This Baked Macaroni and Cheese recipe delivers the ideal mac and cheese experience with its gooey cheese, perfectly cooked noodles, and savory breadcrumb topping, making it a weeknight favorite.
Cook your pasta according to package directions. Drain the noodles once they are fully cooked and set them aside. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
In a large pot, melt 6 tablespoons of butter and whisk in the flour to create a slurry. Once the butter and flour are homogenous, stir in the milk until combined. Add the cheeses. Stir the mixture for about five minutes over medium heat until the cheese has completely melted.
Add the cheese sauce to a 9x13 inch pan along with the cooked noodles and fold to combine. You can also add the pasta to the pot you melted the cheese in if the pot is big enough. Do what works best for you.
Melt the remaining butter in a small bowl and then stir in the bread crumbs. Whisk the two ingredients together and then sprinkle the breadcrumbs over your mac and cheese.
Bake the mac and cheese for 25 minutes.
Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Store your leftover mac and cheese in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can either let the pan cool and then cover it tightly in plastic wrap or transfer your leftovers to an airtight container.
Other pastas you can use in this recipe include shells, rotini, and bow tie. Any smaller sized pasta will work great!
The sharpness of the white cheddar helps amplify the flavor of the other two cheeses, ensuring the flavor isn’t muted as the dish bakes.
The breadcrumb topping gives this dish a nice crunch. If you only have regular panko crumbs and you'd like to make them seasoned, you can add 1/2 tablespoon of Italian seasoning to the crumb topping.
You can substitute the panko crumbs for regular breadcrumbs; however the top of the mac and cheese will have a more subtle crunch.
It is important to make sure that the flour and butter are fully combined. This acts as the base of your sauce and will ensure that it thickens properly. You don’t want any clumps of dry flour in your slurry.