Macaroni And Cheese Sauce Recipe

Make The Cheese Sauce

While the macaroni is cooking, make the cheese sauce. Its really easy but there are a few notes that well go over to ensure your success!

Make a Roux

This homemade mac and cheese sauce starts with a roux. What is a roux? Its a mixture of fat and flour that is used to create thick sauces. Start by melting the butter and then adding the dry ingredients .

Use a whisk to combine the ingredients until the mixture is homogenous . Let it cook for about 60 seconds before moving on!

Add wet ingredients.

After the roux has cooked for 60 seconds, add the milk and whisk the mixture really well. Add the sour cream or Greek yogurt and whisk again. At this point the mixture will be fairly runny. Cook over medium heat whisking every 10-15 seconds until the sauce starts to thicken.

Do NOT let this mixture boil! If you do you may end up with a mac and cheese sauce that is too thick. Once the sauce has thickened enough to stick to a spatula, turn the heat to low. Then its time for the next step

Add the cheese & whisk until smooth

Add the cheese and whisk until the sauce is smooth and all the cheese is melted. This will take 1-2 minutes over low heat. At this point it is important to taste the cheese sauce and adjust the salt/garlic according to your tastes!

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What Kind Of Cheese Is Best For Mac And Cheese

Cheddar is probably the most popular cheese for macaroni and cheese and sharp cheddar provides the most pronounced flavor. But if you want to experiment outside of the confines of cheddar, there are a ton of other cheeses that are great in macaroni and cheese! You can use one or a combination of cheeses to make your mac and cheese your own.

Here are some other cheeses that work great with macaroni and cheese:

• Monterey jack or pepper jack

Why You Should Make This Recipe

• Foolproof Recipe: If one of your favorite things is pasta and you are a cheese lover, you need to have a great recipe for baked mac on your back pocket!
• Family Favorite: Mac and cheese is loved by everyone. This simple recipe for delicious mac is always a big hit. Kids cant resist it and adults cant stop eating it!
• Flavor: This homemade macaroni and cheese recipe is rich, creamy, and flavorful. The crispy, golden brown Panko topping takes classic mac to new heights!

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Different Ways Of Using A Cheese Sauce

Cheese sauce sets the base for so many unique dishes. There are so many ways you can use this sauce. Here are a few to note:

• Homemade mac n cheese: We love a creamy and cheesy sauce in our mac and cheese. It makes a simple mac and cheese into a super tasteful and comforting dish. Just mix the cooked pasta with the cheese sauce, and thatâs it.
• Casserole: Another dish that you can improve by using cheese sauce is a casserole. No matter which casserole recipe you are following, adding some cheese sauce to it will make it extra delicious.
• Dipping sauce: Cheese sauce is just perfect when you use it as a dipping sauce or a condiment with your main course. Its cheesiness and creaminess go well with crackers, tortilla chips, roasted vegetables, baked potatoes, french fries, and even steaks.
• Sandwiches: Most people love sandwiches and burgers loaded with cheesy goodness, and a cheese sauce serves the purpose unlike anything else. You can also enjoy cheese sauce on your sloppy joes or even a pizza!

What Is A Mac And Cheese Roux And Why Do I Need It

A roux is essentially a way to thicken a sauce or liquid. You need a fat and a flour in order to make this thickening agent and then you need to heat it to activate it.

The reason why you dont want to skip the roux for this mac and cheese sauce recipe is that the roux is what helps make it thick and luscious.

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Perfect Mac And Cheese In 5 Steps:

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Can I Freeze This Dish For Later

Casseroles like this mac and cheese can easily be frozen without baking them prior. Before you can pour the mac and cheese into the baking dish, line it with aluminum foil that has enough overhang on all sides. Assemble the macaroni and cheese, tightly cover in foil, and freeze overnight.

Lift it out of the pan when frozen solid, label and put it in a ziplock bag, and freeze again until ready to eat. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge before you can bake it in the oven.

Learn more:Should You Freeze a Casserole Before or After You Bake It?

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Homemade Macaroni And Cheese: What Kind Of Cheese Should I Use

I honestly use different cheese combinations almost every time I make this mac and cheese recipe but the one I always come back to is sharp cheddar and Gruyere. If you cant find Gruyere, Jarlsberg Swiss cheese is the best substitute. Other cheese that work: mozzarella, jack cheese or pepper jack for a little zip, American and Velveeta as well for a creamier cheese sauce. This baked mac and cheese uses 6 cups of cheese so just

To add even more flavor to my homemade mac and cheese, I add Parmesan to the Panko topping so good!

