Course | Side Dish |
---|---|
Cuisines | American |
Cooking Methods | Baking, Broiling |
Diets | Egg Free, Kid Friendly, Nut Free, Refined Sugar Free, Vegetarian |
Main categories | Comfort, Kid Friendly |
Main Ingredient | Grains |
Special Occasions | Christmas |
Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese
Serves: 10 people
A family favorite dish, loved by both children and adults! A combination of cheeses, layered in the dish as well as melted into a rich and creamy cheese sauce, makes it the ultimate cheesy comfort food. Enjoy it in a casual weekday dinner or wow your guests at a party or a holiday meal.
Recipe by:
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Adjust the ingredients measurement scale here by changing this number. 10 people
Cook Times
Cooking Tools Required
Grater, Pyrex baking dish, Stock pot or >5 Qt pot, Top StoveIngredients
- 1 pound elbow pasta
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cup whole milk
- 2 1/2 cup half and half
- 4 cup cheddar cheese measured after grating
- 2 cup Gruyere cheese measured after grating
- 1/2 tablespoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and grease a 3 qt baking dish (9x13"). Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When boiling, add dried pasta and cook 1 minute less than the package directs for al dente. Drain and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil to keep from sticking.
- While water is coming up to a boil, grate cheeses and tosses together to mix, then divide into three piles. Approximately 3 cups for the sauce, 1 1/2 cups for the inner layer, and 1 1/2 cups for the topping.
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over MED heat. Sprinkle in flour and whisk to combine. The mixture will look like very wet sand. Cook for approximately 1 minute, whisking often. Slowly pour in about 2 cups or so of the milk/half and half, while whisking constantly, until smooth. Slowly pour in the remaining milk/half and half, while whisking constantly, until combined and smooth.
- Continue to heat over MED heat, whisking very often, until thickened to a very thick consistency. It should almost be the consistency of a semi thinned out the condensed soup.
- Stir in spices and 1 1/2 cups of the cheeses, stirring to melt and combine. Stir in another 1 1/2 cups of cheese, and stir until completely melted and smooth.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine drained pasta with cheese sauce, stirring to combine fully. Pour half of the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with 1 1/2 cups of grated cheeses, then top that with the remaining pasta mixture.
- Sprinkle the top with the last 1 1/2 cups of cheese and bake for 15 minutes, until cheesy is bubbly and lightly golden brown.
- For crunchier topping and firmer consistency: prepare recipe as directed but bake at 350 or 375 F degrees for 20-30 minutes. Broil at the end of baking for approximately 2-5 minutes, until golden brown and crunchy.
Nutrition
Calories: 666kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 26g | Cholesterol: 127mg | Sodium: 701mg | Potassium: 300mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1321IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 711mg | Iron: 1mg
Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese
$35.00 cooking fee
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