This baked mac and cheese is a family favorite recipe, loved by both children and adults. It uses a combination of cheeses, layered in the dish as well as melted into a rich and creamy cheese sauce, for the ultimate in cheesy deliciousness! Perfect for a comforting dinner or as a holiday side dish!
Looking for other comfort food dishes? Check out my Homemade Sloppy Joes, Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Crockpot Meatloaf, and Homestyle No-Boil Mashed Potatoes!
BAKED MAC AND CHEESE
Baked mac and cheese. It’s nearly the universal comfort food, and there are SO many variations! In fact, I almost didn’t post this recipe, as there are SOOOO many mac and cheese recipes available, and most people already have their favorite way of making it.
Of course, there’s no “right” way or “wrong” way, so I’m here sharing the way I like to make my mac and cheese (the way my family loves it too).
HOW TO MAKE MAC AND CHEESE
If you’ve never made homemade mac and cheese before, it can seem a bit daunting. But don’t worry, we’ll break it down and take it step by step!
- Boil the pasta, drain.
- Make the cheese sauce by combining a fat (butter), and starch (flour), then whisking in the milk products.
- Cook the sauce until it’s nice and thick.
- Add in shredded cheeses, stir well.
- Combine cheese sauce with cooked pasta.
- Transfer half of the mac and cheese to a baking dish, sprinkle with more shredded cheese.
- Top with the rest of the mac and cheese, top with more shredded cheese.
- Bake and prepare to thoroughly enjoy!
COOKING TIPS FOR BAKED MAC AND CHEESE
- Boiling the pasta – cook the pasta less than you normally would. I like to boil my elbow pasta for between 4 and 5 minutes. The pasta will continue to cook in the oven, and you don’t want it to get mushy.
- Use room temp liquids – if you can… cold liquids generally take longer to thicken than warmer ones. I usually set my milk and half and half out while the water for the pasta is coming up to a boil.
- The cheeses – use your favorites! Our personal favorites are the cheddar and gruyere used in this recipe, but you can be very creative with the cheese selection here. Mozzarella, gouda, smoked gouda, swiss, monterey jack, colby jack, colby. There are plenty of reader comments down below the recipe that talk about the cheeses they used!
- Shred your own – I know it’s a pain, and it’s SO tempting to use the pre-shredded cheese in the bags. But those bags of cheese contain a starchy substance that keeps the cheese from clumping… which also prohibits it from melting as well as it should.
VARIATIONS OF MAC AND CHEESE
- Bacon – if you love bacon, feel free to add some crispy, crumbled bacon to the topping, or even inside the mac and cheese as well!
- Stovetop – if you’d prefer not to bake this mac and cheese, you don’t have to! Make sure you boil your pasta until al dente (check the packaging for correct times), and you’ll only need about 3 – 3 1/2 cups of cheese total. No need to layer the pasta and cheese, just add all the cheese to the sauce, then combine with the pasta.
- Different Toppings – I’m a huge fan of the cheese layer on top, since it gets nice and crispy, but we also love tossing 1 cup of panko with 2 Tbsp of melted butter and using that as a topping. 1 cup of crushed Ritz crackers with 2 Tbsp of butter work amazingly well too!
- Different Baking Times – the recipe calls for a lower baking temperature and time, but most of the time I find myself adjusting that based on my family’s tastes. I like to bake this mac and cheese at 350 F degrees for 30 minutes, then broil for 2-3 minutes to get that glorious cheesy “crust”.
MAKING MAC AND CHEESE AHEAD OF TIME
- Make as directed (but do not bake), transfer to baking dish and cool completely. Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate 1-2 days ahead.
- Before baking, let dish sit on counter for 30 minutes.
- Bake at recipe temperature for 25-35 minutes, until hot and bubbly.
As a caveat, this recipe, as with most mac and cheese recipes, loses some of it’s creaminess when made ahead. This dish has been tested when made right away, which yields the best results.
