The BEST Homemade Mac and Cheese of your LIFE. Outrageously cheesy, ultra creamy, and topped with a crunchy Panko-Parmesan topping, this mac and cheese recipe is most definitely a keeper. I used three different cheese and a homemade cheese sauce to take this macaroni and cheese recipe over the top. Love cheesy recipes? Make sure to try this Lazy Day Lasagna and Cheesy Kielbasa Rice and Broccoli Skillet next week for dinner!
This post is sponsored by Walmart and SheKnows Media.
Homemade Baked Mac and Cheese
There is absolutely nothing I love more than cheese. And when you add pasta to it? Fuggetaboutit.
Mac and cheese is one of those recipes that can take on so many different forms. I love it anyway I can get it but baked mac and cheese is my very favorite and I’ll tell you why… The topping. I use breadcrumbs for my topping occasionally, but, a Panko topped mac and cheese is just that much better.
I mix in Parmesan, butter, and paprika with the Panko so it crisps up beautifully and gets a nice golden brown color when this amazing homemade mac and cheese is baked.
I’m going to be honest here. When I make mac and cheese, it’s the mac to cheese ratio that I am most concerned about. I love it when the mac and cheese is oeey gooey and the cheese sauce is just so creamy. GIMME.
With all this cheese going on in this macaroni and cheese recipe, I need a little help from my KitchenAid Deluxe Stand Mixer and it’s handy dandy Fresh Prep Slice/Shredder attachment. I picked up this beauty at Walmart this past week and I am in LOOOOOVE. I was torn between the options: SILVER | COBALT | PISTACHIO. But, when I pictured them in my kitchen, I knew I had to go with the cobalt – it’s just stunning!
My sister had bought me the pasta maker attachment years ago and it’s used A LOT so I was excited to pick up the shredder attachment on this last trip to Walmart because, I mean, come on. You guys know that I’m all about the cheese. But it’s not just for shredding cheese you guys! We’ve already used it to make the hash brown crust on this quiche too. What a time saver!
I use my stand mixer about 954 times each week. Being a food blogger and mom means I’m in my kitchen a lot baking up goodies and whipping up amazing dinners like this homemade baked mac and cheese. I am always, always looking for help in the kitchen and the Kitchen Aid Deluxe Stand Mixer is the answer.
You’re going to find all the features you know and love including a tilt-head design to easily add ingredients, 10 speeds to thoroughly mix, whip, and knead ingredients, and it comes with the coated flat beater, coated dough hook, and the wire whip.
There are 10 hub powered attachments including a spiralizer, food grinder and citrus juicer. SO much fun to be had you guys!
Tips for the Best Homemade Baked Mac and Cheese
- Use block cheese and shred, do not buy the pre-shredded cheese. The pre-shredded cheese is great for so many things but not macaroni and cheese. It’s coated and won’t melt properly. You need to shred it yourself for the best result.
- Cook your pasta to slightly less than al dente, about one minute shy is perfect. The reason is that this is baked mac and cheese so the pasta will continue to cook in the homemade cheese sauce in the oven. You don’t want soggy macaroni.
- I used elbow pasta but really, any tubular past will work.
- This mac and cheese recipe starts with a roux. The roux is super important to getting the creamiest cheese sauce of your life. Here is what you need to look for:
- The roux (equal parts butter and flour) is whisked together until bubbly and golden.
- Whisk in cold milk – not warm – to prevent the flour from clumping.
- Cook the roux until you see bubbles on the surface and then continue cooking for an additional 2 minutes before adding the cheese.
Homemade Macaroni and Cheese: What Kind of Cheese Should I Use?
I honestly use different cheese combinations almost every time I make this mac and cheese recipe but the one I always come back to is sharp cheddar and Gruyere. If you can’t find Gruyere, Jarlsberg Swiss cheese is the best substitute. Other cheese that work: mozzarella, jack cheese or pepper jack for a little zip, American and Velveeta as well for a creamier cheese sauce. This baked mac and cheese uses 6 cups of cheese so just
To add even more flavor to my homemade mac and cheese, I add Parmesan to the Panko topping – so good!
Make sure to try out these favorites too!
- The Ultimate Chicken Fried Steak and Gravy
- Pulled Chicken Sandwiches with Root Beer BBQ Sauce
- Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches
- One Pot Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup
- Slow Cooker Shrimp Boil
I sure hope you give this a try and please, let me know what you think in the comments below!
How To Make Homemade Mac and Cheese
The BEST Homemade Baked Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 16 oz elbow macaroni, cooked (or other tubular pasta)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 2 cups Gruyere cheese shredded
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 cups panko crumbs
- 4 tbsp butter melted
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika (or regular paprika)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a large 3 qt or 4 qt baking dish and set aside.
