Best Baked Macaroni and Cheese {New and Improved}
This best baked macaroni and cheese recipe is the creamiest, cheesiest, homemade mac and cheese ever. No processed cheese! It is so good!
Having a go-to recipe for baked macaroni and cheese is the ultimate in culinary rock star status. This is the one!
Homemade From-Scratch Cheese Sauce
Like any good macaroni and cheese recipe, this one starts with a homemade white sauce.
A simple roux (flour + butter) forms the thickening foundation of the sauce.
Off the heat, add sharp cheddar and gruyere cheeses a little at a time to the white sauce for the perfect creamy, cheesy sauce. Some of the cheese is reserved for assembly (important!), so read the recipe thoroughly to know how much to add to the sauce.
A few notes about milk and cheese:
- Whole milk is preferred for this recipe for the ultimate creamy mac and cheese. Using a lower fat milk may work, but the sauce may be less creamy/slightly grainy
- Monterey Jack can be subbed for the gruyere – it will impart a slightly different flavor, but can work in a pinch
- Using freshly grated cheese is imperative in this recipe. Pre-grated cheese is often coated with a powdery substance that prevents it from clumping…this also prevents it from melting well. Taking a few extra minutes to grate your own cheese is a game changer!
Elbow Macaroni + Cheese Sauce
Cook elbow macaroni until al dente (it will cook a bit more in the oven, so don’t overcook it in the boiling water) and then stir the macaroni and cheese sauce together. It will be glorious.
No judging if at this point you want to just dig right in. No judging at all.
In fact, if you stir the macaroni and cheese together in the same pot the sauce was made in, you can pop it back on the stove over medium-low heat, and cook it for a couple minutes to heat through and serve out of the pot just like this for an ultra-creamy, non-baked version! (Per the recipe, you’ll have some cheese leftover, but you can serve it atop individual servings.)
Assembling Baked Macaroni and Cheese
To achieve ultimate cheesiness in a homemade baked macaroni and cheese recipe, reserve some of the shredded cheese and layer it between the creamy, cheesy, coated macaroni noodles.
It makes all the difference! And it means you’ll get some of those amazing cheese pull strands when dishing up the macaroni and cheese. I mean, what else is there to live for other than that??
In a baking dish, layer:
- Half of the macaroni and cheese
- Remaining shredded cheese
- Rest of the macaroni and cheese
- Buttery Parmesan bread crumb topping
Classic baked macaroni and cheese is usually topped with a bread crumb topping.
For this recipe, you can use homemade bread crumbs or Panko bread crumbs. In my recipe testing, I found that storebought bread crumbs don’t work quite as well (they are a bit too sandy in texture).
The punchy Parmesan flavors and buttery crumbs in this topping are amazing with the creamy baked macaroni and cheese!
FYI: The topping can be left off, if desired. You’ll be missing a bit of crunch and salty flavor, but it’s still an honorable choice. If doing so, the top “crust” of the macaroni and cheese will bubble and develop golden spots while baking. Just watch closely and moderate oven temp as needed.
Homemade mac and cheese has disappointed me many times in the past. Grainy, lacking in flavor, not nearly cheesy enough.
This version has changed all of that! It is my favorite homemade baked macaroni and cheese to date! I took it to numerous parties/potlucks over the holidays, and it was devoured every single time (with lots of requests for the recipe).
If you’re wondering how this compares to a very old classic macaroni and cheese recipe on my site, this recipe comes with a more streamlined prep and assembly approach, as well as a reinvented cheese sauce that is creamier and cheesier.
If you’ve always wanted to make the best macaroni and cheese at home, this recipe can get you there!
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The Best Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 pound (454 g) elbow macaroni
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) butter
- 6 tablespoons (53 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon dried mustard (optional)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 ½ cups whole milk
- 16 ounces (454 g) freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese (see note!), about 4 cups
- 6 ounces (170 g) freshly shredded grueyere or Monterey Jack cheese (see note!), about 1 1/2 cups
- 1 cup (60 g) bread crumbs or Panko crumbs
- 4 tablespoons (57 g) melted butter
- ¼ cup (28 g) freshly finely grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cook the pasta in lightly salted water (important!) until al dente according to package directions. Drain and set aside (tossing once or twice to prevent clumping).
- In the same pot (no need to wash, just wipe dry), melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour, mustard (if using) and salt, and whisk to combine. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, whisking constantly.
- Gradually add the milk about one cup at a time, whisking to fully combine before adding more. Bring to a simmer, whisking constantly, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the sauce has thickened to the consistency of thick cream.
- Off the heat, adding one handful at a time, whisk in 3 cups of the cheddar cheese and 1 cup of the gruyere cheese, mixing until the cheeses are fully melted and the sauce is creamy. (Reserve the remaining 1 1/2 cups of cheese for assembling in the baking dish.)
- Add the cooked macaroni noodles to the cheese sauce and gently mix until thoroughly and evenly combined.
- To assemble, spread half of the macaroni and cheese in a 9X13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining cheese. Spread the rest of the macaroni evenly over the top.
- In a small bowl, toss the bread crumbs and butter together until evenly mixed. Stir in the Parmesan cheese.
