Still the best Baked Mac and Cheese I’ve ever had, with a stunning white creamy cheese sauce and a buttery breadcrumb topping. This is THE Macaroni Cheese recipe that’s wildly popular every Thanksgiving and Christmas!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Baked Mac and Cheese
I don’t want to be morbid, but if I had to choose a Last Meal, this Baked Mac and Cheese may possibly be it. Put me in a room with Macaroni Cheese, and neither of us stand a chance. Said Mac and Cheese would be ravaged.
And of all the Mac and Cheeses in the world, this is still the best Mac and Cheese I’ve ever had!
About this Macaroni and Cheese
This is a Mac and Cheese recipe that is everything you want in a knock-your-socks off Macaroni Cheese – cheesy and creamy, with perfectly cooked macaroni (no bloated pasta!), plenty of sauce and a crunchy buttery top (essential in my world!)
What goes in Baked Mac and Cheese
Here’s what you need. Cheese. Butter. Pasta. All the essential food groups covered!😂
Best pasta for Mac and Cheese?
Macaroni, also known as elbow pasta. But really, any short pasta will work just fine – penne, ziti, twirls etc.
Best cheese for Mac and Cheese?
A combination of Gruyere and mozzarella cheese. Gruyere for the most superior flavour with the best melting qualities for creamy sauces such as this – there’s no contention in my view. And mozzarella for stretch – nothing does the cheese pull like a good mozzarella!
But honestly, any cheese that melts well works is excellent with Mac and Cheese, such as cheddar, tasty, Colby, Swiss, Pepper Jack, Emmental.
No cream?
NO! You do NOT need it. This sauce is rich enough as it is from the butter and cheese. Cream makes it so rich you can’t eat more than a few spoonfuls. How disappointing!!!
How to make Baked Mac and Cheese
It’s a straightforward recipe, starting with a basic butter-flour roux that is used to thicken milk to make the cheese sauce. For first timers, I think the short video below will help give you the confidence that you’ve got this!
The simple trick to avoid lumps in the Mac and Cheese Sauce is to pour the milk in slowly while constantly stirring, then just switch to a whisk if needed to remove any stubborn lumps!
Tips for the BEST Mac & Cheese!
Freshly grated cheese – don’t use pre shredded. They have anti caking agents that can make the sauce grainy.
No bloated overcooked pasta – Cool macaroni slightly and lightly coat in butter. This stops the macaroni from absorbing more liquid while baking, resulting in bloated overcooked pasta (hot pasta absorbs liquid faster, butter creates thin film of protection) and less sauce.
To avoid lumps in your sauce, stir constantly as you slowly pour the milk in and keep stirring once the milk is all added. If necessary, switch to a whisk to get rid of stubborn little lumps!
Plenty of sauce – Because I like my Mac and Cheese saucy, not dried up so you can cut it like cake!
Can you make Mac and Cheese ahead of time? Most recipes are not suitable for making ahead, but this recipe is! The best way is to cool pasta then toss with sauce and adding breadcrumb topping. Cool, refrigerate or freeze then bake on the day of (see recipe Note 5 for baking time).
How long can Mac and Cheese stay in the fridge? Unlike most, this Macaroni Cheese recipe is good for 3 to 5 days in the fridge. Most Mac and Cheese will not keep well because there’s not enough sauce so it gets absorbed by the pasta and you’re left with dry, sauceless pasta.
Freezing? Yes! Assemble, cool, do not bake, just freeze it. Thaw then on the day of, bake per Note 5 in the recipe.
Add ins? This recipe is great as it is, but there’s tons of add-in options. Add shredded chicken, sautéed onion and bell peppers/capsicum, bacon, hot sauce (for heat!), dried herbs of choice.
What to serve with Baked Mac and Cheese
Mac and Cheese is worthy of serving as a meal in its own right, served with just a fresh green salad or simple vegetable side. Nothing heavy because Macaroni Cheese is so rich as it is!
As a side dish, it will compliment virtually any non-Asian main dish. From simple Baked Pork Chops to Steak, a Roast Chicken to Crispy Garlic Chicken Thighs, the only things I probably would not serve with Mac and Cheese would be very light summery mains such as a Tuna Tartare – just a little too much contrast.
And of course, festive gatherings! Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter – alongside a grand Roast Turkey or your Herb & Garlic Butter Slathered Turkey Breast, the juicy Roast Pork with impossibly Crispy Crackling or your Prime Rib that’s so perfectly blushing pink all the way through, it makes you want to weep.
Holidays would not be the same without this Mac and Cheese!! – Nagi xx
Baked Mac and Cheese recipe
Watch how to make it
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Baked Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
Macaroni:
- 250g / 8 oz macaroni (elbow pasta)
- 1 tbsp (15g) unsalted butter (or 2 tsp oil)
Topping:
- 2/3 cup panko breadcrumbs (Note 1)
- 2 tbsp (30g) unsalted butter , melted
- 1/4 tsp salt
Sauce:
- 4 tbsp (60g) unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup flour , plain / all purpose
- 3 cups milk , warmed (low or full fat)
- 2 cups freshly shredded cheese, gruyere best (followed by cheddar and Colby) (Note 2)
- 1 cup freshly shredded mozzarella cheese , or more other cheese of choice (Note 2)
- 3/4 tsp salt
Seasonings (optional):
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp mustard powder
Instructions
Pasta:
- Cook pasta: Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add macaroni and cook per packet directions MINUS 1 minute.