I would increase the amount of sauce slightly if you need to make this recipe ahead of time.
STORING MAC AND CHEESE
Any leftovers need to be refrigerated and covered tightly. Mac and cheese can be stored this way for 3-4 days.
To reheat, stir in a little bit of milk or cream and microwave partially covered with plastic wrap. Stir often as it reheats.
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT USED IN THIS RECIPE
- Box Grater – remember, the best mac starts with freshly shredded cheese!
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AND DON’T FORGET, IF YOU’VE MADE THIS RECIPE, LEAVE A COMMENT AND PLEASE GIVE IT A STAR RATING!
Post has been updated in September 2019 with new photos and additional information.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 1 lb. dried elbow pasta
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 2 1/2 cups half and half
- 4 cups shredded medium cheddar cheese divided (measured after shredding)
- 2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese divided (measured after shredding)
- 1/2 Tbsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. paprika smoked paprika is our favorite!
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and grease a 3 qt baking dish (9x13"). Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When boiling, add dried pasta and cook 1 minute less than the package directs for al dente. Drain and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil to keep from sticking.
- While water is coming up to a boil, shred cheeses and toss together to mix, then divide into three piles. Approximately 3 cups for the sauce, 1 1/2 cups for the inner layer, and 1 1/2 cups for the topping.
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over MED heat. Sprinkle in flour and whisk to combine. Mixture will look like very wet sand. Cook for approximately 1 minute, whisking often. Slowly pour in about 2 cups or so of the half and half, while whisking constantly, until smooth. Slowly pour in the remaining half and half and the whole milk, while whisking constantly, until combined and smooth.
- Continue to heat over MED heat, whisking very often, until thickened to a very thick consistency. It should almost be the consistency of a semi thinned out condensed soup.
- Remove from the heat and stir in spices and 1 1/2 cups of the cheeses, stirring to melt and combine. Stir in another 1 1/2 cups of cheese, and stir until completely melted and smooth.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine drained pasta with cheese sauce, stirring to combine fully. Pour half of the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheeses, then top that with the remaining pasta mixture.
- Sprinkle the top with the last 1 1/2 cups of cheese and bake for 15 minutes, until cheesy is bubbly and lightly golden brown.
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Chef Tips
- Half and half is a common dairy product in the US - https://www.thekitchn.com/what-is-halfandhalf-ingredient-intelligence-205959
- Please note that if you adjust the servings via the slider bar above, the ingredient amounts listed in the directions do not change. You'll need to use your own common sense and judgement to extrapolate that the new ingredient amounts listed in the "ingredients" section will need to replace the amounts listed in the directions.
- Please feel free to add additional seasonings per your tastes, this is a base recipe that you can change up to make your own. Garlic powder, onion powder, ground mustard, smoked paprika, and hot sauce are some favorites of ours to add.
- To get the 4 cups of cheddar, use a 16 oz block of cheddar and shred.
- To get the 2 cups of gruyere, use as close to an 8 oz block of gruyere as you can (different brands have different sized blocks), and shred.
Mac and Cheese can be made ahead:
- Make as directed (but do not bake), transfer to baking dish and cool completely. Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate 1-2 days ahead.
- Before baking, let dish sit on counter for 30 minutes.
- Bake at recipe temperature for 25-35 minutes, until hot and bubbly.
FIVE CHEESE VARIATION:
Replace cheese amounts with the following:- 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cup Colby cheese, shredded
- 1 cup Muenster cheese, shredded
- 1 1/2 cups Gruyere cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
FOR A CRUNCHIER TOPPING AND FIRMER CONSISTENCY:
- Prepare recipe as directed but bake at 350 or 375 F degrees for 20-30 minutes. Broil at the end of baking for approximately 2-5 minutes, until golden brown and crunchy.
Video
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Y says
Small or large elbow pasta
The Chunky Chef says
I use the smaller ones, but you can make this with any short-cut of pasta you like.