- Sprinkle the topping evenly over the macaroni. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the topping is golden and the macaroni and cheese is hot and bubbling. Serve immediately.
Super easy! My 1st time making Mac & cheese and it was DELISH!
Can you please provide more info on the best way to make the homemade breadcrumbs (prior to mixing with the butter and parm)? Love your recipes!!
Mac & cheese. Who doesn’t love backed Mac & cheese. My family loved this recipe. Although it took some time to make, it was simple. I felt that the greeter cheese made it pricey to make. So I’ll try the Monterey Jack next time.
This was the ultimate comfort food! So cheesy it had those wonderful, stretchy cheese strings. I found a smoked Gruyere that I used, and it gave it a slight, just right flavor to kick it up a notch. Thanks, Mel! Your almost s’more bars are also a favorite in our house. People ask me to bring them to get togethers! Irresistable.
Thanks, Kimberly!!
We really loved this! My Aldi was out of gruyère (and I didn’t want to spend an arm and a leg on it at another store), so I subbed with some swiss and monterey jack! I’ll definitely make this again!
I made this last night using sharp cheddar and gruyere. Fantastic! The family loved it and the kids were scarfing it down. One of the teens can’t wait to get home from school to take on leftovers. 🙂 Thanks for another winner!
Usually I make your IP macaroni and cheese —but I decided to change up my mac and cheese game and try this recipe last night. I was making dinner for 16 adults, so I needed more than one batch but two seemed excessive, so I decided to do a batch and a half and I baked it all in a deep dish 9×13 Pyrex (these are such a wonderful size!). It was deeeelicious!! The cheese sauce was silky smooth and gooey, not stiff or tight or grainy like this style of mac and cheese can sometimes be. It got rave reviews and I’ll definitely work it into my repertoire when I need a good baked macaroni and cheese.
I already had Monterey Jack so I used that option with the Sharp Cheddar. It was a great combo. I’m sure gruyere would be awesome too!
Thanks Mel!
Delicious! I made this for our teacher luncheon at school and it was a hit. I used sharp cheddar and Gruyere, not Monterey Jack. I think the Gruyere is needed to add a new flavor with the cheddar. I also added 2 dashes of Worcestershire and a sprinkle of dehydrated minced onion. I have already been asked to share the recipe. Your recipes are always a hit, Mel. Your rock!!
Hello, wanted to know cooking times if I baked your macaroni recipe in individual ramekins? Do you think this would work?
Yes, I think you could definitely do that! I’d suggest baking for about 15 minutes and checking from there.
Your classic Mac and cheese recipe has been my go-to for years, and I would probably get run out of my family’s Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners if I didn’t bring it ; )
I can’t wait to try out this version!
Made this last night using 8 oz freshly shredded sharp cheddar and 8 oz of freshly shredded Monterey Jack, and that’s it for cheese. Also didn’t have the whole milk so substituted with 1/2 heavy cream and 1/2 skim milk. It really was the BEST HOMEMADE mac n cheese – family devoured it. Very, very creamy. ‘Glorious’ about sums it up.
I loved this, and it is very siimilar to Ina Garten’s recipe!
My teen daughter said this recipe tastes just like Trader Joe’s Mac and cheese (she meant it as a compliment lol). Big hit at our house tonight. Thank you for the recipe.
Also, I splurged and bought a pair of Vuori joggers, because of your glowing review. They arrived in the mail today and I cannot believe how much I instantly love them. I will probably live in these babies from now on.
I cannot wait for your cookbook to arrive to my house too!
You are the best! Seriously, I’ve been following you for years and you are like the best, big sister I always wished I had
Mel! I was thrilled to see that you posted this new and improved recipe as I already had the old recipe on my menu plan for the week. My kids ask for the old recipe probably every other day and it is always a day full of cheers and fist pumps when they know it’s “mac’n’cheese’n’cornbread” day. Anyway, this new version was delicious! Like favorite restaurant delicious. We especially loved the gruyere and might even go half and half with it next time. As always, thanks for sharing!
I’m not here to comment on this particular recipe, but I wanted to pop in and say again how much I love your recipes! I’ve been using them for years and this morning I printed out another handful to try, including your easy baked ziti for feeding a group of 50 kids. Thanks for all the time you invest to bring us delicious, dependable recipes!
Joann, what a kind and thoughtful comment. Thank you for that message – it really means a lot to me. I’m so happy you have found recipes to love!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was a hit! I used all medium cheddar cheese b/c it’s what I had on hand. It tasted great and the kids all loved it!
Yay! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and let me know, Stephanie. Glad it worked out with all medium cheddar.
Made this tonight and the family declared it the best Mac n Cheese ever and demanded I throw out my old recipe I tried a bite before baking and it was so good I had a hard time following through with baking it. But it somehow got even better after baking. Thanks for another winning recipe!
Rachel! I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for letting me know!
This is a great recipe. I’ve often times changed up the cheese varieties with great success. I never purchase shredded cheese and very little sliced cheese. Not only does it contain cellulose to prevent clumping but also natamycin, an anti bacterial to delay mold formation and extend shelf life. It is considered safe around the world (except for Lebanon and Whole Foods) but I don’t feel I need to be ingesting anything extra.
Thanks, Bob! I definitely agree with you on the cheese front.