- Toss in butter: Drain, return pasta to pot, add butter and toss until melted. Set aside to cool while making the Sauce (Optional – Note 3).
Topping:
- Mix together Topping. Set aside.
Sauce (video is helpful):
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (all oven types).
- Make roux: In a large saucepan or in an ovenproof skillet (I use my 26cm/9" Lodge cast iron skillet), melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
- Add milk: Add about 1 cup of the milk and mix to dissolve the paste into the milk. Then add remaining milk and mix until lump free (use whisk if required).
- Add Seasonings: Mix in salt and Seasonings if using.
- Thicken sauce: Cook, stirring/whisking regularly, for 5 – 8 minutes until thickened to a cream consistency. When the Sauce coats the back of a wooden spoon, you should be able to draw a path with your finger.
- Add cheese: Remove from stove, add cheese and stir – cheese doesn't need to melt.
- Check salt: Adjust salt to taste (if you use recommended cheeses, you won't need more).
Assembling:
- Assemble: Pour Sauce into pot with Macaroni. Stir quickly, then pour back into the skillet (I did this) or a baking dish (Note 4). Sprinkle with breadcrumb topping.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until top is light golden. Don't bake too long otherwise you'll bake away the Sauce!
- Serve: Serve immediately! I sprinkled mine with a bit of fresh parsley. See notes for best make-ahead method.
Recipe Notes:
- Main Cheese (2 cups) – my favourite is gruyere (used in video), for flavour and melting quality. Can use any flavoured melting cheese. Other cheeses I like for this include: cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby, provolone. (Australia/NZ: Tasty cheese works & super tasty but sauce is not quite as smooth);
- I like to use mozzarella for the 2nd cheese (1 cup). It melts really well into the sauce, has that nice stretch, and isn’t as oily like other cheese can tend to be. Also, it’s less salty. However, you can just use more of the Main Cheese.
- Always grate your own cheese for cheese sauces. Store bought shredded cheese have anti caking agents which don’t melt so can give the sauce a slight powdery texture.
- SALTINESS of cheeses vary so if you use another cheese other than gruyere for the Main Cheese that is much less salty (eg Jarlsberg), you may need to add a pinch or two of extra salt into the sauce. Taste and check! Most cheeses are of similar salt levels though.
Nutrition Information:
Recipe first published July 2017. Updated a few times since then with better photos, addition of recipe video. Updated November 2021 to reconfirm that it is STILL the best Mac I’ve ever had!! No changes to recipe – readers would never forgive me!!
The RecipeTin Eats MAC & CHEESE COLLECTION
I love a good Mac & Cheese! See??
Baked Mac and Cheese – this recipe, huge reader favourite!
Stovetop Mac and Cheese – one pot, 20 minutes, my best speedy emergency version.
Chili Mac – a cross between Chili and Mac and Cheese, a one pot dinner wonder!
Shrimp Mac and Cheese – outrageously delicious!
Life of Dozer
When Dozer went camping: Are we there yet, are we there yet??
THANK YOU THANK YOU this is the best recipe ever! My husband likes the dish super hot and super crunchy, and for years it frustrated me because the darn sauce would cook away, and you’re left with this steamy noodle mush. BUTTERING THE ELBOW MACARONI before mixing it in with the sauce: GENIUS!!!! Thank you so much for the tip! Also not melting the cheese completely in the white sauce… this helps keep the sauce thicker. My cheat: I brown the panko and butter for a little bit in a tiny skillet… so it LOOKS like I cooked it for longer, to trick my husband, haha! 🙂
That’s so great to hear Monica! Thanks! N x ❤️
This is the BEST macaroni and cheese I’ve ever had. I followed the recipe completely, with the exception that I used a less expensive alpine cheese similiar to gruyère, cheddar, and mozzarella, and I used all the spices. I used the planko crumbs. Delicious, delicate, gooey, not dry like some.
Fabulous! I made it with cheddar, gouda and a little left over parmesan. I was also missing breadcrumbs so I used some stale bread in my food processor and it worked great. Best Mac and cheese ever.
LOVE hearing that Tori!!! So glad you enjoyed it! N x
This is the best Mac and Cheese recipe I’ve made at home – hands down! In addition to the suggested garlic / onion / mustard powders, I added a teaspoon of sambal oelek chili paste to add a slight kick. I used 1 cup cheddar, 1 cup gruyere, and 1 cup mozzarella. I have two picky teenagers, and there were no leftovers! Thank you!
LOVE hearing that Elizabeth!!! So glad you enjoyed it! N x
I cannot wait to try this recipe! Is it better to grate block cheese – will it melt better? Or does it make no difference if I use already shredded cheese?
