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What makes the perfect mac and cheese in your opinion? Good ol’ Kraft right out of the box? Homemade thick and cheesy on the stovetop? Baked with a crispy topping and lots of ingredients inside? I think it’s a bit different for everyone, but let me tell you about my perfect mac and cheese.
I like a thick and creamy perfectly flavorful cheese sauce like my picture above shows. If that sounds good to you, then you will LOVE this recipe too 🙂
Note, this is part 1 of 2 recipes; part 2 will be coming later this week. This post shares the base recipe of part 2. Some of you will enjoy the base recipe as it is the perfect pure mac and cheese with no added ingredients such as onions or chicken for example.
Let’s start by cooking your pasta. Make sure you do NOT overcook your pasta. You want a nice bite to your pasta so there is texture to the dish. I always cook it 1 minute less than the box says so there’s a little bite. The pasta will also cook more in the cheese sauce.
Once your pasta is cooked al dente, drain.
Let the pasta sit aside for a few minutes while you prepare the roux.
To make a simple and flavorful roux, start by melting a stick of butter in a medium saucepan.
Whisk in the flour.
Whisk in the salt and pepper. A very important step is to continue stirring for a good 3-4 minutes until roux turns a bit darker in color. It becomes richer and even more fabulous.
Slowly stir in the milk until mixture is thick and creamy. This step will take a couple minutes over medium heat.
Bring on the cheese!
I prefer a finely shredded mild cheddar. It melts quickly and has a perfect “cheddar” flavor.
Yes!
Time to transfer your cooked pasta back to a large dutch oven or pot.
Pour that fabulous cheese sauce over your noodles.
Almost there!
Doesn’t get much better than this. Stay tuned to see what I added to this mac and cheese, coming later this week!
[ziplist]
How to Make the Perfect Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound dry small pasta, I used elbow
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 cups milk, I used skim
- 2 cups finely shredded mild cheddar cheese
Directions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. I recommend cooking the pasta a minute less than the directions. Drain and set aside for a few minutes.
- To prepare roux, melt butter into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once melted whisk in flour, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes until color of roux gets slightly darker. Slowly whisk in milk, stirring continuously until thickened, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir in cheese until melted.
- Transfer cooked pasta to large dutch oven or pot over low heat. Pour cheese sauce over top, stirring to combine. This is a thick and creamy sauce. To thin the sauce, add a few tablespoons of milk at a time until at desired consistency.
Makes 6 Servings
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I add a pinch of nutmeg. Makes a difference and I really miss it when I forget to add it. and now i’m craving mac n cheese at 11o’clock at night.
This mac n’ cheese look delicious! I’m typically not one to like pot versions of mac n’ cheese when I make it homemade, but I would be willing to give this one a go. The ooey gooey cheesiness makes my mouth water!
I LIVED off of mac and cheese as a kid – it was my favorite meal and to this day – still totally is. Your roux and cheese sauce looks like heaven in cheese form Jenny! I can’t get over it!
I made this! OMG it is so good!!! I also added 1/2 stick cream cheese to the sauce… hehe… and… I may or may not have substituted 1 cup of milk with heavy cream 🙂
IT IS IMPORTANT to cook the roux for a few minutes before adding the milk…. I made the mistake of not doing so (out of impatience), and was left with an EXTREMELY thick sauce, which I had to add more considerably more milk to thin-out. (Cooking the roux lessens the thickening power… required & beneficial in this scenario)
This looks like the best mac & cheese! Now I’m craving this! Pinned! 🙂
This one is going into the recipe bookmark! I will be trying it this Thursday for our Pee Wee football tailgate.
I’ll keep you posted on how it goes!
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Made this with some chicken and mixed veggies for myself and the fiance tonight, so I halved the recipe. AMAZING! He told me not to lose this recipe, so I have it printed and stuck in our family cookbook. 🙂
So glad to hear it JoAnna, thanks for the feedback!!
Just made this and it was DELICIOUS!
I made this recipe tonight with meatloaf. My fiance, my 2 year old daughter and I finished off most of it in one sitting. So good!
I may never make boxed Mac and cheese again. This is coming from a boxed Mac and cheese confectionist. Well done.
We don’t eat nearly enough macaroni and cheese, and I can’t wait to see what you added to this.