Homemade Baked Mac And Cheese

There is absolutely nothing I love more than cheese. And when you add pasta to it? Fuggetaboutit.

Mac and cheese is one of those recipes that can take on so many different forms. I love it anyway I can get it but baked mac and cheese is my very favorite and Ill tell you why The topping. I use breadcrumbs for my topping occasionally, but, a Panko topped mac and cheese is just that much better.

I mix in Parmesan, butter, and paprika with the Panko so it crisps up beautifully and gets a nice golden brown color when this amazing homemade mac and cheese is baked.

Im going to be honest here. When I make mac and cheese, its the mac to cheese ratio that I am most concerned about. I love it when the mac and cheese is oeey gooey and the cheese sauce is just so creamy. GIMME.

With all this cheese going on in this macaroni and cheese recipe, I need a little help from my KitchenAid Deluxe Stand Mixer and its handy dandy Fresh Prep Slice/Shredder attachment. I picked up this beauty at Walmart this past week and I am in LOOOOOVE. I was torn between the options: SILVER | COBALT | PISTACHIO. But, when I pictured them in my kitchen, I knew I had to go with the cobalt its just stunning!

I use my stand mixer about 954 times each week. Being a food blogger and mom means Im in my kitchen a lot baking up goodies and whipping up amazing dinners like this homemade baked mac and cheese. I am always, always looking for help in the kitchen and the Kitchen Aid Deluxe Stand Mixer is the answer.

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Best Mac And Cheese Recipe

I tried a few different recipes for creamy baked mac and cheese and finally settled on this one that I found in Southern Living, minus the red pepper and the granulated garlic. I like to keep it simple: cheese, butter, milk, noodles.

This recipe served us just fine until a couple of years ago when I read the now-famous Julia Moskin article in the New York Times, which recounted the author’s search for the perfect macaroni and cheese recipe. Moskin tried several different versions and ended with the advice, “When in doubt, add more cheese.”

Thus, the evolvement of my cheesiest mac and cheese recipe began. After a few experiments, I’ve tweaked it to this version that includes extra-sharp Cheddar in the sauce, and more cheese once the sauce and noodles are combined.

It’s creamy. It’s buttery. It’s cheesy. It’s luscious. It’s absolutely divine.

My family and friends think this is the BEST baked mac and cheese this or that side of the Mississippi, north or south of the Mason-Dixon line.

And yes, it’s also fattening so we don’t have it very often. But when you want comfort food, this is your dish.

Why Youll Love This Recipe

• This is the best mac and cheese sauce recipe out there. Not only is it cheesy, it is full of flavor from the spices and hot sauce, which adds a little tang without making it spicy.
• The roux helps the sauce thicken and prevents it from separating.
• This recipe uses a combination of evaporated milk and regular milk. These add a ton of richness without adding heavy cream.
• This homemade cheese sauce uses 3 different types of cheese, but can also be customized with your favorites.
• Use this sauce for stovetop or old fashioned baked mac and cheese.
• Cheese sauce is not just for macaroni and cheese, it can be served with a variety of dishes.

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Find Tons Of Other Dreamy Cheesy Meals In Rees Bestselling Cookbooks

And stir together until its all melted. Go ahead and turn off the heat.

Now its time for seasoning! Add about 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt If youre sensitive to salt, start really low and work your way upand remember that the cheese imparts quite a bit of salt to the mix.

BUTand this is importantbe careful not to UNDERSALT the mac & cheese. It really needs ample salt to put the flavor over the top.

*I also use paprika, cayenne pepper, even ground thyme every now and then. Play with different ground spices and see what you like best.

And finally, add plenty of black pepper, of the Black Dust variety. Honestly, I love freshly ground pepperbut not in homemade Mac & Cheese. For me, it has to be the powdery stuff.

Now THATs what Im talkin about.

And guess what? You can just steam some fresh broccoli and spoon some of this over the top. Kids from all over the land will show up at your doorstep.

Did you know a single serving of broccoli is positively loaded with Vitamin C?

Now just dump in the drained, not-fully-cooked macaroni!

And stir the mixture together.

I use a little less than the full amount of cooked macaroni, because I love it extra creamy and coated. Just add it according to how you like it.

Now, you can either dish it up as it is right now, which makes for an ultra-creamy love fest

OR you can pour the macaroni into a buttered baking dish. This is a 2-quart dish, but a 9 x 13 pan would work just fine.

Kinda like this.

Hello, lover.

