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.
Mine kinda came out grainy but delicious. How can I get it not grainy. Did I get the cheese too hot.
Hey Tina, so what you did is called splitting the béchamel sauce. When you added the milk to the flour and butter your burner was either too hot, you stopped whisking for too long, or the pan was too thin and it allowed the sauce to overheat which makes those little grainy looking lumps. Next time turn your heat down and stir constantly and you’ll do better. It happens to all of us once. 😉 –Rachel
Needs more noooodles
I think it depends on what noodle you used–little bitty things like wagon wheels need 2 cups at least. I’ve also found that people say this when the sauce is thin (not cooked long enough). It could be either of those in this case. If the recipe is followed and standard elbow noodles are used the ratio is correct. –Rachel
I just wanted to let you know…
I have never cooked your recipes, and I have never commented on yours or anyone else’s. But,I came across your Mac and Cheese recipe, add said to myself “yummy” looks really good. So checked out the comments. You did an excellent commentary on your answers, not easily done when people ask questions that you have already clearly stated. Just want you to know that I think you are a class act! I will be stopping by from time to time! Enjoy great food!!!
Haha thank you Maria! It’s a challenge sometimes. 😉 –Rachel
Really good and tasteful!
Hello,could you please tell me regarding the 1 1/2 cups of dry pasta. Do I measure out dry pasta with measuring cups? Or weight? I bought a 12 ounce bag of shell pasta and I thought I was clever finding a 12 ounce bag but it was a ton of noodles and I had to end up adding more milk and cheese to compensate…didn’t turn out for me but only because I believe my measurements were off.I’d greatly appreciate any advice! Oh by the way,, I made your blackberry pie-outstanding!Thanks
Hey Bobbi, yep so the recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups. That’s measuring cups which is a volume measurement and not a weight one. Ounces are a weight measurement. You should have just measured out 1 1/2 cups of pasta dry. Let me know if you need further clarification. –Rachel
What a wonderful recipe. I will say it took me more time because first I had to shred blocks of extra sharp cheese with my food processor. I also doubled the recipe. All in all, this can’t be beat. There are so many variations you can add chicken chunks or ground beef etc. I enjoy tossing in some broccoli speaGreat recipe. Thank you for sharing. Looking forward to other offerings you may have.
I just made this recipe it was amazing and easy and took barely any time at all to make it! I love it I’ll be making it again for sure thank u! ?
Wonderful! You are so welcome Tiffany.
This is the best and the easiest homemade mac and cheese! I used 1c Tillamook Smoked Black Pepper White Cheddar and 1 cup Tillamook Medium Cheddar cheese and it turned out great. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
That’s great Janet!
Can you double this recipe?
Absolutely go as big as you need! –Rachel
This is a fantastic recipe! I’ve made it several times and try to vary it a little each time just to experiment. I’d like to make a larger batch for my sister & her family, using a full box of pasta. Should I double the other ingredients as well? Thank you ?
Yes double everything. –Rachel