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.
Oh! I forgot 1 ingredient, I also used 1/2 cup of heavy cream! I added that in along with the evap milk and broth.
Hi! I decided to incorporate some ideas from both of the mac and cheese recipes on here, mainly because your sister's calls for eggs but yours does not, and I prefer the consistency of egg-less baked mac and cheese. So here's what I did:
*3 cups macaroni (I measured out 3/4 cups of chicken broth and used what was left over to add to the water to cook the noodles).
*3 tbsp butter
*3 tbsp flour
*3/4 cups evaporated milk
*3/4 cups chicken broth
*1 cup smoked gouda (I wanted to use the smoked cheddar but could not find it at the market)
*1 cup sharp white cheddar
*1 cup cheddar jack
*1 cup velveeta
I melted the butter, then added flour, evap milk and chicken broth, and mixed until smooth.
I then added all the cheeses and let them melt slowly, stirring frequently. Next time I do this, I will add the gouda first and let that melt for about 10 min. before adding the other cheeses. Gouda takes a little longer to melt.
I added about 2 tbsp sour cream and some pepper to the drained macaroni.
I added the cheese mix to the noodles, but noticed it was not very loose at all. So I ended up adding about another cup of skim milk to it, which did the trick.
I greased the bottom of my baking pan and poured the mix in.
I then took about 1/4 cup of each of the cheeses, mixed them together, and sprinkled that on top.
I baked it for about 25 minutes, then let it sit for about 20 minutes.
It was delicious!!
Thank you so much for sharing your ideas, I've bookmarked your blog for future reference.
Flour doesn’t not belong in true soul food Mac and cheese, NO! Sounds like some west coast foolishness lol.
I also used this recipe for Thankgiving and it was also a big hit! It was so delicious. It was truly like what my mother use to make…so thank you! The only thing I changed was I had to use mild cheddar on top b/c I couldn't find smoked cheddar. I searched high and low and never found it…UNTIL yesterday when I was in Target and found it in the "smoked" food section. FIGURES! lol Anyway…thanks again. I'll be using this again and again!!!!
I made this for the very first time for Thanksgiving and I made a full tray of it. I used different cheeses tho, but pretty much sticked with the recipe and it was a hit! Everyone loved it…thanx for the recipe and love this site!
Wow this is the best mac & cheese EVER. Its my 1st time making it homemade and let me just say I'm sooo glad I found this recipe. Its the only one I'll ever use. Its so creamy & cheesy. I didn't use smoked cheddar I used mild instead, but it still came out the bomb! Thank so much for sharing this
There's nothing better that eat a good macaroni whit enough cheese That's perfect.