Cookbook: Macaroni And Cheese

Macaroni and cheese is a dish combining pasta with cheese or a cheese-based sauce. It can be made by tossing cooked pasta in a cheesy white sauce or made as a baked casserole. For the baked kind, see the recipes Macaroni Pie and Macaroni & Cheese . For a version including meat and vegetables that can be a main course, see Glorified Mac and Cheese.

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Variations Of Mac And Cheese

• Bacon if you love bacon, feel free to add some crispy, crumbled bacon to the topping, or even inside the mac and cheese as well!
• Stovetop if youd prefer not to bake this mac and cheese, you dont have to! Make sure you boil your pasta until al dente , and youll only need about 3 3 1/2 cups of cheese total. No need to layer the pasta and cheese, just add all the cheese to the sauce, then combine with the pasta.
• Different Toppings Im a huge fan of the cheese layer on top, since it gets nice and crispy, but we also love tossing 1 cup of panko with 2 Tbsp of melted butter and using that as a topping. 1 cup of crushed Ritz crackers with 2 Tbsp of butter work amazingly well too!
• Different Baking Times the recipe calls for a lower baking temperature and time, but most of the time I find myself adjusting that based on my familys tastes. I like to bake this mac and cheese at 350 F degrees for 30 minutes, then broil for 2-3 minutes to get that glorious cheesy crust.

Cheddar Is The Best Cheese For Mac And Cheese And Heres Why:

The key to achieving a creamy mac and cheese from scratch is using a great melting cheese to anchor the mac and cheese sauce. And the best melting cheese for mac and cheese isin our humble opinioncheddar! Its got that classic milky sharpness and straw-colored hue that we expect our mac and cheese to have, and theres just nothing else quite like it. Once you master this stovetop mac and cheese recipe, though, you could certainly play around with other cheeses.

We wanted to share a truly simple mac and cheese recipeone thats almost as easy as that little blue boxbut you can look at it as a great jumping off point for experimentation. If you want to get fancy, try subbing some shredded Gruyére or raclette for half of the cheddar.

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How To Make Mac And Cheese

If youve never made homemade mac and cheese before, it can seem a bit daunting. But dont worry, well break it down and take it step by step!

• Boil the pasta, drain.
• Make the cheese sauce by combining a fat , and starch , then whisking in the milk products.
• Cook the sauce until its nice and thick.
• Add in shredded cheeses, stir well.
• Combine cheese sauce with cooked pasta.
• Transfer half of the mac and cheese to a baking dish, sprinkle with more shredded cheese.
• Top with the rest of the mac and cheese, top with more shredded cheese.
• Bake and prepare to thoroughly enjoy!

How To Make A Roux

First time making a roux? No problem! Check out this super simple tutorial:

Congrats, youve made your roux! This will give your mac the thick and creamy texture youre looking for.

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Keys To A Perfect Cheese Sauce

The only tricky part of making a cheese sauce like this is incorporating the milk into the roux. These tips will set you up for success.

• Start with warm milk. Warming the milk a minute or two in the microwave will help it blend into the warm roux more easily.
• Add the milk slowly. Add the milk slowly while whisking the roux. At first, the roux will thin out, then it will clump up. You might think all is lost at this point, but persevere. Continue whisking the milk and it will loosen into a creamy sauce.
• Let bubble until slightly thickened. Once all the milk is added, let it bubble, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Youre looking for a thickness thats somewhere between heavy cream and buttermilk. Stir in the grated cheese, let it melt, and youre almost ready for mac and cheese bliss.

How To Change And Personalize Your Macaroni And Cheese Recipe

The pasta obviously for mac you use classic elbow macaroni, but I also love penne and corkscrew pastas for mac and cheese any pasta that holds lots of sauce is a good one to use for mac and cheese

The sauce how long you cook your roux effects the flavor, any spices you add and of course the types of cheeses you pick! Below is a video tutorial talking ALL about it! This recipe is the cheeses I like to use BUT you can mix other cheeses into your rotation for other flavors.

Finally to bake or not to bake Personally I like to mix my pasta and sauce and enjoy right away BUT some people like to pour the pasta and sauce into an oven safe pan and top with more cheese or bread crumbs and bake a bit but I like my pasta fresher!

The great part about starting with a bechamel sauce is that it holds together really well and doesnt separate. You do want to make sure you take the sauce off the heat and let it cool a little before adding the cheese if its too hot the cheese will clump together rather than melt into a smooth sauce. Add the cheese a little at a time, making sure its melted before adding more.

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