Baked Macaroni and Cheese (2024)

• Recommended pasta: My favorite pasta shape for Macaroni and Cheese Casserole is cavatappi. It is also known as cellentani, amori,spirali, ortortiglione and should be sold at most grocery stores. It’s a type of spiral, hollow, macaroni with scored ridges. Both the hollowness and the ridges area ideal to capture creamy sauce – and I just love the texture of the shape. It is sturdy enough for the rich sauce and doesn’t become easily overwhelmed or soggy.
• Different pasta shapes: That being said, feel free to use other pastas but look for sturdy shapes with plenty of texture such as grooves or ridges so the sauce has something to cling to and doesn’t slip right off. Some good options are radiatori (another fav), rotini, penne, fusilli, etc.
• Pastas to avoid: Avoid flimsy pastas, pastas with smooth surfaces such as macaroni or ziti or long pastas such as spaghetti or fettucine.
• Pastas types:You can use classic pasta, whole-wheat pasta, gluten free pasta.

• Sharp cheddar:This is the quintessential cheese for Baked Macaroni and Cheese Casserole. It boasts sharp richness and provides the signature flavor.
• Gouda:This MAKES this recipe in my opinion! Young smoked Gouda melts 1000X better than cheddar so it allows you to enhance the flavor while meltinggorgeously. I recommend smoked Gouda verses young because it’s rich and smoky whereas young Gouda is mild and sweet. Do not, however, use aged Gouda because it is hard and crumbly and does not melt as well.
• Gruyere:This is the consummate melting cheese and one of my favorite cheeses to use! It’s sweet, slightly salty, creamy, nutty and boasts enough flavor to cut through the richness of the sauce and melts seamlessly for additional luxurious creaminess. Gruyere is a Swiss cheese and can be found with the specialty cheese (usually by the deli) in your grocery store.

• Butter: Use unsalted butter so we can control the level of salt. Do NOT substitute any of the butter with oil or your sauce can become grainy.
• All-purpose flour: This thickens the sauce and stabilizes the cheeses. Please do not use wheat flour. All-purpose flour is more finely ground and integrates more smoothly into the roux for a smoother sauce.
• Milk: The higher the fat content, the smoother your cheese will melt/incorporate. It’s best to use whole milk, or at least 2% milk.
• Evaporated milk:This secret ingredient adds creaminess without the fat of heavy cream. Evaporated milk is canned, stabilized hom*ogenized cow’s milk from which 60 percent of the water has been removed. This means it is thicker than just milk and more stable than heavy cream and less likely to curdle or separate.
• Dijon mustard:Mustard might sound odd, but I promise it is not a pronounced flavor but simply boosts the other flavors and highlights the cheddar.
• Chicken bouillon: Please do not skip! It is a secret ingredient that adds tons of flavor. It is essentiallydehydratedvegetables, meat stock, a small portion of fat,salt, and seasonings AKA it is salt with flavor! You can usechicken bouillon, bouillon powder or better than bouillon – all in equal amounts. If you are using bouillon cubes, just mash them up a bit before you add them to the sauce – don’t dissolve in water first. You will need 3 cubes.
• Seasonings: Onion powder, garlic powder, dried parsley, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes infuse the velvety cheese sauce with complex flavor while still allowing the cheese flavors to shine.

• Panko: This is a style of Japanese bread crumb that is lighter, larger and dryer than normal breadcrumbs so it absorbs less moisture, producing a much crispier topping. Panko is located with the other breadcrumbs at the grocery store. Please do NOT substitute with traditional breadcrumbs and expect the same results – they are not nearly as crunchy! My favorite panko is actually gluten freeAleia’s Gluten Free Real Panko Original(even though I’m not gluten free) made primarily of brown rice. It is the crunchies panko I’ve found!
• Butter and olive oil: The panko is briefly toasted in butter and olive oil to create the crunchiest topping with a superb buttery mouthfeel. You can use salted or unsalted butter for the topping.

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR making the creamiest macaroni and cheese

