Still the best Baked Mac and Cheese I’ve ever had, with a stunning white creamy cheese sauce and a buttery breadcrumb topping. This is THE Macaroni Cheese recipe that’s wildly popular every Thanksgiving and Christmas!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Baked Mac and Cheese
I don’t want to be morbid, but if I had to choose a Last Meal, this Baked Mac and Cheese may possibly be it. Put me in a room with Macaroni Cheese, and neither of us stand a chance. Said Mac and Cheese would be ravaged.
And of all the Mac and Cheeses in the world, this is still the best Mac and Cheese I’ve ever had!
About this Macaroni and Cheese
This is a Mac and Cheese recipe that is everything you want in a knock-your-socks off Macaroni Cheese – cheesy and creamy, with perfectly cooked macaroni (no bloated pasta!), plenty of sauce and a crunchy buttery top (essential in my world!)
What goes in Baked Mac and Cheese
Here’s what you need. Cheese. Butter. Pasta. All the essential food groups covered!😂
Best pasta for Mac and Cheese?
Macaroni, also known as elbow pasta. But really, any short pasta will work just fine – penne, ziti, twirls etc.
Best cheese for Mac and Cheese?
A combination of Gruyere and mozzarella cheese. Gruyere for the most superior flavour with the best melting qualities for creamy sauces such as this – there’s no contention in my view. And mozzarella for stretch – nothing does the cheese pull like a good mozzarella!
But honestly, any cheese that melts well works is excellent with Mac and Cheese, such as cheddar, tasty, Colby, Swiss, Pepper Jack, Emmental.
No cream?
NO! You do NOT need it. This sauce is rich enough as it is from the butter and cheese. Cream makes it so rich you can’t eat more than a few spoonfuls. How disappointing!!!
How to make Baked Mac and Cheese
It’s a straightforward recipe, starting with a basic butter-flour roux that is used to thicken milk to make the cheese sauce. For first timers, I think the short video below will help give you the confidence that you’ve got this!
The simple trick to avoid lumps in the Mac and Cheese Sauce is to pour the milk in slowly while constantly stirring, then just switch to a whisk if needed to remove any stubborn lumps!
Tips for the BEST Mac & Cheese!
Freshly grated cheese – don’t use pre shredded. They have anti caking agents that can make the sauce grainy.
No bloated overcooked pasta – Cool macaroni slightly and lightly coat in butter. This stops the macaroni from absorbing more liquid while baking, resulting in bloated overcooked pasta (hot pasta absorbs liquid faster, butter creates thin film of protection) and less sauce.
To avoid lumps in your sauce, stir constantly as you slowly pour the milk in and keep stirring once the milk is all added. If necessary, switch to a whisk to get rid of stubborn little lumps!
Plenty of sauce – Because I like my Mac and Cheese saucy, not dried up so you can cut it like cake!
Can you make Mac and Cheese ahead of time? Most recipes are not suitable for making ahead, but this recipe is! The best way is to cool pasta then toss with sauce and adding breadcrumb topping. Cool, refrigerate or freeze then bake on the day of (see recipe Note 5 for baking time).
How long can Mac and Cheese stay in the fridge? Unlike most, this Macaroni Cheese recipe is good for 3 to 5 days in the fridge. Most Mac and Cheese will not keep well because there’s not enough sauce so it gets absorbed by the pasta and you’re left with dry, sauceless pasta.
Freezing? Yes! Assemble, cool, do not bake, just freeze it. Thaw then on the day of, bake per Note 5 in the recipe.
Add ins? This recipe is great as it is, but there’s tons of add-in options. Add shredded chicken, sautéed onion and bell peppers/capsicum, bacon, hot sauce (for heat!), dried herbs of choice.
What to serve with Baked Mac and Cheese
Mac and Cheese is worthy of serving as a meal in its own right, served with just a fresh green salad or simple vegetable side. Nothing heavy because Macaroni Cheese is so rich as it is!
As a side dish, it will compliment virtually any non-Asian main dish. From simple Baked Pork Chops to Steak, a Roast Chicken to Crispy Garlic Chicken Thighs, the only things I probably would not serve with Mac and Cheese would be very light summery mains such as a Tuna Tartare – just a little too much contrast.
