Get ready to enjoy the ultimate comfort food with our simple recipe for homemade baked mac and cheese. We use easy steps and the best ingredients to make a delicious dish that is perfect to bring to family gatherings and to feed a hungry crowd.
With a rich and creamy cheese sauce and golden crust on top, everyone will be coming back for seconds. Get ready to be asked for this recipe, because it’s sure to be a hit at your next gathering!
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Why I Love This Recipe
In baked mac and cheese, the baking step adds a special touch. It creates a golden, crispy cheese layer on top. Also, this allows the flavors within the cheese sauce to meld together more effectively, creating a creamy, velvety cheese sauce like no other.
Is homemade mac and cheese hard to make?
It doesn’t have to be! There’s TONS of homemade mac and cheese recipes out there and many can feel intimidating. There’s a little more that goes into it than one would think.
However, with this recipe, I’ve done my best to make the process as easy and foolproof as possible. We don’t have to mess with any roux or cooking of flour – the ingredients in the Velveeta will take care of that aspect. And the cheese selection I use promises to make a very flavorful cheese sauce, much like a good restaurant-style baked mac and cheese!
This recipe is great because it’s the kind of mac and cheese that both kids and adults can’t get enough of. Honestly, I’m a fan of the classic boxed mac and cheese we all know and love, and those red frozen packs that have been around forever. What this recipe does is take the best parts of those childhood favorites and turns it into something even better, something we can call our own.
Equipment and Ingredients
We like to keep things simple and this recipe uses standard kitchen items. You’ll need a large pot to boil the macaroni, which we can also use to make the cheese sauce. You’ll also need a 13″ x 9″ casserole dish that’s at least 3″ deep. Personally, I like using the aluminum ones you get at the supermarket that can be disposed of after use. Especially if bringing it to an event or gathering, it’s then one last thing you have to worry about.
Best Cheeses for Baked Mac and Cheese?
The key to the deliciousness of this recipe is the combination of cheese we use. They are cheddar, gruyere, gouda and Velveeta. Each one serves a specific purpose. The Velveeta mainly serves as a base for the others and acts as an emulsifier, keeping the cheese sauce together. This means we don’t need to make a roux and use flour.
Preparation
The key to successfully making homemade mac and cheese is to achieve a creamy cheese sauce which stays together and in which the fats don’t seperate. We cannot use pre-packaged grated cheese as it contains additional ingredients that will make our sauce clumpy and not stay together properly. The Velveeta cheese block will be cut into cubes, while the gruyere, gouda and cheddar will all get freshly grated. Trust me, it only takes a few minutes.
How to Cook
Begin by cooking the elbow macaroni until it’s just barely al dente – remember, it will continue to cook in the oven.
Before you drain the pasta, carefully scoop out ¼ cup of the water and set it aside. We’ll be adding this to the cheese sauce. The starches in the pasta water will further help keep the cheese sauce creamy.
For the cheese sauce, we’ll warm the milk over medium heat until it starts to simmer, not quite bringing it to a boil. The cheeses, starting with the Velveeta should be added gradually and stirred into the milk until a creamy sauce is formed. This whole step can take about 10 minutes. Make sure each cheese is melted in before adding the next. Once the sauce is ready, we’ll add the spices and dijon mustard.
When your pasta and cheese sauce are ready, it’s time to combine them. Using a large pot (the one you used to cook the pasta), add the cheese sauce to the macaroni and gently stir to get it all good and mixed together. The consistency will be fairly thin, almost like it’s a macaroni and cheese soup. This is exactly what we want!
Pour the mac and cheese into the greased baking dish and into the oven it goes, at 350°F and baked for 25-30 minutes, or until until the top layer has a beautiful golden crust. It’s ok to have some darker areas on the cheese. Think of a good looking pizza in this regard.
Let cool and Serve
Let the mac and cheese cool for about 10 minutes before serving. This gives the sauce a chance to thicken and form the smooth, velvety, creamy sauce we know and love. When you first dig in, the sauce may still be slightly thin. If so, give it a few more minutes to cool. Trust me, it will thicken.
Storage and Reheating
Baked mac and cheese is definitely at its best when it’s served fresh. But in the event that you have leftovers, or just want to make and save in individual portions, let’s look at the best way to store and reheat.
Let the mac and cheese cool down before storing in airtight food storage containers. Consume within 5 days.
To reheat in oven:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Transfer mac and cheese to an oven-safe dish and sprinkle a little bit of milk or water over the top. You can also add a few small pieces of butter, which will melt and give it extra richness.
Cover the dish with aluminum foil. This step is important because it helps to keep the moisture in and prevents the top from getting too hard or burnt.