I like my mac ‘n’ cheese slowly baked in the oven if only for the crunchy bread croutons on top that are a memory from childhood. However, I do love a creamy, luscious stove top version too. Decisions, decisions.
Love the recipe!! I hope you don’t mind but I also shared it on my Pampered Chef business page, http://www.facebook.com/emilyspamperedkitchen. I did source your page to my customers/followers and say to come follow you. Thanks, Emily Burch
Can’t wait to make this!
Question: how much in terms of cups is equivalent to 3/4 lb of dry pasta? Thanks!
It only took me four years to find the best mac and cheese recipe! Thank you so much for posting this! It’s perfect.
Mine never got thick. Any recommendations? Followed the recipe exactly :(.
Crumble a pound of crispy bacon in there and it will be perfect 🙂 thanks for sharing!
I like BACCON to and WAY MORE
A+… By far the best Mac and Cheese I’ve ever eaten… I followed every direction and it was Amazing.
THANKS FOR SHARING 🙂
Dru.
-Braden
Looks good but should you put butter?
-braden.rosen@createthenext.com
OMG!!! all I can say is yummmm!!! thanks for sharing
can I use whole milk? thanks.
Made this today and is was sooooo good,definitely the best mac and cheese.
This was the most amazing Mac and Cheese I’ve ever made this recipe beats all the ones I’ve tried 🙂
So glad to hear it Melanie! Thanks for sharing 🙂
This looks wonderful. The next step I would do is to bake it for 20 minutes with crumbled bacon on top @ 350. YUMMMY
I tried this recipe last night and I found it has too much flour. It looked so yummy – but the taste of flour was just too much – it probably needs at least 1/2 the amount.
I have to say, it was the picture of your mac and cheese and all its ooey gooey creamyness that made me click on it in Pintrest. I will definately be trying this later this week.
This is similar to the recipe I use (from the back of the Prince elbows box!), but then I put it in a casserole, top with half a sleeve of crushed Ritz Crackers and bake for about 30 minutes. SO yummy! Oh, and sometimes I add BACON, too, because, well, it’s bacon!
Thank you!!!!!!!!! Went one step further and put mac cheese in casserole dish topped with 1/2 cup of shredded sharp cheddar and baked until melted. Perfection. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
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[…] How to Make the Perfect Mac and Cheese – Picky Palate – What makes the perfect mac and cheese in your opinion? Good ol’ Kraft right out of the box? Homemade thick and cheesy on the stovetop? Baked with a crispy topping …… […]
this sounds delicious! But how much is a stick of butter?
I’ve made this type of mac and cheese for years!! I have changed it up some. I use seasoned flour instead of regular. Really makes it a lot better tasting!! Plus I bake it at 350 degrees for about 20 – 30 minutes or until the top is bubbly and a little brown.
How many cups of pasta is needed? I don’t have a kitchen scale 🙂
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[…] One Pot Homemade Mac & Cheese — via Picky Palate […]
Tried it, did not come out right, too thick and gross. Followed your instructions to the T.
Yes!
This is similar to a recipe I have used for many years and is the grandkids favorite. I just use a little variation on the amount of ingredients. It works well as long as you do not let the sauce boil. I, too, use brick cheese and not pre-shredded cheese. So much better than the boxed stuff. We often mix frozen peas (rinsed) into the finished mac and cheese. I also like it because it uses “regular” ingredients and makes up in a hurry. No trips to the store for special/expensive ingredients.
This was too thick!!! I would probably recommend 1/4 cup of flour instead since my whole family said it was too thick as well. Otherwise it was a good and easy recipe! 🙂
This was too thick!!! I would probably recommend 1/4 cup of flour instead since my whole family said it was too thick as well. Otherwise it was a good and easy recipe to follow! 🙂
I made this today.. It was good… however next time I think I will use less butter and also no so much flour..
If you like this, try this recipe!! Very similar but a bit healthier and just as amazing. Possibly even better!!
http://eugeniekitchen.com/mac-and-cheese/
Hello ! It’s look so good ! But do you think I can use cream to replace the butter?
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Super delish!!! Made this tonight with crab meat and Ritz crackers for the top. Tossed in the oven till golden brown!!! Can’t wait to dig in!!! Thank you!!!