Categories: Food

The Best Macaroni and Cheese

Fall is making me break out all of the cozy, comfort food recipes ♥ I love me some casseroles, but I normally stray away from cooking them because they are generally associated with lots of fat, butter, and cheese (aka my favorite things/Achilles’s heel). Macaroni and cheese is always a crowd pleaser, but I can be picky about certain things about it sometimes. But this recipe is, in my opinion, the BEST macaroni and cheese recipe I’ve made!

Where other Macaroni and Cheese Recipes Go Wrong:

Sauce : pasta ratio way too high / too much sauce
Artery clogging amount of cheese
When you can taste the flour in the sauce
WAY overcooked pasta (probably the #1 offender)

This is G and my absolute favorite recipe for mac & cheese! He told me to avoid telling his mom that though haha

Using ground mustard and cayenne pepper in this recipe is optional, but I think it adds some amazing flavor. It adds depth and the faintest amount of heat!

As a cooking note: make sure you don’t over cook the pasta! Sometimes, I’ll subtract a minute or two from the recommended cooking time, because you have to remember that it will continue cooking in the oven!

This mac and cheese is the best way to cozy up on a fall day! G and I ate the whole dish together while watching a movie (YOLO), but you could easily share it between 6 people as a side. 🙂

What is your favorite food to cozy up to in fall?

My Fave Mac & Cheese

Ingredients

2 cups elbow macaroni
3 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 clove garlic minced
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp sea salt
fresh group black pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground mustard
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded
1 1/4 cup mild cheddar cheese shredded
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
2 tsp garlic salt

Instructions

Cook macaroni as directed on the package until al dente. Drain and set aside.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Melt butter in a sauce pan. Add flour, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and ground mustard. Whisk together until well-blended and without lumps and then add in minded garlic. Cook flour mixture over medium heat for 3 minutes
Pour in milk while whisking. Bring to a simmer and let simmer for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
Reduce heat to low-medium and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently
Stir in 1 cup of sharp cheddar and 1 cup of mild cheddar (setting aside 1/4 cup of mild cheddar for the top). Cook until cheese is melted.
Stir macaroni into cheese sauce and then transfer macaroni into a baking dish that has been greased with cooking spray.
Top with the reserved 1/4 cup of mild cheddar cheese. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and garlic salt.
Bake for 20 minutes until bubbly and golden brown.