Homemade Mac and Cheese
Every few months, my mom would have to work from home, usually on a Friday, and attend some kind of virtual seminar. It would usually end right around 4 or 5 o’clock, at which my mom would proceed to make her famous mac and cheese. I’m pretty sure she adapted it from a recipe of Ina Garten’s, but she still changed it a lot and passed it down to me.
This mac and cheese has got everything you could possibly want: classic elbow pasta (which you could sub out) cooked to perfection, a cheesy sauce, and crunchy bread crumbs on top. The process is as follows: you cook the pasta, make the sauce, combine them in a baking dish, sprinkle over breadcrumbs, and bake until crispy.
It’s a super nostalgic recipe for me, and my mom and I now make it together, on those fateful days that she has to work from home. I really hope you do try it, because it’s my favorite mac and cheese in the world.
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/3 cup flour
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella, gruyere, and/or cheddar
- 16 oz (1 bag) elbow pasta (you can substitute for bowtie, penne, whatever you want)
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp parmesan
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 pinch cayenne
- 1 pinch nutmeg
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
- Start by cooking the pasta. Bring a large pot of water to the boil, and throw in a pinch of salt. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, looking at the package instructions.
- For the sauce, heat the milk on medium heat in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally to prevent it from burning at the bottom. When you see bubbling, turn off the heat.
- Separately, melt the butter in a large pot. Add the flour and whisk until it forms a thick paste. In the cooking world, this is known as a roux. Then, pour in the hot milk and stir, cooking for about 2-3 more minutes until thickened. This is known as a bechamel, or “white sauce”.
- Turn off the heat. Add in the cheese of your choice (you could do a mix if you want) and a sprinkle of salt, pepper (In French cooking, it would be a crime to add black pepper to a white sauce, so you can add white pepper, but I find it doesn’t really matter), cayenne, and nutmeg. Stir until the cheese melts in the hot bechamel.
- Add the cooked elbow pasta to the pot and stir. Then, pour into a baking dish and sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and parmesan.
- Bake for about 40 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling up and the breadcrumbs are crispy and golden on top. Enjoy!
Homemade Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/3 cup flour
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 2 1/2 cups shredded cheese mozzarella, gruyere, and/or cheddar
- 1 lb elbow pasta 16oz, you can substitue for other types of pasta as well
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp parmesan
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 pinch cayenne
- 1 pinch nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
- Cook the elbow pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente, according to package instructions.
- Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it starts bubbling, at which point take it off the heat.
- In a large pot, add the butter and melt it down. Then, add the flour and stir until it forms a thick paste.
- Whisk in the hot milk and cook on medium heat for another 2-3 minutes until thickened.
- Take the sauce off the heat and add the shredded cheese, salt, pepper, cayenne, and nutmeg. Stir until the cheese melts.
- Add the cooked elbow pasta and stir until the pasta is evenly covered in sauce. Pour into a baking dish and sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and parmesan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the breadcrumbs are golden and crispy on top. Enjoy!
Notes
- Macros: 52.9 g carbohydrates, 15.1 g fat, 20.3 g protein
- See blog post for more detailed instructions and descriptions.