Looking for a quick and easy vegetarian dinner? This best ever baked mac and cheese recipe is tried and true and comes with tips for ingredient substitutions.
I’ve been in the kitchen for 40 years.
That’s a weird thing to realize—that I’ve spent so much of my life cooking.
It’s led to not only some great dinner parties but also to starting my own catering company and eventually my own restaurant.
Doing one thing for so long can definitely create burnout.
That’s why when I cook at home, I want quick and easy, simple and tasty meals.
This macaroni and cheese recipe is one of my staples, as it meets all my requirements for a great meal.
In my book, a great meal should be:
- fast
- cheap
- easy
- delicious
- adaptable
The process for the best ever mac and cheese is easy: boil noodles, make the sauce (same as my Easy Homemade Cheese Sauce), combine and bake.
You can’t get much easier than that!
Best ever mac and cheese ingredients
PASTA. Use whatever noodles you have in the pantry: elbows, shells, penne or even spaghetti noodles! Just break them into pieces or use whole.
BUTTER. While butter is my top choice for flavor, you can also use margarine, canola or vegetable oil or a combination of them. For a bit of extra flavor, try adding a tablespoon of bacon fat to the butter or other oil!
FLOUR. The flour mixed with the fat forms the base of your sauce. I use King Arthur all purpose flour.
MILK. Don’t have regular milk? No worries! Use chicken stock, vegetable stock, soy milk, almond milk or even leftover Alfredo sauce thinned out with a bit of water! Evaporated milk or reconstituted powdered milk are also fine.
SEASONINGS. This is purely personal. One plea: please taste before adding any seasonings, especially salt. Cheese has a lot of sodium, so you may not need to add more. I love garlic and look for any excuse to sneak it into my meals, so I add garlic granules to the sauce. My daughter swears by white pepper in her mac and cheese—I prefer freshly ground black pepper (and lots of it!). Taste, experiment and train yourself to use seasonings that YOU love!
CHEESE. Be creative here! I’ve always found that a combination of cheeses gives the most flavor, so use whatever you have in the fridge. Cheddar, mozzarella, Parmesan, Gouda, Swiss… Experiment and see what flavors you prefer. The only time I’ve had a bit of a failure was when I used chopped up string cheese… It just stayed in yucky little glops and didn’t melt at all. As long as you use a melty cheese, you should be fine!
Best Ever Baked Mac and Cheese
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet
- Baking Dish
Ingredients
- 1 box pasta 16 ounces of any shape you like!
- 1 stick butter 4 ounces
- 1/2 cup flour
- 4 cups milk substitute almond milk, soy milk, etc
- 4 cups grated cheese
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic granules optional but part of what makes this the "best ever"
Instructions
- Boil the pasta til al dente. It’s going to cook more in the oven, so don’t over boil it (is that a thing?)
While the noodles are boiling make the sauce:
- In a skillet (I use cast iron) melt the butter then whisk in the flour. Gradually pour in the milk, and continue to whisk til the sauce is smooth and thickened.
- Taste the sauce, then season with salt, pepper and garlic granules as needed. I don’t use salt, as I find that the cheese is usually salty enough. Feel free to season as you see fit!
- Turn off the heat, switch to a spoon or heat proof spatula and stir in 2 cups of the grated cheese til smooth.
- Drain the pasta, then stir into the sauce. You could also dump the sauce into the drained pasta—whichever pot is bigger!
- Tump the whole lot into a buttered pan. I use a round pottery quiche pan made by a friend of mine, but any oven safe dish should work just as well.
- Sprinkle the remaining 2 cups grated cheese on top.
- Bake uncovered at 350 til the cheese is melty, about 20 minutes.
- Serve with steamed broccoli or a salad.
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