Georgia says
Just made this Mac and cheese, was delicious, everyone loved it.
stephanie says
i’ve made this about 4 times now and my boyfriend loves it. thank you for your service haha!
Molly says
This is the best baked mac and cheese I’ve ever had, including restaurants. I usually don’t like Baked Mac because it’s dry and looks sort of curdled. This is sooo delicious, nothing like that. Also very easy to halve the recipe.
Luna says
This is the best Mac and Cheese EVER! I make it all the time at home and to take to friends. They love it too!!!!
Henry Morris says
Can I add a bit of pepper Jack cheese to give it a little tang?
The Chunky Chef says
Absolutely 🙂
Erin Malone says
Best baked macaroni and cheese recipe I have ever made.
Jeanett says
I just made this and all I say is WOW, totally delish. I was abit concerned by the amount of salt that was called for but I continued following the recipe to a tee and it was perfect. I served mine with beef barbeque sandwiches and it was marvelous. I was also wondering if it was going to be good without ground mustard, like in my usual go to recipe. Needless to say the old recipe is being replaced by this one in my book.
Candace Holt says
I just found you! Your recipe says it serves 8. How big is a serving? I will be making this for a dinner party as a side.
The Chunky Chef says
So happy you’re here 🙂 I don’t measure my serving sizes exactly, but I would estimate that one 9×13 pan would feed about 8-12 people as a side dish (all depends on how hungry your guests are).
Jen says
This recipe is our go to. We’ve made it at least a dozen times. From BBQs to every big family holiday dinner. It’s always a crowd favorite that we get asked to make again and again. We use heavy cream instead of half and half though.
Melvin Brazier says
Really good didn’t have the half& half used all milk still turned out great will definitely make again
Juliee says
Melvin! Thank you for this helpful comment. I was hoping to make this but nervous about using all milk instead of half and half. I’m going to give this a try next weekend for Easter. I’m also putting it together the day before, crossing my fingers that I don’t ruin it by straying from the original 😬
Tracy says
Absolutely love making this with my guy on date night. The creaminess of this recipe far surpasses any recipe I have tried…Thank you!!!
Pam says
So delicious!!!! V easy to make. Most time consuming part is grating the cheese but is worth it for the flavor. I made enough for 50 people. I u
Carla says
Delicious! Everyone loved it. I’ll definitely be making this again. I would just use a tad less butter next time but overall a winning recipe! Thank you!
Patricia Sturgess says
I made this tonight and it turned out so good!!
Jay Wyckoff says
I see paprika on the recipe card but I don’t see it in the instructions. Does the 1/4 tsp of paprika get added into the cheese sauce when adding in the milk and everything else?
The Chunky Chef says
You add it in step 6 where it says to add the spices 🙂
Cierrah Steenhoek says
Creamy and delicious Mac and cheese recipe! Brought this to a Friendsgiving meal and everyone loved it!
Drew says
The sliding scale to adjust servings is a neat feature of this website; however, while the quantities in the list of ingredients may change with the sliding scale, the written directions do not change making this recipe very confusing. ie, I used the scale to make 16 servings and the quantity list shows a combined total of 12 cups of cheese. The directions refer to much less cheese making me question whether him making mistakes.
The Chunky Chef says
It is unfortunate, but that’s just the way this recipe card is coded. So you’ll have to use your skills of deduction to realize that you doubled the recipe, so the amounts written in the instructions would also be doubled 🙂
Colleen says
If it helps
I use a salad shooter to shred all my cheeses
Sooo much easier
Sounds yummy
Will be making this dish, but will be using heavy cream instead of 1/2 &1/2
Suellen says
What if you put the pasta in without boiling it first? I’d think the pasta would have more flavor if you did.
The Chunky Chef says
You would likely need more liquid in order for that to work, and I haven’t tested this recipe other than as written.