If there’s one recipe that all cooks need to have under their belt, it’s a classic homemade mac and cheese recipe. Straight-up creamy, comforting, cheesy goodness! This classic stovetop macaroni and cheese recipe is made with a simple but creamy roux-based cheese sauce that will satisfy all of your cheesy pasta cravings. It’s amazingly delicious on its own straight off the stovetop, but we also have instructions for baked mac and cheese and a list of fun add-ins and other ways you can make it your own.
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How to Make Mac and Cheese Extra Creamy
For this extra cheesy homemade mac and cheese recipe, I used slightly more roux and added about 30% more cheese than I generally do to my simple stovetop mac and cheese recipes. The thicker sauce and extra cheese made this macaroni and cheese so lusciously creamy and cheesy that I couldn’t stop sneaking forkfuls between photographs. AND the best part is that it even stays smooth and creamy when reheated in the microwave. Mac and cheese heaven! 🙌
Ingredients for Mac and Cheese
Here’s what you’ll need to make this super creamy and cheesy homemade mac and cheese recipe:
- Macaroni: Of course! But you can actually use any pasta shape you like or have on hand and it will still be an amazing vehicle for this cheesy sauce.
- Butter & Flour: Butter and flour make a “roux” which thickens the sauce and helps the cheese melt into the sauce smoothly. Without a roux, the water in the milk will repel the fat in the cheese and you’ll get a lumpy sauce.
- Cheddar Cheese: I used sharp cheddar because it gives the most flavor punch, but you can use a medium or mild cheddar if you prefer. Always buy cheese in block form and shred it yourself for the smoothest sauce. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in starch and doesn’t always melt properly.
- Seasoning: Because we want the flavor of the cheese to be the star of the show, the sauce is seasoned simply with a little onion powder, hot sauce, and salt. That’s it! But we have plenty of ideas for more flavor add-ins below.
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:
- Parmesan
- Gruyere
- Smoked Gouda
- Parmesan
- Chevre
- Cream Cheese
- Brie
- Monterey jack or pepper jack
Tips for The Best Macaroni and Cheese
To get the smoothest, creamiest cheese sauce for your mac and cheese, follow these tips:
- Do not use pre-shredded cheese, which is coated in starch and doesn’t melt smoothly.
- Use whole milk for the richest mac and cheese.
- Make sure the milk has come to a simmer and fully thickened before beginning to add the cheese. If the starches in the roux have not plumped and thickened the sauce yet, the cheese will not melt in smoothly.
- Do not let the cheese sauce boil. Overheating the cheese sauce can cause it to separate and become grainy, so after the milk has thickened, turn off the heat before adding the cheese.
What is a Roux?
This classic stovetop mac and cheese recipe starts with a roux, which is a cooked mixture of flour and fat (in this case, butter). The roux thickens the sauce and helps the cheese melt smoothly into the sauce instead of clumping up as it melts. While there are ways to make a cheese sauce without a roux, taking this extra step definitely creates the creamiest, dreamiest cheese sauce for your mac and cheese.
Mac and Cheese Variations
Here’s where mac and cheese can get really fun. In addition to changing the cheeses, you can switch up the herbs and spices, add in some veggies, or your favorite protein to make your own homemade mac and cheese creation. Here are some other fun ingredients to add to your mac and cheese:
- Proteins: Cooked chicken, Bacon, Sausage, Tuna, Ham
- Vegetables: Broccoli, Spinach, Peas, Pickled jalapeños, Rotel
- Sauces & Condiments: Kimchi, Pesto, Sriracha, Salsa, Buffalo sauce
Homemade Mac and Cheese
Servings 4 about 1.25 cups eachIngredients
- 8 oz. macaroni ($0.67)
- 3 Tbsp butter ($0.30)
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder ($0.05)
- 2 cups whole milk ($0.84)
- 1/2 tsp hot sauce* ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.03)
- 8 oz. block sharp cheddar, shredded ($2.25)
Instructions
- Cook the macaroni according to the package directions (boil for 7-8 minutes, or until tender). Drain the macaroni in a colander.
- Place the butter, flour, and onion powder in a medium pot. Whisk and heat over medium until the butter is melted and the mixture begins to bubble. Once bubbling, continue to whisk and cook for one minute.
- After cooking the butter and flour roux, whisk in the milk. Continue to cook and whisk over medium heat until the milk begins to gently simmer, at which point it will thicken to the consistency of heavy cream or gravy.
- Turn the burner off. Season the white sauce with the salt and hot sauce.
- Begin to add the shredded cheddar, one handful at a time, whisking it in until completely melted before adding more. Continue until all of the cheese has been melted into the sauce. If the sauce becomes too cold to melt the cheese, place it back over low heat only briefly to continue melting the cheese. Overheating the sauce can cause it to break and become grainy.
- Add the cooked and drained pasta to the pot with the cheese sauce and stir to combine. Serve the mac and cheese hot and enjoy!
Baked Mac and Cheese
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF
- After combining the drained pasta and cheese sauce, transfer it to a casserole dish.
- Top the macaroni and cheese with more shredded cheese, then bake for 15 minutes.
- To achieve a golden brown crispy cheese crust, turn on the oven's broiler for just a few short minutes, watching it closely to prevent burning.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Homemade Mac and Cheese
Start by shredding an 8oz. block of sharp cheddar. It’s very important to shred the cheese yourself instead of using pre-shredded cheese. For more information on that, see the section above the recipe titled “Avoid Pre-Shredded Cheese.”
