Creamy Baked Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

5 from 29 votes

Creamy Baked Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

This creamy baked macaroni and cheese is the best of both worlds: creamy on the inside with a crispy crackily top. This recipe uses four cheeses, but use what you can and like!

Prep Time20

Cook Time35

Total Time55

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American, Thanksgiving

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings:

Author: Adrianna Adarme

Equipment

1 (5-quart) Dutch oven or pot
1 (6-quart) baking dish or casserole dish

Ingredients

Cheeses:

8 ounces gouda shredded
8 ounces mozzarella shredded
8 ounces colby jack shredded
12 ounces sharp cheddar shredded

Macaroni:

1 pound of pasta of choice (I used medium size elbow macaroni)

Cheese Sauce:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
½ teaspoon ground sweet paprika
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon chicken bouillon (I like Better Than Bouillon), skip if you want to make vegetarian
2 1/2 cups evaporated milk from 2 cans of evaporated milk
2 cups heavy cream

Instructions

To Prep the Cheeses:

Shred the cheeses with the large holes on a box grater. You could also do this with a food processor and the shredder attachment. Place in a very large bowl or baking sheet and mix together.
Set aside 16 ounces of cheese (2 cups). This is going to be for the layering and the top. The rest of it is going to go in the sauce.

To Make the Macaroni:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add in a teaspoon of kosher salt. Pour in the macaroni and cook according to the package’s directions, usually about 5-6 minutes.
Drain and rinse with cool water. This will stop the cooking process, as well as wash some of the starch off the pasta, which we want. This will help with keeping the macaroni and cheese saucy as it bakes.

To Make the Cheese Sauce:

Preheat oven to 350℉. In a large Dutch oven, set over medium heat, melt the butter. When the butter is melted, pour in the flour and mix until a paste forms. Pour in the spices, salt and Dijon mustard, chicken bouillon. Whisk together to cook the spices. Pour in the evaporated milk and heavy cream.
Mix regularly until the mixture thickens, about 2-3 minutes. It should coat the back of a spoon. Immediately turn the heat off and mix. It should be hot but not boiling. We want to add the cheese when the mixture is warm to the touch - but not boiling hot.
Add half of the cheese for the cheese sauce and mix until it melts. Add in the remaining cheese and mix again until it’s melted. The sauce should be pretty smooth and stringy. Give it a taste and adjust the salt to your liking.
Pour in the cooked pasta and mix until all the pasta is coated.

To Bake the Macaroni and Cheese:

In a 9x13-inch baking dish or something comparable, add half of the macaroni and cheese. Sprinkle on half of the remaining cheese. Then, add the rest of the macaroni and cheese. Lastly, spread the rest of the shredded cheeses on top.
Transfer to the oven to bake for 25-30 minutes. Place under a broiler for 2-3 minutes until the top has browned. Let it stand for about 5 minutes before serving.

To Re-heat:

I like to add a few spoonfuls to the center of a sheet of foil and wrap it up. Place it in a preheated 300°F oven for about 10 minutes. This slowly reheats it, which makes for a super gooey, delicious macaroni and cheese. Alternatively, you can microwave it covered for about 1 minute.

Notes

Tips and Tricks:

Rinse your pasta. The extra starch will thicken your sauce further, we don’t want that for this recipe.
Remove the sauce from the heat before adding the cheese. You want the sauce to be hot but not boiling when you add the cheese to prevent the cheese from splitting.
Layer the cheese in the macaroni. This makes sure there are cheesy pulls throughout the macaroni and cheese.
Bake and then broil. After baking the macaroni and cheese, broil it for 2-3 minutes for that crispy, golden top that we love!
Shred the cheese. Buy cheese in block form. And shred it yourself! A lot of pre-shredded cheeses contain starch that keeps the cheese from clumping. This also makes it tough to melt. We want melty cheese!

Nutrition