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Creamy Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Updated Feb. 28, 2024
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- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- Salt
- 1pound cavatappi or elbow macaroni
- ½cup unsalted butter
- ½cup all-purpose flour
- 6cups whole milk
- 1pound sharp or extra-sharp yellow Cheddar, coarsely grated (5¼ cups)
- 8ounces Velveeta, torn into pieces
- 4ounces Pecorino Romano, coarsely grated (1 cup)
- ½teaspoon dry mustard powder
- ¼teaspoon onion powder
- Pinch of ground cayenne
- Freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Step 2
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season generously with salt. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until just past al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Step 3
Return the empty pot to the stove (no need to clean it) and set over medium heat. Melt the butter and simmer, whisking occasionally, until the butter stops spurting and quiets down, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the flour and cook, whisking, until smooth like gravy, about 1 minute.
- Step 4
Whisk in the milk. Raise the heat to high and bring to a simmer, whisking constantly, then immediately reduce the heat to low and continue simmering until the sauce lightly coats the back of a spoon, 2 to 5 minutes. At this stage, the sauce should be smooth but relatively loose. Take the pot off the heat.
- Step 5
To the pot, add the Cheddar, Velveeta, Pecorino Romano, mustard powder, onion powder and cayenne, and season generously with salt and black pepper. Whisk until the cheese is melted and smooth like nacho cheese. Add the drained pasta, breaking up any clumps, and stir until evenly coated in the cheese sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Step 6
Transfer to a 9-by-13-inch baking pan or dish and bake until bubbling at the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
I'd encourage the posters who want more "interesting" cheese, or an 18th-century French version of the dish, to actually read the story accompanying the recipe--there's a place for all of that but that's not what this recipe is intended to provide.
I wanted to make this recipe, as I have always loved Stouffer's version. After looking through the entire list of notes for helpful hints, it appears that only one person actually made the recipe before commenting (thank you, Steve). I made the recipe as written, and although the proportions of butter to flour in the roux seemed like it would be thin, it worked perfectly. It is a perfectly-balanced macaroni and cheese. I broiled the finished top for a minute to get extra color.
Great recipe. Re Velveeta -- my mom was the sort of mother who, in the 60's, insisted we eat Pepperidge Farm instead of Wonder Bread, and made all her cakes from scratch. She didn't allow much processed food in the house. But for my favorite birthday treat of "frankfurter noodle casserole" (mac 'n cheese with Hebrew National hot dogs mixed in), she reluctantly used Velveeta in the sauce. Nothing else would do.
Seriously, the texture you get from a processed cheese like Velveeta is half the point. There are plenty of great homemade mac and cheese recipes that don't use Velveeta. Go make one of those instead of defeating the entire purpose of this recipe.
Easy Velveeta replacement. For those who aren't fans of Velveeta's taste there is a simple replacement. You can get a bag of food grade Sodium Citrate from Amazon for a few dollars. Just add a pinch to the cheese sauce you make and it will serve the same purpose as the Velveeta without the downsides of Velveeta. This trick works wonders in Cheese Fondue as well. It will keep most any melted cheese mixture from separating.
That's how my mom made it - with eggs. I love the creamy/Stouffers style, too, but hers was the best. It's a totally different texture and dish. And, while I'm here, all you Velveeta haters and shamers, just please get over yourselves. If you don't want it, don't use it! No one's forcing you.
Read the text of the article. The reason for the Velveeta is both chemical and culinary. There is no substitute.
Made it tonight, wouldn’t change a thing. Was inspired by the vid on NYT on the weekend. Always make the recipe the way it is written the first time. The second time make your modifications. If you modify them before doing the original, you might never cook the recipe the way the author had intended. People always assume they know more than the person who actually wrote the recipe.
This is the way we made mac and cheese when I was a child. We had a family cow so any way of using extra milk was welcome! I still follow this method and always make sure to use the Velveeta. Depending on the audience I will add various seasonings, meats, and vegetables. This dish freezes well.
Strange to see the rush of comments when a recipe first posts. Did you actually make it within 5 hours of publishing? Made this last night and it was pretty good! Definitely was Stouffer's reminiscent. Easy to follow but equal parts butter/flour doesn't give me something like gravy, but I added in the milk slowly and avoided any lumps. It's nice that Velveeta comes in smaller wrapped "fresh packs' now for those worried about leftover processed cheese. Added some reserved cheese on top.
