This baked mac and cheese is a family favorite recipe, loved by both children and adults.ย 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!ย Perfect for a comforting dinner or as a holiday side dish!
Looking for other comfort food dishes?ย 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. ย It’s nearly the universal comfort food, and there are SO many variations!ย 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.ย 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.ย I like to boil my elbow pasta for between 4 and 5 minutes.ย 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.ย 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!ย Our personal favorites are the cheddar and gruyere used in this recipe, but you can be very creative with the cheese selection here.ย Mozzarella, gouda, smoked gouda, swiss, monterey jack, colby jack, colby.ย 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.ย 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.ย 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.ย 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.ย 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. ย 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.ย This dish has been tested when made right away, which yields the best results.ย ย
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.ย 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.ย Stir often as it reheats.
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT USED IN THIS RECIPE
- Box Graterย โ remember, the best mac starts with freshly shredded cheese!
BE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN TO CHECK OUT OTHER READERSโ COMMENTS!
AND DONโT FORGET, IF YOUโVE 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. ย 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. ย Sprinkle in flour and whisk to combine. ย Mixture will look like very wet sand. ย Cook for approximately 1 minute, whisking often. ย Slowly pour in about 2 cups or so of the half and half, while whisking constantly, until smooth. ย 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. ย 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. ย Pour half of the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish. ย 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. ย
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Chef Tips
- Half and half is a common dairy product in the US -ย 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.ย
- 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. ย Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate 1-2 days ahead. ย
- Before baking, let dish sit on counter for 30 minutes.
- Bake at recipe temperature for 25-35 minutes, until hot and bubbly. ย
ย
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
ย
FOR A CRUNCHIER TOPPING AND FIRMER CONSISTENCY:
- Prepare recipe as directed but bake at 350 or 375 F degrees for 20-30 minutes.ย 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.
Abby Hoffmann says
Hi Amanda, I already have a bag of cavatapi pasta – would I use a different amount then the elbow pasta stated in the recipe? Thanks!
The Chunky Chef says
Nope just use the same amount ๐
TJ says
Best mac n cheese ever
Krystal says
Thank you for posting this delicious Mac n cheese recipe! Iโve followed it several times! I use sharp cheddar, Gruyรจre, and Gouda.
Lorraine says
Hi planning to make this for Thanksgiving this year. How does this do with cooking a day ahead and baking the following day? I wanna prepare it Wednesday and do the baking on Thanksgiving.
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Lorraine, all the make ahead details and tips are found in the “making mac and cheese ahead of time” section of the post above the recipe ๐
Lorraine says
Thanks! I totally overlooked that.
Ruby says
This Mac and cheese was BOMB thank you for the recipe :))
Dawn says
Can you use whole cream instead of half and half and if so what would be the amount difference?
The Chunky Chef says
You can use heavy cream, and when I use cream instead of half and half, I either keep the amounts the same, or use 1 cup of heavy cream and 3 cups of whole milk ๐
Raisa says
Hi Amanda,
I made this recipe back in 2021 for thanksgiving and it was such a hit. So delicious!!! I plan on making it again this year, but for some reason I feel like I used cotija cheese as one of the cheeses. Did the recipe used to list cotija cheese anywhere?
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Raisa, this recipe hasn’t changed since it was originally posted, so it’s never had cotija cheese. Are you sure it was this recipe?
Marsha P says
Great recipe! Delicious. This will be a family favorite!
Marsha says
Great recipe! Delicious! I will make this time and time again!
Lyric says
Will heavy whipping cream work in place of half and half??
The Chunky Chef says
Sure thing ๐
sunny says
amazing recipe i make it all the time ive made it for my friends and family and everyone has said it was amazing even when i mess up the measurements it turns out so tasty
Chelsey says
Would this still be creamy and cooked if I cooked it at 350 for 15 minutes? Or should I lower the time at 350?
The Chunky Chef says
It’ll still be great at 350ยฐF for 15 minutes; it’s a really forgiving recipe ๐
David says
Hey Amanda, Iโm cooking for 40 college students that are in a Christian student ministries program. Would doubling this recipient feed 40 students as a side dish. Iโm also smoking 3 9lb Pork butts for pulled pork Sandwhiches and a large try of baked beans
??? Thanks for your input, David
The Chunky Chef says
I think doubling it should be okay, with all the other food you’re serving (sounds delicious by the way!) ๐
Joelle says
Made this (standard base recipe), but added 1 C Gouda and additional 3/4 t paprika, and 1 T Dijon mustard. My family loved it!!! This will be our new go to for family gatherings
Nina says
Is sauce supposed to be alot, seems like way to much. Maybe I didnโt use enough pasta? I used 1 box. I just took out 2 cups of sauce before I baked. Did want it to be soupy.
The Chunky Chef says
It sounds like maybe the sauce wasn’t thickened up quite enough. There should be plenty of sauce, that’s what makes this baked mac and cheese creamy instead of dry, but it shouldn’t be swimming in sauce once it’s all stirred together. Did you watch the video? It shows what it should look like ๐
Ashley says
I have a question, is it medium cheese or is it sharp cheddar ?
The Chunky Chef says
You can use either, but I typically use medium cheddar.
Christie says
Yโall this is how you make macaroni and cheese. I make this every thanksgiving and for bbqs. Settles the age old debate of creamy versus melty cheese as it is nice and creamy with some melted cheese on top. There are some weird Mac and cheese recipes out there. Be safe, use this one.
Nancy says
Could this particular recipe be prepared in the morning and cooked in a casserole crockpot?
The Chunky Chef says
This recipe wasn’t designed to be cooked in a slow cooker, but I do know some readers have kept it warm in one after being baked. If you’re looking for a mac and cheese recipe that’s meant to be cooked in a slow cooker, I have one for you https://www.thechunkychef.com/ultra-creamy-crockpot-mac-and-cheese/
Erika says
My family loves this recipe! Definitely recommend this one. I used Gouda and cheddar instead and it was so delicious.
Kate Perrin says
Thank you for this. Iโm going to take it to my daughters home as a side dish for thanksgiving dinner. It will be easy to make gluten free (celiac in family) Iโll just use gf flour and pasta.
But her kitchen isnโt big enough for me to actually bake it there. So I was thinking that I could bake it in my oven in the ceramic insert of my slow cooker and then keep in warm at her house in the slow cooker. Do you think that will work?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, plenty of readers have kept this mac and cheese warm in a slow cooker after baking it ๐