Cheesy, Creamy and Delicious Homemade Mac and Cheese
Thanksgiving is coming up and I wanted to share a great mac and cheese recipe to complement that delicious turkey you are going to make. Homemade macaroni and cheese is the perfect dish to serve at your dinner. This recipe is simple and quick to prepare. The results are infinitely better than any boxed mac and cheese you can buy. Mac and Cheese must be cheesy and creamy with just the right amount of crunchy buttery bread crumbs on top. This is a decadent dish and needs have the right ratio of sauce to macaroni. You don’t want it to be too soggy. I like to use sharp cheddar cheese in my macaroni and cheese but you can feel free to experiment with other cheese that you like. Try mixing in gruyere or mozzarella for an added layer of flavor. You can also mix in some crumbled crisp bacon into the macaroni right after adding the cheese sauce. This will give the dish a little smoky flavor. My recipe calls for a bit of evaporated milk. I think that the evaporated milk really helps make the sauce creamy and delicious. Mac and cheese can be baked and eaten right out of the oven but is also great reheated the next day. I recommend making a big dish so you can enjoy it now and later. Try serving leftover mac and cheese with a big salad the next day. In many of my recipes I pair arugula salad when I am serving a dish that is creamy. The peppery bite of the arugula helps to cut the creaminess of any dish. The two compliment each other. I think that this is the best mac and cheese recipe. It’s a great pot luck dish and perfect if you are feeding a larger group and want to be able to make something ahead of time.
The Best Mac and Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb elbow macaroni
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 tbsp flour
- 4 cups milk
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 5 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Topping
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 3 tbsp melted butter
- â…› tsp pepper
- ¼ cup grated fresh parmesan cheese
Instructions
- preheat oven to 350
- grease a 3 or 4 qt baking dish
- cook macaroni a minute less than directed on box
- melt butter in large sauce pan and whisk in flour
- slowly whisk in milk and evaporated milk
- keep whisking slowly until it starts to thicken – about 5 minutes
- add dry mustard, salt and pepper
- mix in shredded cheddar cheese
- pour mixture over macaroni and gently mix
- pour macaroni into baking dish
- mix panko bread crumbs with melted butter and grated parmesan. Blend until crumbs are all covered with melted butter
- spinkle over macaroni and bake in oven for 30 minutes until bubbly and golden