Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
Macaroni and cheese is such a humble dish, but it brings out strong emotions from many people. It’s comforting and nostalgic, sometimes bringing deep sentimentality from adults, satisfaction from children and tears of frustration from mothers whose children refuse to eat anything else.
No matter which category you fall into (or maybe you’re like me who enjoys a bowl of mac n cheese about once a year), this recipe will bring a smile to everybody’s face. It’s very simple to make and you can add lots of great things to boost up the flavor or keep it as uncomplicated as you (or your picky children) wish. I like to add a little bit of onion, garlic, dry mustard and cayenne pepper that makes the cheese sauce taste phenomenal. As you get a spoonful of cheesy, gooey macaroni and cheese, the golden and crunchy breadcrumbs sprinkled on top give it texture and another dimension of taste.
Ingredients:
16 oz pasta (elbows, shells, whatever you like)
4 Tablespoons butter
1 small onion, minced (optional)
1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
6 Tablespoons all purpose flour
5 cups of milk (+ about 1/2 cup more milk if you are reheating the pasta)
1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard, optional
dash of cayenne pepper, optional
8 oz cheddar cheese, grated
8 oz monterey jack cheese, grated
Breadcrumb Topping:
1 1/2 Tablespoons butter
1 – 1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
Instructions:
This recipe makes a big batch of macaroni and cheese. You can easily halve the recipe if you don’t want to make too much.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions and then drain.
While you are waiting for the water to boil and cook, you will make the sauce, so everything should be ready once the pasta is drained. Isn’t that convenient?
In a heavy bottomed pot, melt the butter. Add the minced onion, season with a pinch of salt and cook until the onions are tender and translucent, but not golden. Add the minced garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. You can omit the onion and garlic, if you want to make this recipe even easier or just want to keep the flavors very simple. Not a problem at all.
Add the flour and mix until it’s completely incorporated into the butter, stirring the whole time, just until the flour starts to get golden, about 1 minute.
Slowly pour in the milk, a little bit at a time, whisking constantly so that you don’ t get any lumps.
Add the salt, ground black pepper, dry mustard and cayenne pepper. Mix to combine. 
Bring the milk to a simmer, covered, on medium low heat. Keep cooking until the milk thickens up, about 5 minutes.
Turn off the heat and add the cheese, mixing to combine, until the cheese is melted and smooth.
Add the drained pasta to the cheese sauce and mix until the sauce is coating all the pasta.
Serve right away. The longer the macaroni and cheese stands, the thicker it will get. If you want to thin it out or reheat leftovers, add some milk to it and it should still have a great saucy consistency.
For the breadcrumb topping, toast the breadcrumbs in the butter, on a skillet, over medium heat, stirring frequently until golden brown.
Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over each portion of macaroni and cheese.
If you want to bake the macaroni and cheese in the oven, undercook the pasta, so that it still has a little bit of bite left to it. Mix the pasta with the cheese sauce, pour the macaroni and cheese into a rimmed baking dish, (a 13×9 inch baking dish works great for this) and bake in a preheated 350 degrees Fahrenheit, until the Macaroni and Cheese is bubbling around the edges. Sprinkle with the toasted bread crumbs and serve.
- 16 oz pasta (elbows, shells, whatever and you like)
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 1 small onion, minced (optional)
- 1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
- 6 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- 5 cups of milk (+ about ½ cup more milk if you are reheating the pasta)
- 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard, optional
- dash of cayenne pepper, optional
- 8 oz cheddar cheese, grated
- 8 oz monterey jack cheese, grated
- Breadcrumb Topping:
- 1½ Tablespoons butter
- 1 - 1½ cups fresh breadcrumbs
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions and then drain.
- While you are waiting for the water to boil and cook, you will make the sauce, so everything should be ready once the pasta is drained. Isn't that convenient?
- In a heavy bottomed pot, melt the butter. Add the minced onion, season with a pinch of salt and cook until the onions are tender and translucent, but not golden. Add the minced garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. You can omit the onion and garlic, if you want to make this recipe even easier or just want to keep the flavors very simple. Not a problem at all.
- Add the flour and mix until it's completely incorporated into the butter, stirring the whole time, just until the flour starts to get golden, about 1 minute.
