Southern Baked Macaroni and Cheese Recipe
Southern Baked Macaroni and Cheese
(Soul Food Style)
Watch me make this southern baked macaroni and cheese from start to finish!
I’m pretty sure you all know how hard it is to find a good, southern, soul food style baked macaroni and cheese recipe, right?
People tend to keep a tight grasp on their prized macaroni & cheese recipes, but not in my family. We share our favorite recipes like they are going on out of style! “Aint no sense in taking recipes to the grave” is how my grandmother sees it.
Well, imagine my shock when my sister sashayed in on Thanksgiving and casually placed this baked macaroni & cheese on the table. I could have sworn I had all of my family members baked mac n cheese recipes.
What was this impostor all about! The proof was in the taste. I had one (ok three) plates of this macaroni and cheese and was on her heels like ash in the wintertime trying to get this recipe.
My husband took a bite and said, “um, you need to take your mac n cheese recipe off your blog and put this one up. This one is way better than yours!”
THANKS A LOT, MATT…You’ll pay for that comment dearly! lol
Yall this baked macaroni and cheese is FULL OF SOUL!! That is the first thing that came to mind when I took that first bite. Usually, I’m not that into mac and cheese recipes that involve Velveeta, but this one….yeah, this one gets a pass!
I just love how that top layer of smoked cheese forms like a crust. It’s super creamy, flavorful, and easy. The MVP is definitely that SMOKED CHEDDAR! Good God, I couldn’t stop eating this stuff.
So big sis…I will bow down gracefully to you and say that you make THE BEST Baked MAC N CHEESE EVER!
I have printed out this recipe, took a photo of it, laminated it, and put it in my recipe album. Not many recipes get to make it to the album. She’s a keeper!
I’m sure that if you give it a try, it will end up going into your recipe collection, as well.
Get the Recipe: Southern Baked Macaroni and Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup Colby & Monterey Jack, shredded (cheese blend)
- 6-8 oz Velveeta cheese, shredded (feel free to cut back on the Velveeta if you don't want it to be super creamy)
- 1 cup sharp cheddar, shredded (can use less if you don't like a sharp taste in your mac n cheese)
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup smoked cheddar cheese, shredded (a must)
- paprika, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Cook macaroni until just al dente or a little under al dente. (Look on the back of the box to see how long you need to cook your pasta for it to reach al dente.) Be careful not to overcook.
- Drain pasta and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add milk, heavy cream & cheeses (except for the smoked cheddar).
- Stir to combine.
- Taste the milk mixture and add salt & pepper until it has a good taste. (You can also add in other seasonings like onion powder, paprika, etc. Tasting will help avoid having a plain, bland baked macaroni & cheese.)
- When you are content with the taste, add the eggs.
- Stir well until combined.
- Butter a 9 x 9-inch baking dish.
- Add macaroni to the baking dish.
- Pour cheese mixture over macaroni.
- Make sure the cheese is distributed well.
- Top with the smoked cheddar cheese. (I add a little more Colby jack as well.) Sprinkle with paprika and/or black pepper, if desired.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes. Do not overbake. It may be a bit jiggly when you take it out of the oven. It will firm up as it cool.
- Let cool for about 10-15 minutes or until fully set.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Smoked cheddar cheese can be found in grocery stores in the specialty cheese section, not with the shredded, common cheeses. I get mine from Walmart.
Do not over bake! Mac and cheese may be a tad jiggly when removed from oven but it will firm up as it cools.
Feel free to use other cheeses, but that smoked cheddar is a MUST!
*UPDATE* Sorry sis but I think I’ve discovered a new best-baked macaroni and cheese recipe lol I’ll be posting it soon guys, but this one is still a favorite!!
Wait I’ve got more macaroni and cheese recipes!! Check these out!
Creamy baked macaroni and cheese!
(this one is great for kids and adults It has no Velveeta)
Classic Homemade Baked Macaroni & Cheese
The first mac and cheese posted on my site.
I made this dish for a decent sized gathering. I followed the directions, but added a little more Velveeta, and extra smoked cheddar. I have never seen folks flock to a dish the way they hunkered down on my Mac ‘n cheese. Usually the kids are focused on the Mac dish. But this time, the adults were wilding. The Mac was finished faster than any other dish on the table. I received so many compliments. Thanks Diva!
Lae, can you tell me how much more velveeta and smoked cheddar did you add to recipe?
I made this recipe for a gathering exactly as listed and it was a hit amongst my friends! I made it again the next evening since I had enough ingredients leftover to do so, but added panko breadcrumbs on top with the smoked cheddar to create a beautiful crust (I needed to add a spritz of cooking spray and broil it for a few minutes at the end of baking to make it golden brown). The panko definitely took it over the top! I seasoned with onion powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika, in addition to salt and pepper.
Thanks sounds so good! I’ll try panko next time!
I love this recipe, It’s the first mac I’ve made by myself! I’m not crazy about velveeta though, would it ruin the mac if I didn’t use it? Thank you!
If you mix your bread crumbs with some melted butter it will brown naturally and you can skip the broiler step. Two parts breadcrumbs to one part butter.
Anjelica, how much panko bread crumbs and smoked cheddar did you add to the top?
Over Father’s Day weekend and the following weekend for my husbands birthday, I was on a mission to find a new Mac n cheese. Both were a bust. 4th of July I came across this recipe and it’s my new FAV! The smoked cheddar pulled it all together . Just short of 1/2 tsp for the salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp paprika .. everyone loved it .
I have this recipe saved and will definitely be making again ❤️❤️
We have tried many baked macaroni recipes over the years and none were quite as good as we had hoped…this one was hands down the best and exactly what we were looking to make. This will be our go to macaroni recipe! So happy we found this site and we are already planning to try more recipes! Yum!
Can this be made ahead of time and cooked the next day??
Hi! I just tried this recipe and it was so easy to follow and turned out SO well! Thank you so much for posting. Love from Sweden! <3