Homemade Baked Macaroni & Cheese Recipe ~ Easy, Creamy & Crowd-Pleasing~
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Homemade Baked Macaroni & Cheese
Looking for a more southern soul food style baked macaroni and cheese? Click here to try out my sister’s recipe.
Looking for a more southern soul food style baked macaroni and cheese? Click here to try out my sister’s recipe.
Homemade baked macaroni & cheese….ahhhh…just the thought of those bubbling cheeses & pasta baking to perfection in the oven makes me smile! Is this really the ultimate comfort food ????
I’ve been baking a crap load of homemade macaroni and cheese recipes since last week. Just trying to figure out which one is worthy enough to sit proudly on my Thanksgiving table.
I try to go with a different baked macaroni and cheese recipe every year, but this year after trying so many and being disappointed, I decided to go with my old tried & true recipe. Those “testing” ingredients were getting pretty darn expensive! My purse & waistline simply can not afford to test out any more recipes!
Ok yall, so this is the cheesy beauty that I will be serving up again this year. I’ve already received phone calls asking, no THREATENING, me that “I better be making this macaroni and cheese on Thanksgiving! “
This baked macaroni & cheese recipe is what I call a true crowd-pleaser. It’s creamy & cheesy which satisfies the kids (because yall know how kids are with mac n cheese) yet rich, comforting & complex enough to please those adults wanting that good ol’ southern style baked macaroni & cheese. Don’t let the chicken stock scare you in this recipe. It just adds a lil flavor and kicks up the cheese taste (it doesn’t taste chicken-ish)
Homemade Baked Macaroni & Cheese Recipe ~ Easy, Creamy & Crowd-Pleasing~
Recipe Type: side dish
Author:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- Equal parts water & chicken broth to boil macaroni in
- 3 cups of macaroni (uncooked)
- 2 Tablespoons of butter
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup half n half
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
- 4 cups of finely grated cheese (I buy the bag of Kraft mixed cheese(It’s the one with the picture of the macaroni on the front. I think it’s called classic melts. It is about 3 cups worth per bag and then I add a cup of Gouda cheese)
- Additional cheese to go on top (I like to use all sharp cheddar on top)
- Black pepper
- Paprika
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a large pot, add equal parts water & chicken broth. (Just enough to cook your macaroni in) Bring to a boil.
- Add macaroni and cook until al dente. About 7-8 minutes (look on the back of the box for the cooking time and set your timer so that you don’t overcook it) When macaroni is done, drain and set aside.
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter & whisk in the flour. Cook for about 2 minutes. Whisking the entire time.
- Slowly whisk in 1 cup chicken broth, half n half, & milk. Whisk until combined. You want the mixture to steam but NOT boil. Adjust your heat accordingly
- Add in the cream cheese & stir until completely dissolved and smooth. Whisk & stir like crazy to get it smooth. I used a spoon to mash the cream cheese up a bit.
- Remove from heat & add in 4 cups of cheese & stir until smooth.
- Pour cheese mixture over cooked macaroni and stir to combine. Add some black pepper if you’d like.
- Grease a 9 X 9-inch pan with butter & pour the mac n cheese into it.
- Top with sharp cheddar cheese and paprika.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. Do not over-bake to prevent it from being dried out. You want the macaroni and cheese to be somewhat jiggly when you take it out. It will set as it cool and just be the creamiest, cheesiest thing ever.
- Let cool for about 15-20 minutes before digging in so that it can set completely. I never can wait that long but hopefully, you have stronger willpower than me when it comes to macaroni & cheese.
Bluewisper that is a good question & when you find the answer to it let me know lol
I have yet to taste a baked mac n cheese that has been reheated in the oven and STILL tastes good. Either the noodles get soggy from being over cooked or the middle is still cold when the edges are starting to dry out.
It's easy to reheat regular mac n cheese because you can just stir in some milk & butter to retain the creaminess but with the baked kind….not so much.
The microwave is the only way to go when it comes to reheating baked mac n cheese without losing the flavor in my opinion.
I'll keep looking and asking around to see how other peeps are reheating their baked mac n cheese.
Heres the thing, this mac and cheese is THE BEST but even BETTER the next day! The next day it has that perfect consistency that I've been searching for. Kind of like a southern homestyle kind yet creamy and cheesy. I used 1 cup of milk instead of half n half. My boyfriend said that I am not allowed to make any other kind ever because it was the first mac and cheese that he had ever tasted that had flavor.
So my question is how do I go about reheating a whole pan in the oven? I plan on making this the day before Thanksgiving and reheating it.
I’ve reheated baked mac-n-cheese in the oven with success only if it is a 9×9 dish or smaller. If you do a larger casserole dish it doesn’t usually work. Anyhow, if you get a deep-dish cookie sheet and place the casserole dish in the middle, you can then flood the cookie sheet with water and bake it. The water keeps the oven moist and helps to reheat the dish a little more evenly without drying it out. Give it a try sometime, it works out well for me. Otherwise, I agree with the Diva. The microwave reheat does well on baked mac.
Actually, you wouldn’t reheat it. You would make it the day before, refrigerate it in it’s baking dish cover with cling wrap touching the entire surface of the mac and cheese to prevent air from getting into the sauce and forming a skin and drying out the macaroni, and pop it in the oven the day of.
Glad you liked it Annonymous! Yeah that Patti mac n cheese is so good! I've made it a few times.
1xellus1 That means soooo much to me right now…it's been one of those crazy days!
Atiyah I have never had that kind…point me into the right direction because that needs to be on my list.
I will have to try the chicken broth next time I do mac and cheese. Have you tried the 7cheese mac and cheese by Delilah?
love your step by step pics. i know it isn't always easy to crank out a vid. we appreciate you girl, keep posting! love everything here!
Hello Monica!
I normally make Patti Labelles Over The Rainbow Macaroni and Cheese but I made this today and this IS the one I'll be serving on Thanksgiving too. I halved the recipe to make a small pan just in case I didn't like it and now I wish I would have doubled the recipe! *Heres my tips* Definitely give it time to set so that it won't be too loose. I thought it was a lil too loose at first but it set very well after about 30 minutes. I didn't have to add in any garlic powder, dried mustard or salt like I normally do. I guess the chicken broth took care of all that. This macaroni is delicious! Very creamy & cheesey. Thanks so much for being so kind to share this recipe
DO YOU GUYS THINK IF I MAKE IT WITHOUT THE CREAM CHEESE AND HALF AND HALF IT WILL STILL COME OUT GOOD?