- Slowly pour in the milk, a little bit at a time, whisking constantly so that you don' t get any lumps. Add the salt, ground black pepper, dry mustard and cayenne pepper. Mix to combine. Bring the milk to a simmer, covered, on medium low heat. Keep cooking until the milk thickens up, about 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and add the cheese, mixing to combine, until the cheese is melted and smooth.
- Add the drained pasta to the cheese sauce and mix until the sauce is coating all the pasta. Serve right away. The longer the macaroni and cheese stands, the thicker it will get. If you want to thin it out or reheat leftovers, add some milk to it and it should still have a great saucy consistency.
- For the breadcrumb topping, toast the breadcrumbs in the butter, on a skillet, over medium heat, stirring frequently until golden brown.
- Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over each portion of macaroni and cheese.
- If you want to bake the macaroni and cheese in the oven, undercook the pasta, so that it still has a little bit of bite left to it. Mix the pasta with the cheese sauce, pour the macaroni and cheese into a rimmed baking dish, (a 13x9 inch baking dish works great for this) and bake in a preheated 350 degrees Fahrenheit, until the Macaroni and Cheese is bubbling around the edges. Sprinkle with the toasted bread crumbs and serve.
23 Comments
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Olga
Olga –
My mouth is totally watering right now. I will be trying this recipe this weekend. Thank you for your easy and simple recipes. They are always a hit in our home!
olgak7
I’m so happy to hear that, Olga. Thank you for your kind words.
Angela Mangicaro
I’ve been waiting for this recipe! It will be on my menu plan this week! Thank you!
olgak7
Thank you for the kind words, Angela. God bless you too.
Rachel
I’m always looking for a great macaroni and cheese recipe. This one sounds amazing and not too complicated! I can’t wait to try it!
olgak7
I hope you enjoy it, Rachel.
Mary
What a creamy looking mac and cheese…..nothing worse than dry mac and cheese. Fantastic photos. Pinned. Thank you,
olgak7
Creamy is the most important thing in mac and cheese:). I hope you enjoy it, Mary.
Masha L
Can it be frozen?
olgak7
Yes, Masha. I would recommend undercooking the pasta if you plan to freeze it, since it will become softer while frozen and then when you reheat it.
Amy
For some reason my milk did not thicken nor did the cheese actually melt in the milk..
olgak7
I’m sorry to hear that, Amy. Perhaps you didn’t cook the sauce long enough?
Also, about the cheese not melting – did you use pre shredded cheese? Sometimes certain types of pre shredded cheese have a lot of stabilizers in them which would prevent it from melting. I’ve never had this happen to me before, so I’m not sure how to help you.
Larisa
Olga, thanks for posting this recipe! Tried making Mac and Cheese for the first time in my lifetime. I’m not a big fan of Mac n Cheese, but this recipe was pretty good. (Maybe because we grew up not having much of it). Our little ones asked for seconds though. I gotta tell ya, the addition of toasted bread crumbs makes it waaaay better! And minced onion and garlic take away a lot of the “blandness”. I had to add a teensy bit of salt in addition to one teaspoon. I like the fact that it’s so fast to make. Was nice to come back from sledding and have a meal within half an hour.
olgak7
I’m so happy to hear that, Larisa. I agree that the bread crumbs bring the mac and cheese to a whole other level. And onions and garlic make almost everything taste better in my opinion:). I’m thrilled that your little ones enjoyed it.
marta
would it still work out if i used double cheddar instead of the jack cheese?
olgak7
Sure it will, Marta:).
Natasha of Natashaskitchen.com
We tried this today and it’s definitely a make again recipe! thank you! 🙂
olgak7
I’m so happy to hear that, Natasha. Thank you for taking the time to write.
natasha
I tried this recipe a few days ago; fantastic mac n’ cheese!! The kids loved it. I did half the recipe & used only yellow cheddar cheese and it turned out perfect; reheated very nicely. Thanks for sharing.
olgak7
That’s great, Natasha. Thank you for taking the time to write.
Natasha
That is very interesting. Thanks for sharing your recipes.
Natallia
Made this today and it is delicious! Perfect mac and cheese recipe!
olgak7
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it, Natallia.