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.
How many people does this serve. I’m going to make it an I’m looking to feed about 10 people. Do I double the recipe? I don’t usually cook. Haha
If you’ll notice in the red area of the recipe it says that it feeds six people. I estimate six 1/2 cup servings as a side dish. You can actually click on that number 6 and it will pop up a little slider you can slide it to the right to the number of people you want to serve, and it will adjust the recipe for you. But for 10 people, you can easily do 1 1/2 times the recipe or double it.
I just made this ahead for Thanksgiving and it’s really creamy and tastes great. When I bake it tomorrow I’d like to add breadcrumbs to the top. Should I toast them separately or would I be OK to let them bake with the mac and cheese?
If your mac and cheese is going to be cold when you put it in the oven then you may want to wait five or 10 minutes into the baking cycle before adding the bread crumbs so they don’t get dark before the macaroni and cheese gets hot. –Rachel
I love this recipe. & it tastes really good. But it has a sort of gritty texture, like the flour…. what am I doing wrong?
Hey Morgan, Yep those little lumps come from overheating your milk and flour mixture. To help combat this, turn your heat down, use a pan that has a nice thick bottom, and never stop stirring. Even walking away from the stove for five or 10 seconds could be enough for that sauce to overheat and split. I covered this problem extensively in the blog post, so if you haven’t read that make sure to bounce up and take a look. –Rachel
Just a note; it can also happen when using pre-shredded cheeses. They tend to be coated with a non-caking agent. Definitely shred your own!
Making this for the second time for thanksgiving dinner tomorrow! If I wanted to try adding some breadcrumbs on top, at what point in the process would you add?
You can put them on right before you put it in the oven Rachel. It’s only going to be in there for a few minutes and the bread crumbs should be fine. –Rachel
What’s the size of the cast iron skillet you used?
I think that one is about 8 inches.
Can I use heavy cream instead of milk?
You can. Personally I find it too rich but it will work. –Rachel
I plan on making this for Thanksgiving and was wondering what would need to be done to make it less creamy? I know that sounds absurd, but my family and I like a more of a drier, casserole like consistency.
Stacey, bake it a little longer (8 or so minutes) and let it sit 10 minutes before serving. That will dry it out. I can’t believe I just told you how to do that. ? –Rachel
i’m wanting to make this in individual crocks..any suggestions for that? thank you!
The good thing about making these in individual servings, is that everything is already cooked. All you need to do is heat until bubbly around the edges or you can just stick ’em under the broiler if you just want the top nice and crispy. You could probably get this done in 10, no more than 15 minutes. –Rachel
I need to make this to serve 20. Do I double or triple it or more? Thank you
The first thing I need to know is how many other side dishes there will be. If you have lots of side dishes you can assume that people will take smaller servings of your mac and cheese. If you have fewer side dishes they’re going to take more. I always estimate about a half a cup per person, and this recipe serves about six people. That means you could triple this recipe or even quadruple it if you want to and that should more than take care of 20 people. –Rachel
How many servings does this make?
It’s estimated for 6 1/2 cup servings Rosie.