Put the covered dish in the preheated oven. Let it heat for about 20 minutes. Then, carefully remove the foil and check if it’s heated through. Stir it up to evenly redistribute the sauce and added liquid or butter.
Once it’s hot and to your liking, take it out of the oven and let it sit for a minute or two before serving.
To reheat in microwave:
Place the amount you want to reheat in a microwave-safe dish. If it looks a bit dry, you can add a splash of milk or a small pat of butter. This helps to bring back some moisture and richness to the dish.
Cover the dish with a microwave-safe lid or a paper towel. This step is important because it helps to trap steam, which will keep the mac and cheese moist as it reheats.
Set your microwave to a 50% power setting and heat in one-minute intervals, stirring after each minute. This helps to heat it evenly and prevents hot spots.
Keep an eye on the texture. If it seems too dry, you can add a bit more milk. If it’s too runny, just heat it for a bit longer.
Once the mac and cheese is hot enough for your liking, take it out of the microwave and let it stand for a minute to settle and cool down before enjoying.
Frequently Asked Questions
Each of the cheeses in this recipe serves a vital part of the flavor profile. The Velveeta is the most necessary as it acts as an emulsifier to keep the sauce from breaking apart.
If you have to substitute the gruyere or gouda consider these…
For the Gruyere:
Emmental or Swiss: They have a similar nutty and sweet flavor.
Fontina: A slightly more creamy texture, but similar in taste.
Jarlsberg: A mild cheese that melts well.
For the Gouda:
Havarti: I LOVE havarti! It has a little more tang and melts well.
Muenster: Smooth and melts well.
We cook this recipe uncovered. This allows for the cheese to form a lovely crust on top giving it that awesome baked cheese flavor.
This can be for a few reasons.
Pasta Doneness: Cooking your pasta to just before ‘al dente’ is important, as it will continue to cook in the oven. Overcooked pasta can become mushy and absorb too much of the cheese sauce, reducing creaminess.
Using pre-shredded cheese: Packaged shredded cheese will not work for this recipe. It contains ingredients to prevent it from caking in the packaging and it will cause the cheese sauce to not melt properly.
Sauce Consistency Before Baking: Ensure that your cheese sauce is adequately creamy and fluid before it goes into the oven. If it’s too thick, it may not stay creamy after baking. You could consider adding a bit more milk to adjust the consistency. When the pasta and sauce are first mixed together it should have a very soup-like consistency.
To be totally honest, it’s really at its best when it’s made right before it’s going to be served. I’ve made it a few hours before a gathering and kept in warm in a covered and insulated sleeve.
Recipe
Best Damn Baked Mac and Cheese
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 servings
Ingredients
- 16oz elbow macaroni
- 4tbs butter (plus more for greasing baking dish)
- 16oz Velveeta cheese, cubed
- 6oz gouda cheese, fresh grated
- 6oz gruyere cheese, fresh grated
- 4oz sharp cheddar cheese, fresh grated
- 3 cups whole milk
- 2tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp finely ground black pepper
- salt to taste (about ½ – 1tsp)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Boil pasta until “just before” al dente. This usually means about 1 minute less than the package instructs. Scoop out ¼ cup of the pasta water before draining and set it aside. Drain pasta and set aside.
- In large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add 3 cups of milk and heat until warm but not boiling, stirring occasionally.
- Reduce heat and add cubed Velveeta first, stirring until melted. Gradually add gruyere, gouda and cheddar until melted, stirring until sauce is smooth. Stir in the reserved pasta water as well.
- Remove sauce from heat and sprinkle in onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Then stir in the dijon mustard.
- Combine the sauce and pasta and gently mix well, ensuring the pasta and sauce are well incorporated.
- Grease a baking dish with butter and pour the macaroni and cheese mixture into the dish.
- Bake at 350°F for 25-35 minutes or until top is slightly golden and the edges are bubbly.
- Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Sauce will thicken upon standing.
Notes
The blocks of Velveeta are usually found on supermarket shelves in 8oz, 1lb or 2lb blocks. 2lb blocks seem to be the most common.
It will have a very thin, soupy consistency when the sauce and pasta are mixed. This is how it should be. It will also continue to thicken when it comes out of the oven.
After cooking macaroni and setting aside, you can stir in a half tablespoon of butter to keep the noodles from sticking together.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Tina says
My family loved this recipe and so do I. It was easier than my go to recipe “my mom’s recipe with a “white sauce” and just as good. I like to shake it up and have different recipes for the same dishes and thought I would like the recipe because there was so much cheese. I new I would like the Gouda and Gruyere cheeses because I substitue them sometimes in my mom’s recipe but man this was so delicious and easy. Everyone Loved it!!!!