Baked macaroni and cheese

December 3, 2014

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving I decided I wanted to add something to the menu. I just wasn’t sure what. Then it hit me. Duh! Mac and cheese! We doesn’t like macaroni and cheese? No one, that’s who. 😉

Mac & cheese is the epitome of comfort food and was the perfect addition to our Thanksgiving menu. I will definitely be making this one again throughout the year.

This was my first baked macaroni and cheese and I was so happy with how it turned out. So was the rest of the family. I wish I had gotten photos of everyone going back for seconds. And it reheated so well the next day!

There are no fancy ingredients and it’s a quick one to put together.

*sorry for the weird spaces. I’m told WordPress does this for some reason and I can’t figure out how to delete the spaces in the recipe.

Baked macaroni & cheese

Ingredients:

– 1 lb macaroni pasta

– 4 tbsp unsalted butter

– 4 tbsp all-purpose flour

– 1 tbsp salt + 1 tsp

– 1 tsp ground pepper

– 1/4 tsp garlic powder

– 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

– 1 cup milk (I used 1% but 2% would be fine as well)

– 4 cups sharp cheddar, shredded

– 2 cups colby jack cheese, shredded

Directions:

– Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 9×9 baking dish.

– Cook macaroni in large pot until noodles are al dente (pasta will continue to cook in the oven). Add in 1 tbsp salt. Drain and set aside.

– In medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Once melted, sprinkle in flour and stir to combine.

– Mix in 1 tsp salt, pepper and garlic powder.

– Slowly add in cream, mixing constantly to combine. If there are still little bits of flour in the mixture that is fine.

– Add milk and stir to incorporate.

– Bring mixture to almost a boil, reduce heat and cook about 5 minutes, or until mixture is thick.

– On low heat, add 3 cups of cheddar and 1 cup of colby jack cheese and mix until cheese is melted.

– In a large mixing bowl, add the pasta then the cheese sauce and mix until fully combined.

– Add mixture to greased baking dish.

-Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of macaroni.

– Bake 20 minutes, until cheese is melted and golden in color.

Printable Recipe

It really doesn’t get much better than that.

Enjoy!

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Comments

Kelli {A Deeper Joy} says: December 3, 2014 at 6:07 am

Have I told you how much of a mac n cheese fanatic Kevin is?! He’d love this!
- Tiffany says: December 3, 2014 at 7:19 am
  
  Oh man. Too bad he’s not going to be on an airplane with you today. 🙂
  You’ll have to make it for him I suppose.
Biana @Blovedboston says: December 3, 2014 at 6:36 am

I dont think you know how much I love Mac & Cheese!! It’s seriously my favorite!! I’m pinning this recipe – thanks for sharing!!

http://www.blovedboston.com
- Tiffany says: December 3, 2014 at 7:20 am
  
  Girl, Mac & cheese is my daughter’s favorite food as well. But I guess that’s not surprising; she’s 3.
  But yes, it is the bomb.com. Love it!
  Thanks for pinning!
Paige Allison (@anuncomplife) says: December 3, 2014 at 6:45 am

YUM! And you’re spot on – nobody doesn’t like mac and cheese! My mom used to make a “grown up” baked recipe, but I haven’t had it in years… I need to give this one a try!
- Tiffany says: December 3, 2014 at 7:22 am
  
  I know right?! Nobody. My mom never made homemade mac & cheese. I had to take that torch on. Luckily she made other good things. Hope you like it!
makingmrsm says: December 3, 2014 at 7:28 am

Uhh… Can you make this for me right now? YUM-O! I’m going to have to try this.
- Tiffany says: December 3, 2014 at 8:11 am
  
  HA! I totally would if I were down there girl! Love it!
Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom says: December 3, 2014 at 11:59 am

Comfort food?! Ummmm, yes indeed!

This sounds and looks fabulous Tiffany!

Thanks so much for sharing.
xoxo
- Tiffany says: December 3, 2014 at 12:23 pm
  
  Thanks Jennifer! I love comfort food this time of year. Probably why I always put on a few lbs. 😉
  
  Hope you’re having a great Wednesday!
  xoxo
Cindy Hasko says: December 3, 2014 at 5:15 pm

What’s with the weird spaces!?!??? LOL!! I’m so kidding! I just had to type that 🙂 xoxo This looks sooo good. I will make this. My hubby and son will love this!!!! Thank you! You always put the yummiest recipes on your page. I’m STILL thinking about those Molasses cookies!
- Tiffany says: December 4, 2014 at 8:14 am
  
  Ugh. I asked the designer and she said it’s just a WP thing. Maybe I’ll figure it out sometime.
  I bet you hubby and son will for sure love it. We ate it for a few days after and it was still so good.
  - Cindy Hasko says: December 4, 2014 at 11:03 am
    
    🙂 lol, I was just teasing ya since you typed about the spaces in your blog. It still looks good. You have a pretty site!
Carly Blogs Here says: December 3, 2014 at 6:49 pm

YUM! I was always just a kraft mac & cheese kind of a girl, but my husband will only eat the real stuff…aka this! Looks so good!
- Tiffany says: December 4, 2014 at 8:15 am
  
  We didn’t even get Kraft as a kid, only generic brand. I know, so sad.
  My daughter love box mac and cheese and she really liked this. I bet your hubby would love it.
Chelsea @ The Contented Wife says: December 5, 2014 at 11:55 am

I’ve been looking for a good baked mac n cheese recipe, so I’m definitely pinning this for later! Thanks for sharing – can’t wait to try it!
- Tiffany says: December 6, 2014 at 8:28 am
  
  Awesome! I hope you like it Chelsea!
  Thanks for pinning!
Brittnei says: December 7, 2014 at 11:54 pm

I used to love making this with my mom. I actually make mine on the stove now when I do it. I always use whole wheat pasta and cheddar cheese. It’s Alton Brown’s recipe basically from the Food Network. 🙂
- Tiffany says: December 8, 2014 at 7:37 am
  
  I think you could have just done the mac & cheese on the stove without the baking and it would have been really good still.
  OOOHHHH….love Alton Brown! I actually think I’ve seen that recipe before. Yummy!
Amber says: December 12, 2014 at 1:52 pm

I know what I’m making for dinner tomorrow night! That looks amazing-thank you so much for sharing your recipe.
Cheers, Amber at OurCharmedLife.net
- Tiffany says: December 14, 2014 at 1:34 pm
  
  Thanks Amber! It really was so good!