- BEST RECIPE FOR MAC AND CHEESE CASSEROLE FREE
- BEST RECIPE FOR MAC AND CHEESE CASSEROLE MAC
Don’t let it burn. Pour in the milk, add the mustard, and whisk until smooth. Cook the mixture for 5 minutes, whisking constantly.
In a large pot, melt the butter and sprinkle in the flour. The macaroni should be too firm to eat right out of the pot. You want to bake it only until the cheese on top melts and you see the sauce bubbling and it starts to get golden around the edge. Don’t over bake: If you over bake you’ll end up with mushy macaroni. We want it to come out of the oven still nice and saucy, not as a noodle block. The macaroni will absorb some of the sauce as everything bakes. Lots of sauce: You might feel overwhelmed when you’re mixing the noodles into the sauce because there is so much of it. This will result in a grainy texture to your sauce! Don’t buy pre-shredded cheeses: I recommend shredding your own block cheese, because pre-shredded cheese usually has added ingredients which prevent the cheese from melting properly. This is the easiest and best way to make a cheese sauce, you’ll always end up with a creamy and rich sauce. Start with a Roux: Equal part butter and flour, cook this together for a minute or two to remove the raw flavor from the flour. BEST RECIPE FOR MAC AND CHEESE CASSEROLE MAC
Undercook your pasta: Cook about one minute less than what the package instructions say, this will avoid a mushy mac and cheese.
Once all that is done, pop that skillet in the oven and bake it for about 15 minutes until the cheese melts and you can see the sauce getting all nice and bubbly. Not only does it give your mac and cheese a gorgeous color, but it also adds a little smokiness to it. Bake Until Bubbly: Once your sauce is all done and you’ve added your macaroni, I like to add more cheddar cheese on top and another one of my secret ingredients, smoked paprika. Trust me on this one, a little goes a long way and it will add another flavor dimension to your sauce. I also like to add Worcestershire sauce to my cheese sauce, think of it as your je ne sais quoi secret ingredient. You can add as many different types as you want, as long as it equals 6 cups in total. I always choose one cheese for flavor, and one cheese for gooey stretchiness. The key to a good cheese sauce for your mac and cheese is obviously the cheese. The Cheese Sauce: The bechamel is just the start of the cheese sauce, to which we add plenty of cheese. To it, milk is whisked in, and the end result is a creamy and rich bechamel sauce. This Roux is the start of any cheese sauce, and its purpose is to thicken the sauce. Roux, pronounced “roo”, is a mix of equal parts melted butter and flour, whisked together and cooked for a couple minutes over medium heat. The Roux: Don’t let the name scare you, it’s simply a French term for something that’s quite basic and simple. Smoked Paprika – This is a personal favorite of mine, but I love adding a bit smoked paprika on top of my mac and cheese, totally optional though. Worcestershire Sauce – This is a secret ingredient that will add tangy, sweet, savory and salty flavors to your sauce! It makes all the difference. I used provolone and cheddar cheese, but other great cheeses you can use are gouda, gruyere, Monterey Jack, Colby Jack, mozzarella, or Swiss. Cheese – Go ahead and use your favorite cheeses. BEST RECIPE FOR MAC AND CHEESE CASSEROLE FREE
Milk – I recommend using whole milk for the sauce so it’s nice and rich, however, I have made this with skim milk and lactose free milk. Flour – You’ll need all purpose flour for the roux. Butter is important and a key ingredient to make a roux. Butter – I love to use unsalted butter. While elbow macaroni is the classic pasta used, use your favorite small pasta! Elbow Macaroni – No mac and cheese is complete without the macaroni. The Best Baked Mac And CheeseĮveryone needs a mac and cheese recipe in their cooking repertoire, so here’s my recipe that’s quite simple to make and it really doesn’t take more effort than opening a box of the pre-made stuff. In my opinion, macaroni and cheese is all about the cheese sauce. To me this is what comfort food is all about, but I don’t like just any mac and cheese, it cannot come from a box. Homemade baked Mac and Cheese is one of my favorite dishes in the world, if not my all-time favorite. Total soul-food and always a crowd favorite! We’re talking decadent creamy macaroni with the most incredible cheese sauce. This easy homemade Baked Mac and Cheese recipe is the ultimate classic comfort food.