Instead of all the cheddar, take away four to six ounces and replace it with Stilton. Gives it a nice bit.
I've used cream cheese in lieu of Velveeta. It provides the needed creaminess and is less salty than Velveeta. I've also put uncooked pasta - yep, raw pasta - in the sauce and baked it in the oven. You need to have lots of sauce for the pasta to absorb but I swear it comes out with a better texture and doesn't risk overcooked pasta like boiling does.
Just made this last night. Followed the recipe to a T, except for the onion powder that I didn't have. It was perfect! I think next time I will sprinkle bread crumbs on top before baking.
Add frenchs fried onions on top. Bake longer to get the best cheese bits. Yum.
Back in the mid-1970’s, in The American Way seat-back magazine on American Airlines, was a monthly recipe. James Beard wrote the column; one month he gave his recipe for Mac and Cheese. It started with a roux to which was added dried mustard, thyme, and hot pepper sauce (just a little), adding lots of milk and a cup of heavy cream, and good cheddar cheese, a little grated parmesan (good quality cheese was key). I still make it. Begone with Velveeta.
Followed recipe exactly and it was decadent and amazing. I topped with buttered crushed Ritz and some of the cheddar because I like it like that. It seems like way too much sauce when you first add the noodles but it turns out absolutely perfect.
Just want to add that you CAN do this with GF pasta! (Don’t use one made from bean flour though- use quinoa, rice, or corn flour pasta) The trick is to way undercook it, because most of them will fall apart if overcooked and there’s plenty of sauce here to cook the pasta the rest of the way in the oven. Just use an AP GF flour or sweet rice flour for the roux. And if you like buttered crushed Ritz on top like I do, use GF Schar Entertainment Crackers. You’re welcome!
My family liked it, however, would have preferred less cheese.
This recipe is where it's at. I've made this three times now and each time it has been delicious with a perfect, creamy texture I followed the recipe exactly the first time I made it, but I've started to experiment with different cheeses using similar ratios to get different tastes The last one I made I used 12 oz cheddar, 8 oz monterey jack, and 2-4 oz blue cheese along with the velveeta and it was amazing! The blue cheese adds a deep umami without being too stinky or noticeable. Crave worthy
Makes enough for an army! Delicious! Only modification was a bit more pepper. Fed 5 with a ton of leftovers.
Best macaroni and cheese recipe! Will only make this recipe going forward.
I liked this recipe but would add some smoked Gruyère into the mix (or another fun cheese) to bump up the flavor of the cheese sauce. I thought this made way more sauce than needed and my noodles would be swimming in soup. I did hold back a cup or so of sauce because I had filled my pans already and it came out very nice. Don’t be too alarmed when it looks a little soupy going into the oven. I didn’t try it this time, but would probably bump up the seasonings a bit next time, too.
Absolutely loved this, but I added some Gouda!! So good!
I wanted to add one more comment...the full recipe EASILY makes enough for 12 people, and I would even say 16 if you have multiple sides.
This is my go-to exactly as written. My friends love it and I make it frequently. Today, however, I switched it up and used Aldi’s Swiss-Gruyère blend instead of cheddar…it’s a slightly thicker sauce but really delicious. (Also per other comments I usually double the spices.)
I have only made mac and cheese once or twice before so I was skeptical of this recipe when I finished putting all the ingredients together and the cheese sauce seemed more like runny soup than a thick creamy sauce. But it set up nicely in the oven, though I did leave it in there for closer to 30-35 minutes rather than 15-20 as the recipe called for. I liberally sprinkled panko bread crumbs on top before baking and gave it about 10 minutes at 425 to brown up the top. It was a hit. Really tasty.
Add some smoked gouda in place of about half of the cheddar for a more complex flavor. Delicious
Sometimes you need a Stouffer’s copycat mac recipe, and this is it. Creamy, cheesy perfection. My teenagers love it.
Fantastic. This is a recipe for those who prefer a saucy Mac & cheese as opposed to the dryer baked versions. The velveeta ensures the sauce isn’t gritty, and the amount is small enough that the other cheeses are what you taste. The only modification I made was significantly increasing the seasonings (cayenne, onion powder, dried mustard); I used 3-4x what the recipe called for, and liked the complexity it added to the flavor.
Made this tonight and it was so good! Only change i made was to a diced jalapeño and a 4oz fan of green chiles to the cheese sauce to give a kick and some more flavor. It was delicious
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