Easy homemade mac and cheese recipe is such an easy and comforting meal to make. requires a few ingredients and is an easy dinner solution whipped up in less time.
Baked mac and cheese
The Baked mac and cheese recipe is firstly made on the stove then transferred to an oven tray and topped with a buttery crumb, so it gives an extra crunch element and baked in the oven. You can also just enjoy mac and cheese straight out from the pot, but baking and gratinating the top will give you the extra special flavour and crunch and trust me it makes the whole dish come together.
Homemade mac and cheese is easier than you think and you would stop buying boxed mac and cheese ever again from the supermarkets, do you know how many nasty preservatives are added to them? Trust me I know because I work in this industry and I can guarantee it is filled with nasty products and does not taste as good as this one.
Tips to follow when making Creamy mac and cheese
This easy mac and cheese is creamy and loaded with cheese, it is very essential not to overcook the pasta. when boiling the pasta make sure to undercook it as it will be cooked again in the oven, if you overcook the pasta, what happens is that it will turn into a stodgy mess and the texture will be way off.
Mac and cheese sauce
Mac and cheese sauce needs to be a bit thinner than a usual bechamel that you do for a lasagne, the reason being that if you make the sauce thick then the mac and cheese will turn out as a dried dish than a creamy mac and cheese that oozes cheese and all the yummy goodness. So to nail that texture it is important that you get the correct texture for the mac and cheese sauce.
Also basically what you are making is a bechamel sauce as the mac and cheese sauce, so sometimes you can get a lumpy sauce after adding the milk, the tip I use is always to add the milk little by little, once the 1st batch of milk is fully incorporated then add in other batch and so on, so you will not have a lumpy sauce and always use a whisk.
What do I do if my mac and cheese sauce turn lumpy
Then simply strain the sauce through a fine strainer this will immediately give you a smooth and silky sauce
Best pasta for mac and cheese
Macaroni is the best pasta, they are also known as elbow pasta or Liscio Piccolo. But if you wish you can definitely substitute with any small pasta type that looks like a macaroni
Best cheese for mac and cheese
Alright, you can use any melting cheese that is sold in summer markets such as tasty, mozzarella, 4 cheese blend. But I have used gruyere and mozzarella for a good flavour and the desired texture. I have also used tasty cheese and they all work fine.
What to serve with mac and cheese
You can either eat this as a main dish or a side dish
I enjoy this mostly as the main dish but it is a heavy dish so try and pair it with non-heavy dishes such as roast beef, Roast pork, roast chicken or even grilled seafood, a salad or steamed green vegetables.
How to store mac and cheese
If you are preparing this ahead of time, then simply add in the breadcrumbs and store in the fridge covered with cling wrap and it can be stored for 3 days. When you want to serve it then bake it in the oven as per the recipe instructions.
What other toppings can be added to mac and cheese
- Bacon bits ( This is delicious, all you have to do is, fry off some bacon, blend it into small bits, or chop into small bits and add it with the crumb)
- Truffle ( If adding truffle, add it after it is baked because truffle flavour is optimum when added in raw at the end)
You can also check my other dinner recipes here.
Watch how to make easy homemade mac and cheese
Step by Step recipe on how to make easy homemade mac and cheese
Easy Homemade Mac And Cheese
Equipment
- Pot and pan
Ingredients
Cooking pasta
- 250 g Pasta Elbow, macaroni
- 1 tbsp Oil Olive oil, Canola oil, Vegetable, sunflower oil
Sauce
- 45 6 Butter
- 45 g Flour
- 720 g Milk
- 150 g Shredded cheese ( Tasty, Mozerella combined)
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard
Topping
- 25 g Panko crumb
- 30 g Butter Melted
- 1/4 tsp Salt
Instructions
Cooking pasta
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook pasta as per packet instructions minus 1 minute (Undercook the pasta, as it will go through another cooking process)
- Once cooked, drain and discard the pasta water, add 1 tbsp of oil ( This is to stop it from sticking togeather)
Bechamel Sauce
- Heat a pan on medium fire, add butter, and let it melt, once melted quickly add the flour, cook for roughly 1 minute. Make sure the butter and flour mixture is not turned blonde or brown, as this is a white sauce the aim is to make a white roux (flour and butter mix)
- Then slowly add the milk, while whisking the roux. Make sure to add the milk little by little so, lumps are not formed and you end up with a silky smooth mix. If by any chance there are lumps in the sauce, then refer to the article above as to how to rectify the sauce.
- Leave the mixture on low heat, until the sauce is thickened, but make sure it does not thicken too much, so you will end up with a saucy mac and cheese after baked
- Turn off the heat and add dijon mustard and mix well until incorpotrate. Then add all the shredded cheese, mix well, then pour in the cooked pasta to the same pot and mix well
- Transfer the whole mix into a baking tray
- Heat oven to 180C conventional oven
Topping
- In a small bowl, mix togeather melted butter, panko crumb and salt, mix until well incorporated
Finishing the mac and cheese
- Sprinkle the top of the mac and cheese with the buttery panko crumb
- Bake in the oven at 180C for 25-30 mins, until the top, is golden brown colour. Don't over-bake if not the mac and cheese will turn dry
- Serve immediately