This homemade mac and cheese recipe is so easy and full of flavor. The melted cheese sauce adds to the show stopping, delicious rich flavor that everyone will love! Perfect for dinner or a side dish!
Hands down the most requested dish in my house is Baked Mac and Cheese. My kids ask me to make it every week, and will eat a whole pan without blinking.
Over the years, I have always loved baked mac and cheese, but didn’t love the recipes I found online. I would ask some of the cooks that I looked up to if they could share there recipes, and I just molded it to make it my own. So, I encourage you to do the same.
The key to this recipe is making a cheese sauce. You will still get the creamy texture while making sure that every noodle is covered in cheese! Baking it creates the brown, bubbly and slightly crispy texture on the top.
I start this recipe by boiling a pot of salted water. This will add to the seasoning of the noodles so, they won’t taste bland.
Add your noodles to the salted boiling water and cook until almost done. They will finish up in the oven. I love using macaroni noodles or shells. Season with salt.
Next, I make the cheese sauce. The best part.
My favorite cheeses to use are sharp cheddar, mixed cheeses, and Colby Jack but I would say the more sharp cheddar you use, the better.
You start by melting your butter into a saucepan on medium high heat. Add your flour and whisk. You can use a fork and just keep mixing the two for a few minutes.Then add 2 cups of milk and 2 cups of cheese into that roux and stir until mostly melted. Stirring continuously.
Next, I butter or spray my casserole dish and add the cooked noodles. Pour all of the sauce over the noodles and mix all throughout with a spoon so each noodle is covered.
To the noodle mixture, add one cracked egg and mix thoroughly. If you don’t wan t more of a thicker mac and cheese, you can leave it out! Top with another cup or two (LOL) of cheeses.
Pop it in the oven at 375 for 20 minutes and out comes perfection. Enjoy!
The Best Homemade Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 lb macaroni noodles
- 1 cup butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 cups milk
- 4 cups shredded cheddar cheeses
- 2 Tbsp salt 1 tbsp for boiling water and 1 for the dish
- 1/2 tsp paprika
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook until almost done. Drain.
- Melt butter in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour. Cook for 2 minutes on medium-low heat whisking constantly.
- Slowly pour in 2 cups of milk. Continue to stir for another 2 minutes.
- Add 1/2 of your cheese. Stirring until combined and melted.
- Remove from heat. Add salt and paprika.
- Spray baking dish, add noodles, and mix in the cheese sauce very well.
- Top with remaining 2 cups of cheeses.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Enjoy!