• Use quality cheeses.Cheddar has a tendency to become grainy if used on its own. It is best to combine with quality melting cheese such as Gouda, Gruyere, Fontina, Muenster, etc.
• Don’t use reduced fat cheeses.If any of your cheeses are reduced fat, then they will melt into a grainy mess.
• Shred the cheese yourself. Nothing will ruin your Baked Macaroni and Cheese recipe quicker than using pre-shredded cheeses. As previously discussed, pre-shredded cheeses are coated with chemicals that will prevent the cheese from melting beautifully.
• Don’t use oil.Macaroni and Cheese requires the high fat content of high-quality butter – more fat is the key to success. Don’t use ANY kind of oil or you’re setting yourself up for a grainy disaster.
• Cook the roux REALLY WELL. This is where a lot of people go wrong. The roux should be cooked for a full three minutes – or longer- until it becomes nice and smooth and then cook longer still.
• Don’t burn the roux. On the opposite end of the spectrum, don’t burn the roux. Burning the roux will cause the sauce to be grainy. If the roux is browning too quickly before it is smooth, then reduce the heat. If it does happen to burn then throw it out, wipe the pan clean and start over.
• Stir constantly. Whisk the milk/roux constantly while pouring in the milks so less lumps have time to form. Whisking over low heat also slows the formation of lumps.
• Remove lumps before increasing heat.Whisk constantly until the lumps are gone before increasing the heat. If you increase the heat while lumps remain, they are much harder to dissolve.
• Use warm temperature cheese.Leave your cheeses out for an hour or so if you think of it. Warm cheese melts much easier than cold cheese.
• Add the cheese slowly. Add your cheeses in multiple batches – a handful at a time, stirring until completely melted, before adding some more.
• Stir, stir, stir. Stir until the cheese is completely melted. If your cheese isn’t melting, then your sauce may not be warm enough. Return the pan to LOW but don’t let the sauce simmer, then continue to stir until completely melted.
• Thin sauce if needed. If the sauce appears too thick after you add the cheese, simply stir in a little milk until it reaches desired consistency.
• Cook pasta in salted the water. You should always salt your pasta water – it is the one chance you have for the flavor to penetrate the pasta and enhance the subtle pasta flavor – you can taste the difference. Use 1 tablespoon salt for 6 quarts of water.
• Don’t overcook pasta! I recommend testing your pasta about 2 or 3 minutes before the box recommends – pasta should beal dente– meaning it should still be a little firm in the center/ have a “bite” to it, especially because it will cook a little in the oven.
• Prevent pasta from clumping. If you’re not adding the cooked pasta to the cheese sauce right away, toss it with a little olive oil. This will prevent it from sticking together.

possible recipe variations

This Baked Macaroni and Cheese recipe is delicious in its classic cheesiness or you can use the recipe as a base to customize it. Here are a few ideas:

• Swap cheeses: Swap the Gruyere and Gouda for Asiago, Fontina, Muenster, etc. or use the same cheeses in different proportions.
• Add chicken:Stir in rotisserie chicken or chopped cooked chicken at the end of cooking, before baking. You can even season your chicken with different seasonings such as Cajun seasoning to mix things up.
• Add bacon:Use thick cut bacon so it doesn’t get lost in the cheesiness. Cook and crumble bacon in the skillet then use the remaining drippings to cook the roux in. Stir half of the bacon into the Mac and Cheese before baking and sprinkle the rest on top after baking.
• Add other protein:Stir in cooked ham, ground beef, ground turkey, ground Italian sausage, sliced sausage or any leftover cooked protein.
• Add veggies: This homemade Macaroni and Cheese Casserole provides a fabulous enveloping canvas for veggies. Stir inroasted or sautéed broccoli,petite peas, bell peppers,asparagus,zucchini, mushrooms, spinach, etc.
• Add tomatoes:Roast cherry tomatoes tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper at 400 degrees F for 10-12 minutes then stir into the Mac and Cheese. The tomatoes are especially delicious with Italian sausage or andouille chicken sausage with spinach. You can also add drained fire-roasted tomatoes.
• Sun-dried tomatoes: Purchase the sun-dried tomatoes in a jar packed in oil, not water. They are usually located near the olives or pickles at your grocery store.Rinse, pat dry and chop.
• Artichokes:Purchase artichoke hearts in water NOT marinated. The marinated ones often have an acrid taste. Chop and add to the simmering sauce.
• Toppings: Swap the panko for Ritz or use all Parmesan. For Ritz, mix 1 cup of crushed Ritz crackers with 3-4 tablespoons of melted butter.
• Make gluten-free:Use your favorite gluten free pasta and gluten free flour.

WHAT to serve Macaroni and Cheese Casserole

• Salad:This creamy, cheesy recipe pairs beautifully with a fresh, crunchy salad. Some of our favorites areGarden Salad,Wedge Salad,Cucumber Tomato Salad, Strawberry Spinach Salad,and Green Bean Salad.
• Vegetables:You can skip the salad, and instead opt for cooked veggies – but we like both!Roasted Parmesan Broccoli,Roasted Parmesan Asparagus andSautéed Brussels Sprouts with Garlic, Lemon, ButterorRoasted Brussels Sproutsare all superb.
• Bread:Mopping up Macaroni and Cheese with soft bread is a must! We loveSoft and Fluffy Dinner Rolls, Garlic Bread andGarlic Parmesan Butter Breadsticksfor this purpose – and the purpose of stuffing our face.
• Fruit:Bright, fresh fruit is a must either in the form of fresh grapes, melon, etc. or in fruit salad form. We loveFruit Salad with Honey Lime Vinaigrette,Winter Fruit Salad with Honey Lime Poppy Seed VinaigretteandBerry Salad in Honey Mascarpone.

Tools Used in This Recipe

See Favorite Tools

Did You Make This Recipe?

Tag @CarlsbadCravings and Use #CarlsbadCravngs

Leave a Review, I Always Love Hearing From You!