How You Make Homemade Macaroni And Cheese

Variations Of This Recipe

• PROTEIN Feel free to add in some shredded chicken, pulled pork, or some crispy bacon for an extra protein punch.
• VEGGIES Trying to get your veggies in? Stir in some steamed broccoli or cauliflower.
• TOPPINGS If you love a topping on your mac and cheese, transfer the cooked cheesy mac to a baking dish and top with either some extra cheese, buttered panko breadcrumbs, or buttered crushed Ritz crackers. Broil a few minutes until crispy.
• COOKING LIQUID If you prefer to use all chicken broth, or all water feel free to do that. Just make sure there are 4 total cups of liquid.
• DIFFERENT CHEESES Gruyere, Gouda, Fontina, Mozzarella, Monterey Jack, Colby, or all Cheddar. These are all good melting cheeses and will give you a smooth sauce. However, feel free to play around with different combinations that you like!

So How Do You Make Homemade Macaroni And Cheese

• 1 1/2cupPanko Bread Crumbs

Whats The Best Cheese For Mac And Cheese

Honestly, you can add any soft or semi-hard cheese to macaroni and cheese for flavor. Yet we feel that the sauce texture is perfected by the addition of cream cheese.

To get the best classic cheese flavor, I like a blend of:

• Sharp Cheddar For its bold iconic flavor.
• MuensterFor its nutty essence and magical melting abilities. Gouda is the next best cheese, if Muenster is not available.
• Cream CheeseFor its silky texture and tangy note to balance the flavors.

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How To Make Homemade Roux For A Creamy Sauce

To make a simple and flavorful roux, start by melting a stick of butter in a medium saucepan.

Whisk in the salt and pepper. A very important step is to continue stirring for a good 2-3 minutes until roux turns a bit darker in color. It becomes richer and even more fabulous.

Slowly whisk in the milk until mixture is thick and creamy. This step will take a couple minutes over medium heat.

Stir in cheese until creamy and cheese is melted through. I prefer a finely shredded mild cheddar. It melts quickly and has a perfect cheddar flavor.

Can I Bake This Recipe

At this point of stovetop mac and cheese, you can choose to transfer to a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, top with more cheese and other toppings of choice, bake at 350 degrees F. for 20-25 minutes for a baked mac and cheese. This is another fantastic option. Adding buttered bread crumbs and bacon is another winning option before baking to add a nice crunch. Try adding cooked beef or chicken for more dinner options too.

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Black Folks Soul Food Baked Macaroni And Cheese

Southern soul food baked mac and cheese the Black folks way!

Mac and cheese is one of my favorite Southern comfort soul foods and a favorite of many households.

Its a staple for soul food Sundays, summer cookouts, , and always a featured item at a soul food Thanksgiving or on a Black folks Christmas dinner menu.

Even though I love macaroni and cheese, I dont always want to make it the traditional way.

Shaping Macaroni Noodles By Hand

Equipment: rolling pin or pasta roller and a thin dowel like a wooden skewer or even a chop stick.

You can shape the macaroni by hand by following these steps:

• Roll the pasta dough out out very thinly
• Cut the dough into a grid of 1cm by 1cm squares
• Take each square and roll is around your thin dowel, pressing the ends together to close it into a tube
• Gently slide it off the dowel onto a flat floured surface in a single layer so it doesnt stick

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Homemade Mac And Cheese With Just 4

Yes! We swear, the best mac and cheese recipe is just four, super simple ingredients away. Cooked pastayou can use any kind you love, were partial to cavatappiheavy cream, shredded cheddar cheese and grated parmesan. Thats it. You can add seasoning to taste, but the parmesan is pretty salty and its a good idea to heavily salt the pasta water, so save the seasoning until last to see if it is truly necessary.

How Can I Dress Up My Macaroni And Cheese

This baked macaroni and cheese may be the most versatile dish ever. Add in some red pepper for kick, any cheeses you like , add veggies like broccoli and chopped chicken and its a one-dish meal even. Or BACON. Hello. Yeah. Make some garlic bread crumbs for the top if you want some crunch and throw those on. Its really endless.