Combine shredded cheeses in a large bowl and set aside. - Cook the pasta one minute shy of al dente according to the package instructions. Remove from heat, drain, and place in a large bowl.
- Drizzle pasta with olive oil and stir to coat pasta. Set aside to cool while preparing cheese sauce.
- Melt butter in a deep saucepan, dutch oven, or stock pot.
- Whisk in flour over medium heat and continue whisking for about 1 minute until bubbly and golden.
- Gradually whisk in the milk and heavy cream until nice and smooth. Continue whisking until you see bubbles on the surface and then continue cooking and whisking for another 2 minutes. Whisk in salt and pepper.
- Add two cups of shredded cheese and whisk until smooth. Add another two cups of shredded cheese and continue whisking until creamy and smooth. Sauce should be nice and thick.
- Stir in the cooled pasta until combined and pasta is fully coated with the cheese sauce.
- Pour half of the mac and cheese into the prepared baking dish. Top with remaining 2 cups of shredded cheese and then the remaining mac and cheese.
- In a small bowl, combine panko crumbs, Parmesan cheese, melted butter and paprika. Sprinkle over the top and bake until bubbly and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
Video
Nutrition
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Adoobie says
Judy, ya almost got put right back into timeout when i saw the sauce to pasta ratio. However, the mac and cheese tightened up and i’m happy to say the recipe was a hit. I added some cayenne, onion powder, and a few other spices and it turned out fan-fucking-amazing. Thanks
Alex says
Thank you so much for the recipe Trish! I cooked this for my friends at our annual friendsgiving and everyone absolutely loved it.
Aidael says
Best mac&cheese ever
Melissa Edens says
This is my starter recipe for Mac n cheese but I do 1.5 times the sauce for the amount of noodles, throw in a bit of dry white wine, and we do 3 types each time: plain, add bacon, and add jalapeños – we have to do all 3 because no one can decide which is best!
True story: was visiting my sister in another state this past summer and mentioned I had found the best starter recipe for Mac – TLDR: she has started with the same recipe the week before!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Can never have too much sauce! Love your additions – so yummy!
Emily says
I forgot the whipping cream and never even realized it until I saw it in my fridge unused… I didn’t even notice, because the recipe was so delicious. Can’t even imagine with the cream. I like that the sauce was gooey and thick so will probably skip it next time too!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
That’s so awesome! Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!
Julie says
I will definitely be using this recipe from now on! I used extra sharp and vermont sharp cheddar since that is what I had. I also skipped transferring everything to the casserole dish and just added the pasta to the dutch oven that I made the sauce in. It came out great!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Woohoo! Thanks Julie!
Karen says
Creamy and delicious! I used 2% milk and light cream. Also used crushed Ritz crackers in place of Panko.
Leah says
Fabulous recipe! I used no-fat milk and added Hormel chopped bacon. Delicious. Thank you!
Barbie Barone says
This was awesome creamy and cheesy delish!!! Thanks for sharing
Cynthia says
I did half the recipe and added around 1 tsp of cajun seasoner to the panko topping
It was a little dry but mainly because I couldn’t find the heavy cream so I used sour cream and I couldn’t find ANY good cheese so I used already shredded cheddar (not a very good brand) and asadero (local cheese here in MX)
I had never made mac n cheese so I didnt know how much salt and pepper to use and I think I didn’t put enough
This recipe is AMAZING though, I will drive a little farther from where I live to find some good cheese and the heavy cream and will DEFINITELY try this again next week, thank you so much for sharing!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
So glad you enjoyed it Cynthia!
Ana says
I love it !!!
Y says
I love this recipe! NEVER made homemade mac&cheese before and on the first try my kids said, “it was the best mac&cheese they ever had?” Made it several times already!
Julie K says
I absolutely love this Mac and Cheese as do my husband and kids! I am planning to make this for an upcoming party. As I won’t have time the day of to making it wondering if it could be prepared the day before but then cooked the day of the party. Alternatively if the sauce could be made the day before and then mixed with the macaroni the day off and then baked. Any feedback on this would be appreciated!
Marissa says
We cooked this! ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! The parm wasnt needed, but soooooo goooooood!!! We are saving this in our cookbook
Alyssa says
It is the best homemade mac and cheese I’ve eaten! I could never find a good recipe for it, but this is it. It is fairly easy too. It tasted even better eating it as leftovers. I thought it wouldn’t taste as good because of the dairy in it, but I was wrong. I won’t be searching anymore and will use this recipe every time. As a side note, I forgot to add salt & pepper, but it still was very tasty without. I cooked it for about 10 extra minutes to make the top crispy brown, which made it off the chain!