Creamy Homemade Mac and Cheese

Why You’ll Love This Creamy Homemade Mac and Cheese

• Rich and creamy: A homemade cheese sauce creates a smooth, velvety texture that coats every piece of pasta.
• Made from scratch: No boxed cheese powder or processed sauce needed. Just simple ingredients and real cheese.
• Easy to make: This recipe comes together with basic kitchen staples and doesn’t require complicated cooking techniques.
• Family friendly: It’s a comfort food favorite that both kids and adults will love.
• Versatile side dish: Serve it alongside grilled chicken, smoked brisket, burgers, ribs, or just about any family dinner.

Ingredients needed to make a Creamy Homemade Mac and Cheese

• Pasta: I used cavatappi pasta for it’s swirl like shape, but any dry pasta will do as long as it’s small with a hollow tender to hold onto the crease cheese sauce.
• Cheese: soft cheeses work best to achieve that creamy rich sauce texture. I went with a mix of cheddar for sharpness, cobly jack and mozzarella cheese.
• Heavy cream: adds extra richness and gives the sauce a smooth, luxurious texture.
• Evaporated milk: makes the cheese sauce smooth and clump free.
• All-purpose flour: combined with butter, flour creates a roux that gives the cheese sauce its creamy consistency.
• Seasonings: an all purpose seasoning for the salt, pepper, paprika and garlic flavors and chicken bouillon for an extra kick of savoriness to break up the milky cheese flavor.

How to make Creamy Homemade Mac and Cheese

Making a Creamy Homemade Mac and Cheese from scratch is easier than you might think. The key is preparing a smooth cheese sauce and combining it with perfectly cooked pasta.

Cook the Pasta

Before you start anything, make sure you cook the pasta. Add water to your pot and bring it to a boil. Usually I would add salt but today we’re using chicken bouillon. It will add a ton of extra flavor to our pasta and the mac and cheese. And you don’t need to add any additional salt.

Cook the pasta until it’s al dente. You don’t want to overcook the pasta since you will still need to bake it. Overcooked pasta will be too soft and fall apart.

When the pasta is cooked, drain and set aside. Do not rinse with water.

How to make the cheese sauce

Shred the cheese

You cannot have a creamy homemade mac and cheese dish without the cheese itself.

It’s tempting to use the store bought shredded cheeses but you want to stay away from those. They have an anti-caking coating and will make your mac and cheese lumpy.

It’s always best to buy your cheese in 8oz blocks and shred it yourself. For this recipe, I went with 8oz of mild cheddar, 1 pound of colby jack and 8oz of mozzarella cheese.

Shred the cheeses and place them in a large bowl. Mix them together and set aside. Try to resist eating the freshly shredded cheese.

Make the roux

In a large saucepan or pot over low/medium heat, melt the butter. Once melted, add Dad’s All Purpose seasoning, chicken bouillon and whisk it together. Cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant and add the flour. Whisk everything together and cook for 1-2 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste.

The mixture should turn into a smooth paste. Cooking the flour briefly helps remove its raw flavor while creating the base for a thick, creamy cheese sauce.

Add in the cream

Slowly pour in the heavy cream while whisking constantly to prevent lumps from forming. Add the evaporated milk and continue whisking until everything is combined. Finally add in some dijon mustard and give it one more mix. Cook over low heat for 5-10 minutes, keeping the heat low.

Time for the cheese

Turn off the heat and gradually add the shredded cheeses, stirring between additions until the cheese has melted into the sauce. Only use 3/4 of the shredded cheese.

You will use the rest before baking the creamy homemade mac and cheese.

The finished sauce should be smooth, creamy, and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Finally, add in the pasta!

It’s finally time to add in the pasta and cover it with the creamy, savory, cheesy sauce.

Make sure the pasta is fully drained and mix gently withe the cheese sauce.

Bake the Creamy Homemade Mac and Cheese

Once the pasta and cheese sauce are mixed and every noodle is perfectly coated with that creamy sauce, it’s time to assemble and broil.

Add about half of the creamy homemade mac and cheese into an oven safe dish. Add about half of the leftover cheese on top and pour in the rest of the cheesy pasta. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 20 minutes. This will allow the sauce to thicken up a little more and let the fresh cheese.

Now, set for broil and roast the top for 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to burn the top. This step allows the top layer of melted cheese to build a nice crispy crust.

Remove it from the oven, sprinkle some fresh or dry parsley and dig in!

I also have a delicious Smoked Mac and Cheese recipe. The addition of the smokiness from the grill adds another layer of savory richness that can only be replicated on the grill.

Can You Make Mac and Cheese Ahead of Time?

The short answer is Yes! You can prepare the cheese sauce and cook the pasta ahead of time, then combine them shortly before serving. Store the components separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator and gently reheat the sauce with a splash of milk before mixing everything together.

If you combine everything ahead of time, keep in mind that the pasta will continue absorbing the sauce. You may need to add extra milk when reheating to bring back that creamy texture.

Final Thoughts

You can’t go wrong with a big bowl of Creamy Homemade Mac and Cheese! Made with tender pasta and a rich, cheesy sauce, this easy comfort food or side dish recipe is perfect for family dinners, BBQs, holidays, and everything in between. Skip the boxed version and make macaroni and cheese from scratch with simple ingredients and plenty of flavor. Serve it alongside your favorite grilled or smoked meats, or enjoy a bowl all on its own. Once you make this homemade mac and cheese, it might just become a regular on your dinner table! Enjoy!

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