Hi Emily! It’s always best to shred your own but as long as you don’t use a no-brand cheap store bought shredded cheese, that should be fine too! N xx
This recipe is amazing!! Thanks love! 🙂
You’re so welcome Erica! N x
Awesome recipe! Turned out so good when I made it!
So pleased to hear that Ashley! Thanks for letting me know! N x
Been struggling to make a good homemade Mac and cheese because it’s my favourite comforter food. Tried this recipe and it’s so good! Definitely excited to try more of your recipes. 😊❤️
I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this Dana! Thanks so much for letting me know! N x ❤️
Yum! Came out better the second time I made it. I used to make pretty good macaroni years ago, but for the past few years, it has been pathetic. Came out great both times I made it but this last time was super creamy. I tried to double the recipe and I thought it worked the first time, but the second time, I had to throw my sauce out and make the sauce over again because with the amount of flour I used it was super lumpy. So I started again and just added enough flower so that it was still like a paste. But this is now my go to mac and cheese recipe.
I absolutely love hearing that!!! I’m so pleased, thanks for letting me know Sherrie! N x
oops, “flour” not flower
Best mac and cheese recipe we’ve ever tried. We used white cheddar and gruyere only because we didn’t have mozzarella, and we added a little Frank’s hot sauce for some zing. Delicious!
So pleased you enjoyed this Jackelin! Thank you for letting me know!! N xx
Great Mac & Cheese recipe! So glad I tried it; my family loved it!
So pleased everyone enjoyed this Ellen!!! N xx
Absolutely fantastic! I was searching the internet for a good recipe to break in my new individual baking ramicans. There were so many to choose from, but when I read your preamble I was sold! Classic and creamy. All your notes were invaluable. I used gruyere too because of your recommendation. We hate dry baked macaroni, this was so creamy with the crunchiest topping. Total hit with the whole family. Can’t wait to make it again!!
Love that idea! I’ve never tried ramekins for Mac and Cheese – I want to now! N x
I followed the recipe exactly how its written and it came out absolutely delicious!
Terrific to hear Asia! 🙂 N x
I followed as well and it was very good but y husband thought there was too much garlic in it so next time I will omit that. I loved it!
Fantastic recipe with the perfect sauce to pasta ratio. Thank you so much!
I made the following tweaks because it was just too tempting: Instead of using 100% butter stirred through the pasta, I added butter mixed with a little white truffle oil. I also used a tiny amount of truffle oil in the breadcrumb topping in place of dairy. The result was an incredibly luxurious truffled Mac & cheese that I’d pay big money bucks for in a restaurant. Apparently others felt the same – it had rave reviews!
Coating the pasta pre-sauce addition is an act of genius; it made a huge difference to the texture when reheating the following day. Every other pasta dish I’ve ever reheated has been stodgy. This wasn’t.
Thanks again. I really did love this recipe and I’ve bookmarked for future repetition! 🙂
PS Truffle 🙀❤️
So glad you enjoyed this AHM! Thanks for letting me know! N x
Made this last night for my teenage son and his 5 friends that were here. They loved it!. I made a few modifications:
I doubled the receipe, used 1 cup of shredded pepper jack cheese for one cup of mozzarella (because I had it), didn’t use the mustard seasoning but put in powdered onion and garlic. Cut up some canadian bacon I had left over from homemade pizzas – added this to the cheese sauce. Then crushed up Ritz crackers (because I had them) and some bacon crumbles for the topping. OH it was great!! This is now his favorite. thanks for the recipe!
LOVE the use of crackers for the topping!! And BACON 👏🏻
I like you, Nagi. You give clear, concise instructions with the extra details that covers every question a person might have….which only demonstrates how much you know what you are doing.
I substituted a can a cheddar cheese condensed soup for one of the 3 cups in your recipe.. I also added 1/3 cup of Durkee Fried Onions to the topping. This Mac & Cheese is to die for!!
That’s wonderful to hear Christina! So glad you enjoyed this! N xx
My older son and I just put this together. I didn’t use any Moz but I wish I had. Just used all sharp cheddar.
Just a tip is that you can make your own bread crumbs as well 😉😉
Slice white bread into smallest squares you can get, melt butter, toss squares in butter until it is all coated then switch to a spatula and start braking it down as it is browning.
Once it has toasted down as small as you can get it transfer to a processor and run it through that a couple times to grind it up. 😎
That’s such a great tip, thanks Deborah!! N xx
Very good but I put smoked apple guts and sharp yellow.the smoked apple gives it a great taste.
YUM!
Guta
Really good! thank you for the recipe…just saw that you seem to say it’s ok to substitue lowfat milk for whole milk?
I used whole milk but maybe next time i’ll cut the milk fat…
I also omitted the bread crumbs on top and it still was awesome !
Or half & half…… YUM!!!
Definitely! I usually use low fat because it’s what I use in everyday life 🙂 N x
Hi,
Do you think I can substitute regular milk for almond milk?
Hi Sia, I’m afraid I haven’t tried that myself so I am not sure. sorry!