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Cooking Tips For Baked Mac And Cheese

• Boiling the pasta cook the pasta less than you normally would. I like to boil my elbow pasta for between 4 and 5 minutes. The pasta will continue to cook in the oven, and you dont want it to get mushy.
• Use room temp liquids if you can cold liquids generally take longer to thicken than warmer ones. I usually set my milk and half and half out while the water for the pasta is coming up to a boil.
• The cheeses use your favorites! Our personal favorites are the cheddar and gruyere used in this recipe, but you can be very creative with the cheese selection here. Mozzarella, gouda, smoked gouda, swiss, monterey jack, colby jack, colby. There are plenty of reader comments down below the recipe that talk about the cheeses they used!
• Shred your own I know its a pain, and its SO tempting to use the pre-shredded cheese in the bags. But those bags of cheese contain a starchy substance that keeps the cheese from clumping which also prohibits it from melting as well as it should.

The Best Stovetop Mac And Cheese Recipe

I should probably say right now that this recipe is the real deal. Because on the special occasions when I indulge in creamy mac and cheese, Im not interested in healthy shortcuts. Gimme all the carbs + all the cheese, please. ?

Even better?

Lets talk about this delicious recipe thats ready to go in about 20 minutes from start to finish and only requires one pot.

For most of my homemade mac and cheese making life, Ive always done the two-pot method one for cooking the pasta, and one for making the cheesy sauce which totally works! But dishes have always been the bane of my existence. AND when I started posting on Instagram about my macaroni and cheese recipe experimenting this month, I heard from many of you who recommended the one-pot method. Because apparently cooking the pasta in the sauce itself releases all of those starches into the saucewhich makes it extra creamyand also helps bind the sauce to the pasta even better. Also, the entire process only takes about 15 minutes to cook. And also, no need to wash the extra pan.

Sounded like a win-win-winwinwin to me.

Sure enough, after testing a few batches, Im now a total convert to the one-pot camp. Works like a cheesy charm! ?

Also, lets talk about your cheese options here.

Also, if you want an even creamier mac and cheese, youre welcome to use half cheddar, and half gouda or fontina . But 99% of the time, I keep things simple with straight cheddar and never regret it.

The skys basically the limit here.

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Spicy Baked Mac And Cheese

Imagine nachos and mac and cheese meeting over perfectly cooked pasta. Just the right amount of heat and all the creaminess you can handlethis spicy baked mac and cheese is it.

I think one of these days people will probably end up knowing me as the macaroni and cheese lady. After allthats all you guys want! Two years and tons of recipes later and there might as well be a picket line outside my house because everyone yells for mac and cheese.

And I have good news! Ive been listening and this mac and cheese may be the best one yet. Ive used my basic baked recipe and pumped it up with the spiciest cheeses I could find, some jalapeños and an easy bread crumb topping for some crunch and texture. Heres a quick shot of the cheeses I chose: Boars Head 3 Pepper Colby Jack and Rio Briati Smoked MozzarellaI got both at my local Kroger.

Its that perfect kick and change youve been looking for. While I was making the sauce I took a whiff and it smelled just like queso dip. This is where your eyes can roll back in your head with happiness.

And as usual, it comes together in a snap. You can even put it together the night before and stick it in the fridge then bake it the next night. Remember to undercook that pasta just a bit. Mine called for 9-11 minutes and I did just about 9. Because it has to bake in the oven too, you dont want mush.

What Kind Of Cheese Is Best For Mac And Cheese

Cheddar is probably the most popular cheese for macaroni and cheese and sharp cheddar provides the most pronounced flavor. But if you want to experiment outside of the confines of cheddar, there are a ton of other cheeses that are great in macaroni and cheese! You can use one or a combination of cheeses to make your mac and cheese your own.

Here are some other cheeses that work great with macaroni and cheese:

• Parmesan

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Is Mac And Cheese Unhealthy

Mac and cheese isnt necessarily unhealthy, but it depends on the recipe some recipes are worse than others. Macaroni and cheese does have a good amount of protein from all the milk and cheese. However, the calories can add up quickly, so its important to keep your portion size in check.

I also added spinach, which is another good source of fiber. Not to mention, spinach is packed with a variety of vitamins and minerals. The reduced fat cheese and skim milk help keep the calorie count down. A one-cup serving of this healthy mac and cheese comes in at just under 300 calories.

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Why Is Black Folks Mac And Cheese The Ultimate Comfort Food

Mac and cheese is warm, gooey, and cheesy everything you want on a chilly evening.

But baked mac and cheese has a bonus crunchy texture on top with a yummy cheesy, creamy texture in the middle.

And when you make Southern mac and cheese the Black way theres the unrivaled addition of delicious, heart-warming soul food flavors!

Just when you think youve mastered mac and cheese, it seems like theres always new toppings and techniques to try out!

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Homemade Mac And Cheese

If you have never had the privilege of tasting real homemade macaroni and cheese, made with freshly grated cheese, gently folded into molten cheese sauce Well, I feel for you.

