Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Its just about a requirement that all Americans love macaroni and cheese in some form and at some time in their lives, I’m no different. Growing up, my mother made a creamy homemade mac and cheese with a sauce that was smooth as silk and permeated every particle of perfectly cooked macaroni. It was my brother’s favorite so she usually made it every Sunday.
As a teen, we all became well acquainted with the boxed stuff, thrilling over the marvel and convenience of the powdery sauce which combined with milk to deliver the ideal after school snack for three busy young people on the go.
After I had my own kids, however, I quickly learned why my mother seldom ate Mac and Cheese. My kids loved it so much that I got burned out just from stirring those countless pots of pasta.
Then a few years ago I realized something – I missed my mac and cheese. I needed to reacquaint myself with it. While my mother’s mac and cheese is to die for, I longed for a stringy, cheesy, casseroley, version in my adult years. Something as far from the boxed stuff as I could get without introducing things my children would consider “weird”. Voila, Baked Macaroni and Cheese was born.
Those of you who subscribe to my email newsletter will receive an added bonus at the end of this week because I am also sending you my mother’s macaroni and cheese recipe as well as this one in my weekly recipe email!
. Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups uncooked macaroni
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- Pepper to taste (I use about a teaspoon)
- 4 Tablespoons margarine
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup milk
Instructions
- Cook pasta until tender, drain. Mix all dry ingredients together, set aside. Spray oven safe bowl or dish with cooking spray. Place half of macaroni inside. Sprinkle half of the flour mixture over top and top with half of the margarine, sliced into small slices. Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups cheese over. Repeat. Pour milk over all. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for thirty five minutes. Remove foil, bake an additional ten minutes. Serve hot.
Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy lives to read Southern Plate! I want to especially thank you for all of your comments and emails! I am usually a little behind on responding (so I can keep getting more recipes up and posted!) but I read every single one of them and always respond as soon as I can. You are all such incredibly wonderful people and I appreciate all of the extraordinary kindness you have and continue to show me!
Gratefully,
Christy
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Posted by Christy Jordan
on Oct 29 2008. Filed under Side Dishes.
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What is the flour for ? I do the same exact recipe but with no flour.
It is to thicken the dish – tighten it up…
Hi! I was hoping to make this for a friend who recently had a baby. Can this dish be prepped ahead of time, put in the fridge, then delivered later in the day to my friend for her to heat up? If so, would all ingredients be added at the time of prepping, even the milk?
Thank you!
Oh and I was hoping to bring this to a friend tomorrow, so if you could shoot me a response tonight, that would be so great! Thank you!
I know this is late but yes, you can make it ahead!! I’d just make sure to run cold water over the noodles and drain them well before assembling. You are such a good friend and I hope Mama and Baby are doing great!!
oh my gosh, perfect!! thank you for getting back to me! making it as we speak! you’re website and recipes are awesome, thanks again!!
I’ve been experimenting with different mac & cheese recipes for awhile. This was my favorite so far and SO easy!! Everyone thought it was delicious!
Thomas, I would not presume to speak for Christy in why an ingredient is added to a recipe of hers. However, I’ve been cooking a lot of years and generally flour is added as a thickening agent.
How many servings does this recipe make?
How hungry are you?
4-6 generally.
I am planning a party and want to make this. We are expecting 60-80 people so I wanted to multiply the recipe
[...] staff meeting which made me crave some sort of comfort food. So I decided to search the internet for Baked Mac & Cheese. And it’s currently in the oven baking. Fingers crossed that it turns out!!!! I thought about [...]
I made this for a Sunday dinner with cabbage & pork chops & my family LOVED IT!!! It was so cheesy!!!
I am so glad to hear that everyone liked it Tonya!!!
Now making this for the 2nd time. It was fantastic the 1st time – entire family loved it and it’s now my go to recipe. Th.nk you,
I made this recipe last night with my pulled pork sandwiches and corn on the cob it was delicious I actually used my left over cheese (asiago, mozzarella, cheddar, monteray jack , and pepper jack) it was delicious! next time ill try it with just cheddar but i wanted to use leftovers no waste in my house! thank you so much dear for the recipe!
I will have to try this! I’ve only ever had the box kind. Well, except for that one church supper, but it was nasty and dry! Needless to say, I preferred the box.
Hi Christy, I am a cheesemonger in Wisconsin. Recently I learned that if you use evaporated milk instead of fresh milk your cheese will not curdle. The water content in milk does not mix with the days of the cheese, like vinegar and oil, reduce the water and it mixes great. Also keeping a low temp (250) keeps it rich and creamy. Hugs. Kat
love your recipes….so want to go make tonight…
I just made a casserole dish of this fantastic macaroni and cheese – It was so easy and so darn good !!
I have a question … Can leftovers be frozen to be used again at a later date ?
The recipe made alot more than I thought it would. Thanks for sharing ♥
How big of dish should I use to make this?
this looks soooooooooooo yummy !
That’s it?! No making a rou or whatever that’s called, that I can’t make, cause I don’t have enough patience?? Holy heck!! We’re gonna be eating good in the Johnson house tonight!! THANKS!! xoxoxxooxxoxo
Yum! Looks so good! Thanks for sharing this with us.
Ohhhhh, this looks so goood! Will be making it soon!
My Mother used to make mac and cheese and put chunks of velveeta in it and it would come out smooth (no chunks left). I have heard that velveeta changed their formula in the last few years and it doesn’t do that any more. Anyway, this sounds like a good one.
Does the butter have to be cold or room temp.?
Christy, I have had approximately 10 bazilliion recipes for mac and cheese in my ongoing search for the kind my mom used to make. This is IT. Thank you from the bottom of my little “pea pickin’” heart. Also loved the recipe for pulled pork. Just like my family has made for years.