And of course, festive gatherings! Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter – alongside a grand Roast Turkey or your Herb & Garlic Butter Slathered Turkey Breast, the juicy Roast Pork with impossibly Crispy Crackling or your Prime Rib that’s so perfectly blushing pink all the way through, it makes you want to weep.
Holidays would not be the same without this Mac and Cheese!! – Nagi xx
Baked Mac and Cheese recipe
Watch how to make it
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Baked Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
Macaroni:
- 250g / 8 oz macaroni (elbow pasta)
- 1 tbsp (15g) unsalted butter (or 2 tsp oil)
Topping:
- 2/3 cup panko breadcrumbs (Note 1)
- 2 tbsp (30g) unsalted butter , melted
- 1/4 tsp salt
Sauce:
- 4 tbsp (60g) unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup flour , plain / all purpose
- 3 cups milk , warmed (low or full fat)
- 2 cups freshly shredded cheese, gruyere best (followed by cheddar and Colby) (Note 2)
- 1 cup freshly shredded mozzarella cheese , or more other cheese of choice (Note 2)
- 3/4 tsp salt
Seasonings (optional):
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp mustard powder
Instructions
Pasta:
- Cook pasta: Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add macaroni and cook per packet directions MINUS 1 minute.
- Toss in butter: Drain, return pasta to pot, add butter and toss until melted. Set aside to cool while making the Sauce (Optional – Note 3).
Topping:
- Mix together Topping. Set aside.
Sauce (video is helpful):
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (all oven types).
- Make roux: In a large saucepan or in an ovenproof skillet (I use my 26cm/9" Lodge cast iron skillet), melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
- Add milk: Add about 1 cup of the milk and mix to dissolve the paste into the milk. Then add remaining milk and mix until lump free (use whisk if required).
- Add Seasonings: Mix in salt and Seasonings if using.
- Thicken sauce: Cook, stirring/whisking regularly, for 5 – 8 minutes until thickened to a cream consistency. When the Sauce coats the back of a wooden spoon, you should be able to draw a path with your finger.
- Add cheese: Remove from stove, add cheese and stir – cheese doesn't need to melt.
- Check salt: Adjust salt to taste (if you use recommended cheeses, you won't need more).
Assembling:
- Assemble: Pour Sauce into pot with Macaroni. Stir quickly, then pour back into the skillet (I did this) or a baking dish (Note 4). Sprinkle with breadcrumb topping.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until top is light golden. Don't bake too long otherwise you'll bake away the Sauce!
- Serve: Serve immediately! I sprinkled mine with a bit of fresh parsley. See notes for best make-ahead method.
Recipe Notes:
- Main Cheese (2 cups) – my favourite is gruyere (used in video), for flavour and melting quality. Can use any flavoured melting cheese. Other cheeses I like for this include: cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby, provolone. (Australia/NZ: Tasty cheese works & super tasty but sauce is not quite as smooth);
- I like to use mozzarella for the 2nd cheese (1 cup). It melts really well into the sauce, has that nice stretch, and isn’t as oily like other cheese can tend to be. Also, it’s less salty. However, you can just use more of the Main Cheese.
- Always grate your own cheese for cheese sauces. Store bought shredded cheese have anti caking agents which don’t melt so can give the sauce a slight powdery texture.
- SALTINESS of cheeses vary so if you use another cheese other than gruyere for the Main Cheese that is much less salty (eg Jarlsberg), you may need to add a pinch or two of extra salt into the sauce. Taste and check! Most cheeses are of similar salt levels though.
Nutrition Information:
Recipe first published July 2017. Updated a few times since then with better photos, addition of recipe video. Updated November 2021 to reconfirm that it is STILL the best Mac I’ve ever had!! No changes to recipe – readers would never forgive me!!
The RecipeTin Eats MAC & CHEESE COLLECTION
I love a good Mac & Cheese! See??
Baked Mac and Cheese – this recipe, huge reader favourite!
Stovetop Mac and Cheese – one pot, 20 minutes, my best speedy emergency version.
Chili Mac – a cross between Chili and Mac and Cheese, a one pot dinner wonder!
Shrimp Mac and Cheese – outrageously delicious!
