BEST Homemade Baked Mac and Cheese
Extra cheesy, creamy, and baked to golden perfection, this homemade mac and cheese hits all the right notes. It’s the ultimate crowd-pleaser for potlucks, family dinners, BBQs, and holiday spreads!
Servings: 10 medium servings
Equipment
- 9x13" baking dish
- Wooden spoon
- Cheese grater (preferably box grater)
Ingredients
- 1 pound elbow macaroni pasta
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 1 ⅔ cups hand-grated mozzarella cheese not fresh mozzarella (packed)
- 1 ⅔ cups hand-grated sharp cheddar cheese packed
- 1 ⅔ cups hand-grated Jarlsberg or Emmental cheese packed
- 1 cup hand-grated parmesan cheese packed
- 5 tablespoons butter
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- Salt and pepper white or black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Grease a 9x13” baking dish. Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Boil pasta for the cook time on the box minus 1 minute. Drain. Add 1 tablespoon butter and toss to coat. Set aside.
- In a separate large pan over medium heat, add 4 tablespoons butter. Let melt. Add flour and whisk until incorporated.
- Slowly add in milk, and then half-and-half, whisking into the flour mixture.
- Whisk for 8-14 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly, until roux passes the wooden spoon test (dip wooden spoon in roux and swipe finger down the back; if line stays clean without sauce running back, it’s thickened).
- When roux has thickened, turn heat off and add mozzarella, cheddar, and Jarlsberg/Emmental (NOT parmesan). Stir until cheese melts.
- Add pasta to cheese mixture, salt and pepper, and toss.
- Pour pasta mixture into prepared baking dish, smoothing out evenly.
- Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. Bake for 25 minutes, and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Grate the cheese first, before beginning the recipe!
- You can usually find a block of regular mozzarella cheese by the pre-grated bags of cheese! Jarlsberg and Emmental are mild, nutty Swiss cheeses that are less expensive than Gruyère. If you’d like to splurge, you can absolutely use Gruyère! You can use regular parmesan or Parmigiano-Reggiano.
- Use the coarse setting of a cheese grater!
- Don’t over-bake mac and cheese! Over-baking causes a gritty/lumpy texture.
- Browning too fast? Lightly tent mac and cheese with foil towards the end of baking if needed.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 563kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 89mg | Sodium: 625mg | Potassium: 324mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 946IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 638mg | Iron: 1mg