come across anything I’ll update this comment and let you know. –Rachel
First time I’ve ever made home Macaroni and cheese.Was scared to try it being it had the milk and flour lol,but I did it.Low and slow added more seasings to our taste. Thanks for sharing it,will be my go to for now on
Have made this recipe for the kids to take to school in their Thermos flasks – winters get cold here in Australia! Thanks for a simple and tasty recipe ?
You’re welcome Ann-Maree! –Rachel
Delicious Mac and cheese. Anyone finding the texture off has not done the roux correctly! Which I’ve done wrong in the past too – just go slow and you can’t leave it alone have all ingredients next to you so you can keep on stirring!
Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks Keshia! Great and wise advice. 🙂 –Rachel
Really wanting to try your recipe but have a bit of confusion. On the 2 cups of cheese, is that a cup of each? 2 cups of each? What is the ratio?
Thanks
That’s two cups total. 🙂
I have made 30 thousand broken sauces… Never thought to make a roux…. Perfect
30 thousand? Bless your heart! 😉 Yes make the roux and cook it low and slow! You’ll have a creamy sauce I promise. –Rachel
We’ve made it time and time again, we do love it, but (guilty, guilty, guilty!) I have apparently had the heat too high and my béchamel split too! I took it off the heat, but have been brining the milk and flour to a boil; no I know low and slow will be much better. Oh, and I LOVE that I am using good ol’ real cheese and make the sauce myself! I admit, at first it was a grainy disappointment, BUT we loved the TASTE so much we kept trying, tonight I finally got it! Thanks for the — slow down, no need to cook on high — tip!
This was an instant family fave and will be a dish I’m going to make to share at gatherings and holidays. Simply delicious! Thanks!
I’m so glad you haven’t given up on it and have finally mastered that texture Tru! Low and slow my friend…low and slow. Celebrating your success over here! –Rachel
Love it .. so creamy
I love homemade mac and cheese and, recently, I’ve had some wonderful mac and cheese bakes at parties and gatherings, so I wanted to make this dish myself. I searched the web and decided to try this recipe. I did everything the comments and the author said to prevent the cheese sauce from being grainy, but the consistency was still awful! The taste of the cheese sauce was great and I loved the ease of the recipe, but the texture really ruined the meal for me and my family. Additionally, the cheese sauce to noodle ratio was pretty skewed, in my opinion, with the sauce seeming to overpower the dish. I also think that this bake could use something crunchy to break up the monotony of the texture. After making this dish I wanted to see if the problem was this recipe or if the problem was me, so I tried making a panko mac and cheese bake from Magnolia Table by Joanna Gaines. The cheese sauce was wonderful and I loved the crispy panko topping. Is there something that I did wrong with the recipe on this website?
Hey Caroline, let’s see if I can shed some light on things for you. As far as the texture went, despite your best efforts you still had your heat up too high and the béchamel split. That’s the only way that happens usually. I’ve even done it myself a time or two and while it doesn’t affect the flavor I know it can be off putting to look at.
Next as far as Joanna’s recipe. That’s comparing apples to oranges because the two recipes are totally different. First is the varying ingredients between the two. Magnolia Table’s version has Velveeta. That alone with its stabilizers and flavor enhancers automatically changes the texture and consistency of whatever it’s placed in. Next is the method for hers. The recipe basically just heats cream and butter then pours over noodles, adds cheese and stirs. My version requires the creation of a roux (the blend of flour and butter) and then milk which is thickened to make a béchamel sauce. Cheese is then added to this before adding to the noodles. The version on Feast and Farm takes a bit more effort on the part of the cook than the Magnolia Table version does.
The Feast and Farm version is tested, tried and true–it may just be that you don’t like this one and you do like the Magnolia Table version and that’s totally okay. –Rachel
Delicious and Creamy!
I put half a block of cream cheese in it along with the cheddar and I is awesome