Basic Baked Macaroni and Cheese Recipe - Food.com (2024)

6

Submitted by Panhandle Sam

"I use this as a starting point for macaroni, and then add and subtract from here. It's perfect the way it is, though. Here I listed cheddar for the cheese, but hubby likes a colby and monterey jack combo better, so that's what I usually use."

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Basic Baked Macaroni and Cheese Recipe - Food.com (2) Basic Baked Macaroni and Cheese Recipe - Food.com (3)

photo by Lisa B. Basic Baked Macaroni and Cheese Recipe - Food.com (4)

Ready In:
42mins

Ingredients:
7
Serves:

6

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ingredients

  • 2 cups dry macaroni noodles
  • 2 tablespoons butter or 2 tablespoons margarine
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 18 teaspoon pepper
  • 18 teaspoon paprika
  • 2 cups milk
  • 2 cups cheddar cheese

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directions

  • Boil macaroni noodles until tender; drain and set aside.
  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • In a medium sauce pan, melt butter on medium heat.
  • Add flour one tablespoon at a time, and whisking between each addition.
  • Whisk in seasonings, and cook for a couple of minutes, whisking constantly, so as not to burn.
  • Add milk, half a cup at a time, whisking together between each addition. Allow to thicken (and keep on slowly whisking).
  • Add all but a handful of cheese (for topping) and stir until completely incorporated.
  • Add cheese sauce to macaroni noodles, then put everything into a baking dish.
  • Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
  • Bake for 25 minutes, then broil for an additional couple of minutes to crisp up the top (watch it so the top doesn't burn).

Questions & Replies

Basic Baked Macaroni and Cheese Recipe - Food.com (5)

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Reviews

  1. Two stars as written, four with my adjustments. 1) ADD SALT. 2) Jack up the pepper a bit. I doubled, then doubled again. 3) Instead of paprika, use a teaspoon of mustard powder or a tablespoon of dijon mustard. With those changes, this was a great base mac and cheese recipe, one I'll definitely play with to make variations like buffalo chicken mac and cheese or bacon ranch.

    ColleenKelley

  2. Waste of time and money. It was super bland and had ZERO flavor. I used 1 1/2 cups of cheddar and 1/2 of Monterrey jack cheese. If I could give this recipe zero stars I would.

    Braindead_babe

  3. I thought this recipe was really good! the only thing i thought that could of been better was more cheese! overall really delicious!

    JadeCooks

  4. Brilliant base for mac-and-cheese. My girlfriend and I love it.

    corduroy_dread

  5. This is comfort food at its best. You just can't beat it on a cold night. I used cheddar cheese and we love it! Thanks for sharing, Panhandle Sam!

    Merlot

see 1 more reviews

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Tweaks

  1. Two stars as written, four with my adjustments. 1) ADD SALT. 2) Jack up the pepper a bit. I doubled, then doubled again. 3) Instead of paprika, use a teaspoon of mustard powder or a tablespoon of dijon mustard. With those changes, this was a great base mac and cheese recipe, one I'll definitely play with to make variations like buffalo chicken mac and cheese or bacon ranch.

    ColleenKelley

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Panhandle Sam

  • 5 Followers
  • 16 Recipes

I am a 21 year old homemaker (and soon to be mommy!) from the Florida Panhandle. I love to cook and try new things. I never got all the cooking wisdom from my mother that many other people have, so I've had to teach myself over the last couple years. I have to admit, though, it's been lots of fun with it's good share of hard work. Thank goodness my husband is so forgiving! DH and I have been married for almost two years now, and I just love him to pieces. We are having our first baby in March, so then I can cook for him, too! Well, as soon as he's ready. :)I am pretty young, and I am just now experiencing being invited to events and being asked to bring a dish. It's very exciting to me, and makes cooking all the more fun.Also, I am always hearing from DH, "These mashed potatoes are good," or whatever it is I am making, "but they aren't quite like my mom's." So, I am hoping that one day he will be saying to other people, "These mashed potatoes aren't as good as my wife's!" ha ha. Here's hoping!<img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/IWasAdoptedfall08.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">

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Basic  Baked Macaroni and Cheese Recipe  - Food.com (2024)

FAQs

Why is my baked mac and cheese bland? ›

If your mac and cheese tastes bland, it's either because it's under-seasoned, you didn't use flavorful cheese, or you didn't use enough cheese. Try adding a little more salt first, because that might fix it.

How do you keep mac and cheese creamy? ›

Add more milk if you haven't already. More milk leads to less dry mac and cheese. If that doesn't work and you've already tried, use a different type of cheese. Velveeta works well.

Why does my homemade mac and cheese taste bland? ›

It's so important that you salt the pasta water. If you don't salt the pasta water, the macaroni itself will be bland and it's likely that your Southern mac and cheese won't be as flavorful as it should be.

How to make mac and cheese Gordon Ramsay? ›

Gordon Ramsay's mac and cheese is a simplified recipe. Just boil pasta in milk and then, add butter, cheese, salt, and pepper to it. Merge all the elements and Gordon Ramsay's mac and cheese will be ready in no time.

Why do you need evaporated milk in mac and cheese? ›

Why Evaporated Milk Makes Better Mac. That higher concentration of milk proteins means evaporated milk is more stable, so it's less likely to “break” or curdle. Evaporated milk also usually contains stabilizers, such as carrageenan, which help keep your mac's sauce super smooth and silky.

Why do you add flour to homemade mac and cheese? ›

You can thicken cheese sauce further by adding more flour or even using a couple of teaspoons of cornstarch. In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch or flour with a cup of water. The cold water will create a slurry. Stir the slurry into the cheese sauce over medium heat, and let the sauce boil and thicken.

What are the 3 best cheeses for mac and cheese? ›

Cheddar, Gruyère, Monterey Jack, mozzarella, Fontina, and Gouda cheese are good options.

What is the most perfect cheese to use on Mac & cheese? ›

An overview of Food Network's mac and cheese roundup reveals that most recipes have one type of cheese in common: sharp Cheddar. Sharp Cheddar —especially the inexpensive, mass-market block you can buy at the supermarket —strikes just the right balance between meltability and flavor.

What's in Bob Evans mac and cheese? ›

Cooked Enriched Pasta (Water, Elbow Macaroni [Semolina (Wheat), Niacin, Iron (Ferrous Sulfate), Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid]), Milk, Water, Pasteurized Process Cheese Spread (American Cheese [Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes], Water, Whey, Sodium Phosphate, Contains Less than 2% of ...

Can you put too much cheese in mac and cheese? ›

Use the right kind of cheese

Try not to use too much of the grated hard cheeses like pecorino Romano or Parmesan. A little of either is great for flavor, but too much and the sauce can become grainy and dry.

Why does my mac and cheese not taste good? ›

Not salting the pasta water

And great pasta begins with water that's been heavily salted. We're talking ocean water levels of salt. Not adding salt to your water leads to bland, tasteless noodles. This, in turn, leads to a finished product that is flavorless even after adding the cheese sauce.

How do you doctor up leftover mac and cheese? ›

Add 1 tablespoon of milk per cup of mac and cheese. *If you'd like to add more creaminess and flavor, substitute half-and-half or cream.

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