Life of Dozer
When Dozer went camping: Are we there yet, are we there yet??
Made this mac and cheese recipe for my grandchildren, one of whom is a very picky eater. Well she had 3 helpings and scraped the dish clean! My husband has requested it become a regular in my cooking repertoire. Thank you very much for an easy and absolutely fabulous dish!
I’m so happy you enjoyed this Jenny! Thank you for letting me know – N x ❤️
Hi im new to cooking and would love to try out this
recipe as it looks so good and easy to do. Let me just ask you, what type of milk should be used? Is it like the full cream milk,low fat milk or how many gram of fat milk?
Hi ELG! Any type of milk will work great with this because there’s so many other flavours in the sauce so the milk type won’t affect it, but it must be cow’s milk. I don’t know how the flavour will be affected if you use a dairy free milk or another animal milk like goat 🙂 N x
I made this for my 4 year old’s birthday party. It was a hit with all of the children & adults alike. I’m making it again now – doubling it & bringing half to a new mama and keeping half for us. Love it!
That’s fantastic to hear Anna! Thanks for leaving a review! N x ❤️
Hi Nagi.I also cooked this for a large get together for my sons birthday party! I doubled it, threw some ham chunks in it and used seasoned Panko crumbs. Everyone absolutely loved it!! I’m so glad I found this recipe. Thank you❤️
I’m so pleased to hear that Andrea! Thank you for trying my recipe! N xx ❤️
Hi Nagii,
Is the Pablo supposed to be mixed with melted butter? I’m looking forward to trying this!
Pablo? You mean the flour??
If you mean panko, then yes.
Hi, I’m also in Australia. Just wondering which brand of gruyere did you use in the video? And also what was the other type/brand of cheese? Was it Colby or cheddar or Monterey Jack ect? Thanks so much 😊
Hi Nat! I get gruyere in block form from Harris Farms so I don’t know the brand, and I think I used Colby as the other one, but I mix it up! 🙂 N x
I really hope you get this message. You said you mix it up but what would you recommend to use as the cheese in this recipe? I am going to make this for Thanksgiving dinner. Currently I am going to do the 2 cups gruyere and 1 cup Colby unless you recommend a different 2 for the best flavor.
Hi Alexandria! My favourite is 2 cups of gruyere (it’s a treat, it’s expensive over here, I absolutely love the flavour of gruyere) + 1 cup mozzarella, for stretch 🙂 N x
Made this last night – it was a hit!! I’ve tried many mac and cheese recipes over the years but this was by far the best. That crumb topping fantastic. Thanks for great recipes and cooking inspiration 🙂
HIGH FIVE! So pleased you enjoyed this Nina, thanks for letting me know! N xx
Recipe says 8oz of pasta – should that be 8 cups?
Hi Kris! Nope, definitely 8 oz / 250g. It expands a lot when cooking!
Ok, so at the age of 36 I had never eaten mac n cheese. Finally ate a bite at someone’s house a while back and thought, “why do people eat this bland, stodgy mess?” But Mr Beck insisted that it could in fact be really, really good, so I decided I’d have to make it myself. Karen Martini’s recipe turned out to be a winner, but was pretty expensive to make. Enter Nagi! This was comfort food at its best, although I would never consider those seasonings optional, they were perfection. Loved the panko topping too, what a brilliant idea. The only thing I have an issue with is the typo that says that this serves 6. You meant 4, right? Right??
Mine is currently in the oven. I couldn’t wait so I tried the sauce and I’m amazed. So good!
WHOOT!!! HOPE YOU LOVE IT WHEN IT COMES OUT OF THE OVEN TOO! 🙂 N xx
Brilliant. I am new to your site, but as I read down about your strategies to stop the pasta going soggy and the need for extra sauce I thought ‘this woman knows her stuff’ and then I wondered if being Japanese you would make sure the premium of all breadcrumbs would be used for the topping – and, ta dah!, there they were: panko crumbs. I will definitely be making your recipe!!!
Awwwww shucks. I’m blushing! 🙂
Really great recipe. Will replace my old baked mac and cheese that I always thought was a little too dry. Why did I never think to just make more sauce? I guess I’ve needed you in my cooking life for a long time!