Next, boil 8oz. of macaroni according to the box directions (boil for 7-8 minutes, or just until tender). Drain the macaroni in a colander. (This is the Barilla elbow macaroni, which has a slightly unconventional elbow shape and texture.)
You can start the cheese sauce either while the macaroni is boiling, or wait until it’s draining and just make it in the same pot to save on dishes. Add 3 Tbsp butter, 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour, and ½ tsp onion powder to the pot.
Place the pot over medium heat and allow the butter to melt. Whisk the butter, flour, and onion powder together as the mixture begins to get bubbly and frothy. Cook and whisk for about one minute after it becomes bubbly.
Whisk 2 cups of milk into the butter and flour roux. Continue whisking as the milk begins to heat (keep the pot over medium heat).
Allow the milk to come up to a gentle simmer, at which point it will thicken to the consistency of heavy cream or gravy. Turn the burner off at this point.
Season the sauce with ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp hot sauce, or the seasonings of your choice (other great options are dry mustard, pepper, smoked paprika, pesto, etc.).
Begin adding 8oz. shredded cheddar to the pot, one handful at a time, whisking until it is completely melted before adding more. If the sauce cools down too much to continue melting the cheese, you can put it over low heat briefly, but avoid allowing the sauce to simmer again. Overheating cheese sauces will cause them to break and become grainy and oily.
When all of the cheese is melted into the sauce, the cheese sauce is complete. You can give it a taste at this point and adjust the seasonings if you’d like. Remember, you want the sauce to be seasoned well because the flavor intensity will be diluted a bit once the macaroni is added.
Add the cooked and drained macaroni back to the pot and stir to combine with the cheese sauce.
And that’s it! Your homemade mac and cheese is done. Don’t tell me you don’t want to dive right into that pot of mac and cheese and swim around a bit. 😂
More Mac and Cheese Recipes
Here are some other Macaroni and Cheese Recipes with other flavors that you might enjoy:
Awesome! Only thing I would change would be to add 1lbs of pasta vs the 8oz. Super saucy
As a foundational recipe, this is amazing. It was incredibly rich. The richest mac and cheese I’ve ever eaten. My husband liked it as is (he put veggie hotdogs in his lol), but I would have loved some broccoli or peas added in. I personally wanted something to cut the richness. But truly the recipe is great. I used about 4 oz smoked Gouda and 1 oz Gruyère and a few less noodles since I didn’t have all the cheese asked for in the recipe. Next time I will add more noodles, less cheese (the cheese I used was super strong; would probably be lighter with the cheddar), and a veg. 😁
Wayyy too rich, not enough seasoning, had to add several spices to get any flavor whatsoever.
Thought it was disgusting, took one bite and spit it out but my family said it was edible.
Made it. Deeelicious. Added a can of drained sweet peas and viola! Reliving my childhood. Thanks for a great recipe! Your directions are spot on.
This turned out great! I used Colby jack cheese (because that’s what I had in the house) and I added some ham (because I needed to use it up). I doubled the pasta and there was more than enough sauce. This was a great Mac and cheese recipe.
The cheese sauce was great. There was just sooooo much of it! I’ll make this again because I like the flavor and how simple it is, but I’ll probably cut the sauce in half (or double the pasta).
Really easy, and the biggest definition of a comfort food recipe I’ve encountered! I used up some “special” cheddar after a wine and cheese party and confess I did want to lick the bowl clean after!!
I’ve made this recipe a dozen times! Super easy, flavourful and a hit here at my house. Thanks so much!
I e made this several times for myself, with gf macaroni and gf flour/cornstarch combo and it’s a great recipe. My husband is fighting cancer and is nauseated 24/7. He doesn’t usually like pasta or Mac n cheese but he was craving it, so I made it for him with regular gluten pasta and wheat flour for the roux. And I know you advise against it, but I used half pre shredded cheese, because that’s what I had. Combined sharp cheddar, gruyere and Swiss. Thanks again for your recipes.
I’ve made this for my husband a couple of times. He loves it. No more boxed mac and cheese in our house. He requests this at least twice a month now. Thanks for this easy recipe
Great recipe and perfect instructions! It was so pretty! Lol! The only problem for me was the onion powder. It kind of ruined the dish for me and my family, but I can tell this will be a winner next time we make it without. I used De Cecco elbows, which are a little small so I’m gonna add 2 extra ounces of pasta next time. Also added a few extra dashes of hot sauce because I looooove it! :)
I sautéed mushrooms in the butter, added the flour, and went from there. Near the end I added two cans of tuna and a can of Rotel tomatoes and chilis. Oh, my God, it was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten! I LOVE your recipes. They’re so easy and have so much flavor.
This recipe was AWESOME! Super easy and everyone loved it. I did add some twisted Panko on top. Delicious!
This looks so great, I just found your blog and have found many amazing recipes that I can’t wait to try. This looks super simple and able to make just as quickly as Kraft. I will be trying it out as soon as possible. Thank you Beth for your amazing blog!
This has been my go-to Macaroni and Cheese recipe!! The only thing I changed is that I use the white cheddar instead of yellow, it’s just preference is all! And sometimes I add a smidgen of spicy brown mustard at the end. Everything else I follow exactly the same. There are never leftovers because my family eats seconds and sometimes thirds! Amazing recipe and so super easy!