Go-To Cheddar Mac and Cheese

This recipe for our Go-To Cheddar Mac and Cheese is infinitely adaptable. You can use any easy-melting, flavorful cheese (or combination of cheeses) that suits your fancy. It can also be served straight from the pot — smooth and creamy — or topped with buttered bread crumbs, extra cheese, and baked for a gooey, cheesy, crunchy treat. It’s truly up to you. You could even make individual servings that each one of your guests can dress up with their own toppings like crackers, chicken, or broccoli.

What Are Easy to Melt Cheese for Mac and Cheese?

Thankfully, when it comes to customizing your Mac and Cheese, you have plenty of choices beyond just cheddar. If you want to add a bit of a bite to your mac you can try using colby-jack or pepper-jack cheeses. To contribute to complex flavors you can use gruyère, gouda, fontina which each have their own unique flavors. After you’ve chosen your cheese, we also recommend adding some cream cheese for the smoothest texture possible. Just make sure whatever decision you make, you grate the cheese finally, incorporate the cheese a little at a time, and the sauce heat low and slow.

More Mac and Cheese Topping Ideas

• Sauteed mushrooms, fresh thyme, and truffle oil
• Pulled pork, candied jalapenos, and barbeque sauce
• Bacon, extra cheese, topped with an egg and black pepper (the egg will come out of the oven sunny side up)
• Taco-seasoned shredded cooked chicken or ground beef, sliced scallions, salsa, cojita cheese
• Pepperoni (or cooked Italian sausage), marinara, sprinkled, parmesan cheese

Go-To Cheddar Mac and Cheese

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• Author: TABLE Staff

Print Recipe

Description

Creamy, gooey, and plain out right delicious.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 lb dried elbow macaroni (or gluten-free brown rice macaroni)
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter
• ½ cup all-purpose flour (or gluten-free all-purpose flour)
• 4 ½ cups milk (or plain almond or oat milk)
• 4 + 1 ½  cups white cheddar cheese, shredded (I prefer to hand shred the cheese vs. using packaged)
• 1 ½ cups, shredded or cubed white American cheese
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp granulated garlic

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Instructions

1. Fill a large pot with water and cook the macaroni according to package directions. If you are making baked Mac and Cheese, cook the macaroni 2 minutes less than package instructions — you want the macaroni under-cooked, as it will continue cooking when baking.
2. Drain cooked macaroni and rinse with cold water. Set aside while making the cheese sauce.
3. Over medium heat, melt butter in a large heavy sauce pot. When melted and bubbly, whisk in the flour until a paste is formed. Cook 1 minute while whisking, then slowly add the milk to the pot. Continue whisking the mixture until it becomes thick and bubbly.
4. Remove from heat and stir in 4 cups of the cheddar cheese, all of the American cheese, salt, pepper and garlic until well combined.
5. Gently stir in the cooked macaroni. If not baking, return pot to the stove and gently warm the macaroni.
6. If baking, pour the macaroni and cheese sauce mixture into a greased 9×13 baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until bubbly.
7. Uncover and sprinkle with the remaining 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar and buttered bread crumbs*. Bake, uncovered, for another 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the bread crumbs are lightly toasted and crunchy.

Notes

For bread crumb topping, cut regular or gluten free bread slices into ½ inch cubes, toss with 2-tablespoons melted butter and ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic.

Recipe by TABLE Magazine Staff
Photo by Leanne Meyers

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