PS those spices are SO not optional
Awwww….. LOVE THAT! 😉 N xx
Please don’t consider this as a sacriledge to your beautiful recipe but I’m tempted to add bacon and green onions just because. Imagine this with fried chicken, oh! But what is tasty cheese? Would sharp cheddar or Swiss cheese be a good substitute?
Not at all!!! Yes tasty cheese is like sharp cheddar 🙂 That’s a good comparison. It’s one of the most common cheeses here in Australia. If you check the notes, there are plenty of options for the cheese! N xx
This was fantastic! The tip about slightly undercooking the noodles is a life-saver. One thing to note, this makes A LOT of sauce, so if you don’t like things on the saucy side, maybe cut the milk back a bit. I love all things saucy and would have happily used it all, but my boyfriend not so much, so I didn’t end up putting in all the sauce when I mixed it in with the macaroni. But who am I to complain, now I have extra, delicious cheese sauce to do with what I please 😉
HI Sam! So glad you enjoyed it! I know it seems like it makes a lot of sauce, but I find that by the time it is served, it evaporates / gets suck into the mac so quickly that it’s the perfect amount by the time I dig in 🙂 i.e. it seems a bit saucy when it first comes out of the oven but once served and ready to eat – even 3 minutes later – you lose sauce! I am so pleased you enjoyed it though, THANK YOU for taking the time to come back and let me know! N xx
planning on adding some Ground turkey to make this even more delicious! Thanks for the recipe
Ooooh YUM!!!!!
Thanks for all the great tips on how to keep the pasta from bloating. Planning on poaching some bite size lobster tail chunks, making your mac n cheese, dividing cooked lobster between ramekins, pouring in the mixed mac, adding crunchy topping, placing under the broiler. Can I make the sauce and pasta the day before and keep them separate? Reheat and thin if necessary day of then mix together and heat up or should I just bake it in the casserole dish then add to the cooked lobster in the ramekins? Sorry this got longwinded.
HI Kathy – I’m GREEN with envy, lobster Mac and Cheese is a luxury I’ve only ever had once in my life 🙂 Yes you can absolutely make them both ahead of time and keep them separate. I recommend reheating the sauce and usually add about 1/4 cup of milk into the sauce to thin it enough enough (you can even do this in the microwave). If you bake from cold, it takes too long for the inside of the sauce to reheat then it can dry out the top. Hope that helps!
yes, should be crunchy on top! thank you for this, too easy to make this “not” from scratch but from a box, so thank you for this recipe!
Ha ha ha!!! Another one for the crunchy top camp! ?
Nagi, I love reading your posts, you make me laugh so hard!
Thank God I prepared myself before I watched the heart-stopping moment in your video! 🙂 hehe
Your Baked Mac and Cheese looks insane! I love anything with cheese, LOTS of cheese!
My daughter will love this 🙂
BA HA HA!!!! Such a food blogger thing, isn’t it?? To be so excited over a bubbling pot coming out of the oven?? ?
Oh just great!!Mentioned to Jen@ Carlsbad Cravings(yes a sneaky plug for her blog,the sweetest girl ever)…Anyway,the 19 year old Loved her recent stovetop version.I had tried,at that point,a million versions!I have a Pinterest board to prove it,lol.Now,I will HAVE to prepare yours.Such a tough life.So thanks for helping me put back on the weight I have lost,due to not 1,but 2 root canals!Yup,the type where they are unable to numb the dying nerve,so medicine is shot into the jaw!Just can’t be a simple anything with this carcass!!Mac and cheese is SOFT food,so thanks a bunch!!?
Oh boy, you don’t have to plug Jen to ME! She’s a great friend, I even meet up with her each year in the states!! N xx
I saw that. You wiped your finger on the back of the spoon to show how thick the sauce should be, then you licked your finger, didn’t you.
I saw the angle your hand came up and nearly went for it myself, it looked so good.
Of course I did. Perks of the job. ?
Oh Nagi! Can I just say I LOVE how much effort you put into every post? This mac and cheese is no different and I am seriously drooling over the pics. That crunchy topping is everything!
Thank you so much Precious, I really appreciate that compliment! I just can’t bring myself to hit Publish on anything I’m not proud of 🙂 I can tell you are the same. N x