This recipe for classic baked macaroni and cheese is one of the most popular on Kitchen Treaty. It’s super creamy – not dry like some homemade mac and cheese can get. It’s rich, ooey, gooey, and, yeah – in my humble opinion – the best macaroni and cheese recipe ever. Seriously.
1 pound dried short pasta, such as macaroni, 1 1/2 cups whole or 2% milk, divided, 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 2 to 3 cups shredded cheese, such as cheddar, monterey jack, or colby, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon powdered mustard, optional extras. Mac and cheese always sounds good, right? It's a barbecue-joint staple and favorite for home cooks of all ages. And it's one of the most searched recipes on Epicurious as soon as chilly weather.
This mac and cheese recipe will knock your socks off. Then go put ’em back on and run a marathon, quick! I say it’s the best macaroni and cheese recipe ever not because I have tried every single mac and cheese recipe in the world (though I have tried many) (and wouldn’t it be an incredibly noble cause to try every single one?!). It’s because whenever I take a glorious melty bite, I simply cannot imagine a better classic mac and cheese. I can also say it’s the best macaroni and cheese recipe ever because this one is not really even my recipe. I tweaked it a tiny bit – basically made it even more fattening – but otherwise, it’s someone else’s. It’s from someone named Bev, who posted her recipe on Recipezaar (now Food.com) and to whom I am eternally grateful.
Always has been. Cases in point:. One of my first-ever memories is of sitting down in front of the TV with a bowl full of macaroni and cheese and watching Emergency!
– and feeling pure bliss. Not long after that was when I realized that a single macaroni and cheese noodle was actually not called a “macaroni and chee.” Major epiphany.
Every birthday, my wonderful Gran actually used to wrap up boxes of Kraft dinner for me. Best presents ever! I should probably stop there. I have a sneaking suspicion I’m coming off like a total freak.
So back to Bev. Bev posted a recipe that will forever be my go-to recipe for homemade mac and cheese. Before that, I had only experienced dry homemade mac and cheese. Goes into the oven wet, comes out dry.
I love you Bev! Bev is probably totally creeped out now too. Anyway, mac and cheese lovers, come hither – this is the real thing! Feast your eyes on this Now go forth and cheesify!. Boil the pasta until al dente, according to package directions.
Drain and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking, and return to the pan you boiled it in. (Mix in a little butter to keep the noodles from sticking if it’s going to be awhile before you make the sauce). Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. To a over medium heat, add the butter. When the butter has melted, add the flour, salt, dry mustard, pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika. With a wooden spoon or whisk, stir constantly for three minutes. Add the milk in a thin stream, stirring constantly with a whisk.
Continue to stir constantly until the sauce thickens, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat and add 2 cups of the cheese, stirring until melted. Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and toss gently until all of the pasta is coated. Add half the pasta to a (I like a tall 8-inch by 8-inch baking dish). Sprinkle on half the cheese. Add the rest of the pasta.
Sprinkle on the rest of the cheese, then dust lightly with the smoked paprika. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until the mac and cheese starts getting a slightly dry and a tiny bit brown on top.
Serve, topping individual servings with cooked, chopped bacon if desired. Meat option Add cooked and crumbled bacon to the top of individual servings (or the whole thing if your whole clan is carnivorous). Please resist adding more pasta and cheese!.Please resist the urge to add more pasta to stretch the recipe. You need a lot of sauce with that pasta because the pasta soaks so much and it otherwise cooks down. Over-dry mac and cheese is such a disappointment – don’t do it!.Also resist the urge to add more cheese to the sauce. This can do weird things. Sprinkle more in between and on top if you must have more cheese.
Doubling this recipe I (and many others) have doubled this recipe with success – no changes needed other than a bigger pan! Make-ahead notes When you make this recipe ahead of time, please know the result may be a tad more dry.
Still delicious! But a little less saucy. I recommend assembling it up to the point of baking, refrigerating, then, before baking, let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Then proceed with baking.
![Best Cheese Sauce For Mac And Cheese Best Cheese Sauce For Mac And Cheese](/uploads/1/2/5/4/125404165/921462886.jpg)
Karsten Moran for The New York Times. Clockwise from top, shell pasta, cavatappi, elbow macaroni and penne cooked and coated in creamy sauces. By definition, classic macaroni and cheese should be made with, well, macaroni, a style broadly defined as any short, cylindrical extruded pasta. This includes tubes like ziti, penne, rigatoni and, yes, elbows, as well as corkscrew shapes like fusilli. All this is to say that plenty of shapes are suitable for macaroni and cheese (many of which come gluten-free). But you will want to make sure you stay within the world of tiny, tube-like shapes, or those undeniably cute little shells. (Like cutting a grilled cheese into triangles instead of rectangles, they may actually improve the taste of the finished product, if only in our heads.) Avoid long, thin shapes like spaghetti or linguine.
Elbow enthusiasts should also note that there’s a new kid in town: Cavatappi, a curly, ribbed noodle that’s longer than an elbow, may very well be the platonic ideal for baked macaroni and cheese. Its length and curl perch perfectly on a fork, its ribbing is optimal for gripping luscious sauce, and its thickness (slightly thicker than elbows) decreases any risk of mushiness. Whatever shape or style you choose, it’s important to remember two things: Always cook the noodles in water that’s as salty as the sea to season them from the inside out, and make sure they’re cooked more al dente than you might think they need to be. The pasta will continue to cook in the cheesy sauce, which not only gains thickness from the noodles’ starch, but also deepens the flavor of the noodles themselves. Karsten Moran for The New York Times. The beauty of a good bread-crumb topping is that it can be used as a vehicle for more flavor if you mix in ingredients like Parmesan, garlic, bacon or herbs before baking. It’s hard to beat a coarse bread crumb from a day-old loaf, but panko does an excellent job as a stand-in.
To top a baked macaroni and cheese, mix about 1 cup bread crumbs with 4 tablespoons melted butter or olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and add any mix-ins (1/4 cup grated Parmesan; 2 grated garlic cloves; 4 strips crisp, crumbled bacon; 2 tablespoons chopped parsley or thyme) before scattering it all over the dish in a thin, even layer. A thick layer will have a hard time evenly crisping, resulting in sogginess. If bread crumbs aren’t your thing, grating more cheese (about 1 cup) over the top for an ultra deep, golden brown top is a most excellent move.
For a stovetop macaroni and cheese, mix about 1 cup bread crumbs with 4 tablespoons melted butter or olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Toast in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown and crisp, about 3 minutes.
Add any mix-ins (1/4 cup grated Parmesan; 2 grated garlic cloves; 4 strips crisp, crumbled bacon; 2 tablespoons chopped parsley or thyme) before scattering over your prepared macaroni and cheese. Ingredients.
1 pound elbows, shells, cavatappi, farfalle, fusilli or other short, tube-shaped pasta. Kosher salt. 2 cups whole milk.
8 ounces cream cheese, cut into 1-inch pieces. 12 ounces sharp or white Cheddar, grated.
3 tablespoons unsalted butter. Freshly ground pepper Preparation.
Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water until just barely al dente; drain. Meanwhile, bring milk up to a simmer in a large pot. (The pot should be large enough to hold all the pasta when cooked.) Reduce heat to low, add cream cheese, and whisk until it’s completely blended and no lumps remain. Add Cheddar cheese and butter, whisking until everything is completely melted. Season with salt and a generous amount of pepper.
Add cooked pasta and stir to coat. Continue to cook over medium-low heat until the sauce has thickened and is coating each piece of pasta nicely, 2 to 3 minutes; sauce will continue to thicken as it cools. Season again with more salt and pepper before serving.