Is there a more comfortie, comfort food than Macaroni and Cheese? When the weather is cold and dreary outside there’s nothing more comforting than a warm bowl of pasta coated in a rich, decadent, creamy cheese sauce. This is the iconic Mac & Cheese everyone craves; the king of comfort food! It’s easier to make completely from scratch than you think. Only wholesome ingredients and no weird, unpronounceable, chemicals in your bowl of cheesy goodness. Once you whip up your first batch you’ll be reaching for this recipe over and over again. This recipe will be your family’s favorite!
For the best results with this recipe there are a few key things to keep in mind. First be sure to use a shell shaped pasta for this Mac & Cheese recipe. You can certainly use the traditional elbow macaroni and it will still be fabulous, but I find that the shells form perfect little cups that hold the delicious cheese sauce.
For the most flavor, be sure to use sharp Cheddar cheese and grate it yourself. You won’t get the same creamy results if you use the pre-shredded kind. The pre-shredded kind just doesn’t melt as well. I wish it did, but sadly it doesn’t, so get out your cheese grater and put some muscle into it and grate away.
Use whole milk and heavy cream for the richest, creamiest results. This is not diet food! You’ll want to eat it everyday, but you probably shouldn’t, but you’ll want to! This is a decadent, rich and creamy Macaroni & Cheese, save calories elsewhere and indulge yourself by using the whole milk and heavy cream in this recipe. You’ll thank me with your very first bite. Your waistline probably won’t, but your tastebuds certainly will.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Cook the pasta shells as directed on the package.
Drain and set aside.
Grate cheese and set aside. Think of all the calories you just burned off grating that cheese! That means you can eat more Mac & Cheese, right?
Grease casserole dish and set aside.
In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
TIP: While the pasta cooks, grate the cheese, grease the casserole dish, and measure out all the remaining ingredients. After draining the pasta use the same pan to make the cheese sauce, that’s one less pan to wash.
Add flour to the pan.
Whisk together with the butter to make a roux. Cook stirring constantly until roux turns a light golden brown.
Did you know: Cooking the roux till it turns light brown in color will cook off any unpleasant raw flour taste and produces a more flavorful cheese sauce. A roux is used in cooking as a thickener. The roux will thicken the cheese sauce as it cooks in the oven.
Whisk in the red pepper flakes, garlic powder, salt, pepper and dijon mustard.
Slowly whisk in milk and stir until there are no more lumps and the sauce is smooth.
Add grated cheese and stir until cheese melts and sauce is smooth.
Whisk in heavy cream.
Fold in the cooked pasta and stir to coat pasta with the cheese sauce.
Taste and season with additional salt if needed.
Transfer to greased casserole dish and cover with foil.
Bake for 30 minutes, until cheese sauce boils.
Remove from oven and let pasta rest covered for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Would you look at that cheesy goodness? I know some recipes call for adding a topping of breadcrumbs, but I think it soaks up too much of the creamy cheese sauce so I skip adding a breadcrumb topping, but you could certainly add it if you like. All you get in each mouthful of this casserole is a rich, cheesy, creamy bite of pasta that totally melts in your mouth. This dish is truly a decadent indulgence that will fulfill all your comfort food desires!
This recipe was inspired by my Tante Elizabeth. She was the one who taught me how to make an oven baked Macaroni & Cheese using a roux. Thank you Tante Elizabeth! I think of you and our time spent cooking together in your kitchen every time I make this dish.
Classic Oven Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Equipment
- 13×9 inch oven safe casserole dish
Ingredients
- 1 lb shell pasta, cooked and drained
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp flour
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 2¾ cups whole milk
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 lb extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Cook pasta shells as directed on the package. Drain and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Grate cheese and set aside.
- Grease casserole dish and set aside.
- In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
- Add flour and whisk together with the butter to make a roux.
- Cook stirring constantly until roux turns a light golden brown.
- Whisk in red pepper flakes, garlic powder, salt, pepper and dijon mustard.
- Slowly whisk in milk and stir until there are no more lumps and sauce is smooth.
- Add grated cheese and stir until cheese melts and sauce is smooth.
- Stir in heavy cream.
- Fold in cooked pasta, stir to coat pasta with the cheese sauce.
- Taste and season with additional salt if needed.
- Transfer to greased casserole dish and cover pan with foil.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until cheese sauce boils.
- Remove from oven and let pasta rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Did You Make This?
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