You might be thinking, Why would I make mac and cheese from scratch when the boxed versions are so good?

Are they though?

Or is it possible that you just dont realize they are mediocre because youve never experienced creamy mac and cheese from scratch?

If youre a newbie to homemade macaroni and cheese, its time.

And if youve always loved made-from-scratch mac and cheese, you are going to go nuts over our recipe!

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Pro Tips For Making Homemade Sloppy Joes:

• Before you get started, toast your buns. Toasting the bun makes ALL the difference, and only takes a few minutes. Crank up the heat under the skillet to high, and add a drizzle of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add the buns, then place the buns cut side up on a cooling rack after theyre toasted.
• Watch the sauce so that it doesnt reduce too much. When too much of the sauce reduces, it gives you a dry sloppy joe mixture. Everyone likes theirs a little differently, but for me, I cook it down so that I can see the bits of meat, and when I drag my spoon through the sauce, it leaves a trail where the sauce is parted. If the sauce immediately flows back into that trail, its too liquid-y. I want a few seconds before the sauce covers the trail, which gives me a saucy consistency thats not too liquid.
• Choose your favorite type of bun. I usually go for either a pretzel bun , or a brioche bun.

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White Pepper Vs Black Pepper:

White pepper and black pepper are both the fruit of the pepper plant. They are processed differently which causes the change in color, and end up tasting slightly different. White pepper is hotter than black pepper, but black pepper has a more complex flavor. White pepper tends to have more floral and earthy notes to it.

Creamy One Pot Macaroni And Cheese

I have all kind of macaroni and cheese recipes on the blog, and today I have a Creamy One Pot Macaroni and Cheese to add to the collection. This is a great recipe to make for lunch when your kids are in the mood for something simple, hot, and filling, and you need something that comes together in without any fuss. This recipe is so easy and we loved the extra creamy results.

This recipe is extra easy because you cook the macaroni right in the milk that helps to make the sauce. Theres no water to boil or noodles to rinse. You just cook it all in one pan and its done in about 15 minutes. This is literally just as easy as that blue box stuff, but it tastes like real food and doesnt have a fluorescent orange glow to it. Trust me, that fake mac n cheese is just gross once you start making your own.

My other stove-top macaroni and cheese recipe is still a favorite, but I dont always have canned milk on hand. The difference between the two is that this recipes makes a really thick and sticky macaroni and cheese , and the other recipe has almost a runny sauce to it. They are both excellent but different enough that I wanted to share both recipes.

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Macaroni And Cheese Variations

This recipe is easy to adapt to other variations. Here are some of our favorites:

Baked Mac and Cheese: Once the pasta and cheese sauce are combined, add it to a baking dish and bake with a little more cheese and breadcrumbs sprinkled on top. We shared this Baked Macaroni and Cheese a while back.

Garlic Mac and Cheese: Fresh garlic and roasted garlic are excellent in this recipe. Add either to the butter just before adding the flour. For fresh, Id use 2 to 3 cloves. For roasted garlic, you can increase to 6 cloves or more. See our recipe for making roasted garlic.

Use a Variety of Cheeses: Cheddar isnt the only cheese to use. Try easy melting Gruyere, Fontina or Monterey Jack. For more flavor, a bit of parmesan or pecorino cheese is lovely, and for a more adult dish, try blue cheese!

Spiced Macaroni and Cheese: Mustard , nutmeg, and a pinch of cayenne pepper are classic additions to the cheese sauce. Smoked paprika is also delicious.

Broccoli Mac and Cheese: A kid favorite! Stir roasted broccoli or steamed broccoli into the pot before serving. Heres how we make roasted broccoli.

Lighter Mac and Cheese: Swapping half of the cheese sauce for pureed cauliflower cuts calories and still tastes incredible.

How To Measure Pasta For This Recipe

Sometimes a reader or two has had an issue with how much pasta this recipe needs. This recipe is written by volume and sometimes people think that since a cup is 8 ounces that they can simply use 12-16 ounces of pasta or go by the weight of the dry pasta written on the box.

Youll end up with problems if you do this. Please follow the volume instructions and measure your pasta dry in a measuring cup meant for dry items . Small pastas like ditalini or little wagon wheels can go up to about 2 cups and be fine in the recipe, and large ones like bow tie or cellentani can as well. If you will stick to elbow pasta until you get the hang of things youll be better off.

Ive made this recipe with every pasta shape on the market and if you will measure in cups, your recipe will be just right.

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