Baked Mac and Cheese

A go-to mac and cheese recipe is necessary to get through the cold and snowy winter. Warm, gooey, cheesy, and always the right decision.

This no-nonsense recipe uses standard cheddar cheese or any hard cheese you have in your fridge and it doesn’t have any unwieldy topping you need to worry about burning (don’t worry – we’ve all been there).

Of course, there’s no wrong way to make mac and cheese. That’s a simple fact. Annie’s boxed white cheddar mac and cheese (I always keep a few boxes in the pantry), classic southern mac and cheese, baked buffalo chicken mac and cheese. Yup, it’s all great.

But for me, this is the greatest.

This no-nonsense recipe uses standard cheddar cheese or any hard cheese you have in your fridge and it doesn’t have any unwieldy topping you need to worry about burning (don’t worry – we’ve all been there).

Even though I’m only cooking for the two of us, I love to make a giant pan of mac and cheese. It heats up well for lunch for the next few days, and can even be frozen!

A few of my favorite tips:

• Cook the pasta a few minutes less than the instructions for al dente, it will continue to cook in the oven with all the cheesy goodness.
• The cheese sauce will be quite liquidy and that’s okay! It will set up in the oven and continue to stiffen as it cools.
• Nutmeg! The warm, cozy spice adds a dynamic flavor without adding expensive cheeses.

Baked Mac and Cheese

• Author: Sarah
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp. butter
• 1/4 c flour
• 3 c milk
• 10 oz pasta (I prefer small shells)
• 3 c shredded sharp hard cheese – cheddar, Monterey jack, gruyere, and Romano are all good options
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. allspice
• 1/8 tsp. smoked paprika

Instructions

1. Heat a large pot of salted water to boiling. Add pasta and cook 2 minutes less than the manufacturers’ directions for al dente. Pasta will be cooked on the outside but still hard in the middle.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
3. In a large saucepan or dutch oven, add butter and heat over medium-high heat until butter is melted and bubbling. Add flour and stir for one minute until well combined.
4. Slowly add milk and cook, stirring, until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Remove from heat.
5. Stir in 2 cups of cheese, salt, and spices, mixing until well combined. Stir pasta into cheese mixture and pour into 1 1/2 qt baking dish. Top with remaining cheese and bake 15-20 minutes, until browned on top.