Dear Christy,
Got your cookbook last week love it and am using it.
Thank you for all your work.
While I do not personally care for mac and cheese, I do have to say that this is a dish with photographic appeal. Mac and cheese was one of the very first things we cooked in freshman level high school home ec and it was to hone our skills in making white sauce. When I moved to Florida in 1999 from Ohio I was absolutely stunned to see mac and cheese at the Thanksgiving dinner. I had never heard of that as we always had homemade turkey noodles. I soon learned that mac and cheese shows up at virtally every potluck in the south.
I am gonna try this very soon —– it looks so wonderfully good
Christy, have you ever added a beaten egg to this recipe? My cousin does and it is delicious. I have not tried it yet, but knowing how good her recipe is, I am going to do it.
I always use 1 or 2 beaten eggs. My recipe is almost identical to Christy’s except that I do not use the flour and do use eggs. Just mix the eggs and milk before you pour. Also, I like Kat Draper’s idea of using evaporated milk instead of regular. That should give a slightly richer flavor.
The recipe taught to me by my Cajun friend uses evaporated milk and eggs (no flour). It is great and there is never any left over if I take it to a gathering. It never curdles and it freezes very well.
I absolutely love mac and cheese but have not found a recipe that gives me what I’m looking for in texture. They are always grainy. Hope this one is the one. But the main reason for my commenting here is I want to thank you for giving me the option to pin your recipes on my Pinterest boards where I can find them and try as life allows. I find myself avoiding sites that don’t allow me this option. It also gives me the opportunity to share you with others who may not know you’re out there. You are a jewel !
Directions say 2/3 stick butter, but recipe says 4T. (1/2 stick). Please clarify the amount of butter to be used. Thanks!
Thanks for all the recipes,
Hello,
I wanted to take a minute to let you know how wonderful the macaroni n cheese was. I made it today for my family, and they loved it. I appreciate you allowing me the opportunity to make your receipe.
Thanks,
Shirley
Hey Shirley!!! I am so glad to hear that it was a hit with your family!!! Hope you have a great day!
I’m planning on making this THIS EVENING. Found this pic on pinterest.com, and it looked appetizing. Thanks for the SIMPLE recipe.
We have enjoyed this recipe twice in the last week, both times gluten free! I love how your recipes are easy and easily adaptable. For this I subbed brown rice elbow macaroni, slightly undercooked, and sweet rice flour for the all purpose flour. It was delicious and a big crowd pleaser for our celiac daughter’s 5th birthday dinner. Thank you!
I am so glad that it has been a hit and easily adaptable for you Lindsay!!!
I did it!!! I have been trying for so long to try to make baked mac and cheese and this by far has been the easiest and most precise. I am thankful for this recipe. I love it!!
I am so glad it worked for you and you enjoyed it Elaine!!
I have a very large family and we tend to have family gatherings throughout the year. This was soo good that it’s requested that I make this at EVERY gathering. I was a bit sceptical of assembling the dry ingrents then butter and milk because all of the other recepies said to cook the butter, flour & cheese together, but I made it this way and will not make any other way. It was AMAZING! I added even more cheese to the dish by adding cheese sauce and I can’t tell you how quickly the dish went. This is DEFINATELY a winner…hands down!!
Thank you for the AWESOME recipe!!
I have a very large family and we tend to have family gatherings throughout the year. This was soo good that it’s requested that I make this at EVERY gathering. I was a bit sceptical of assembling the dry ingredients then butter and milk because all of the other recepies said to cook the butter, flour & cheese together, but I made it this way and will not make any other way. It was AMAZING! I added even more cheese to the dish by adding cheese sauce and I can’t tell you how quickly the dish went. This is DEFINATELY a winner…hands down!!
Thank you for the AWESOME recipe!!
Great recipe. I finally found a recipe that turns out exactly how it’s pictured. My mom makes this with a cheese sauce but I could never get it right as my sauce always curdles with the egg. This is so easy and it comes out perfect. Thank you for posting this recipe.
I am so glad it turned out for you!! It is easy and delicious!
Would any one be so kind to share Christy’s mom’s Mac n Cheese recipe that she shared? I am a new member. Thanks in advance!
I made this for dinner and it was awesome! I doubled the recipe and added turkey bacon bits that I crumbed for flavor. The whole family loved it and I had enough left over for lunch for the next 3 days. I paired it with a side fruit salad which I thought was a good match for it. Overall I thought the recipe was perfect!
I am so glad to hear that you liked it Izzy!!!
I made this tonight in my college dorm and I made 5 new guy friends today because of the alluring smell coming from the oven – the guys INHALED it and begged for me to cook again really soon haha. The only changes I made were that I used penne pasta and added crisp, crumbled bacon. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Just made this today I added a egg and it came out Fab!!!! My Husband thinks he is thee only Mac & Cheese Winner in Our House Now thanks to this Receipe I am……
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I made this tonight for supper and added cooked chicken. It was so yummy and easy! Perfect for a cool fall night!
Your recipe calls for 4 T of butter but in your directions it says 2/3 Cup.
Was wondering which is right??
Thanks a bunch
Hello Ms. Christy Jordan,
thanks again!!!!
I just want to let you know that I made this recipe today and it was soooo delicious!!! I added velvetta cheese and egg to the recipe. I really am appreciative of you sharing your recipe. My boyfriend said, “This actually is good” lol! Because I did make baked macaroni before and we were not pleased.Thank you so very much, you are great! I will be looking at other recipes by you and look forward to getting that cook book!
I am so glad to hear that you liked it Dominique!!
Oh btw I looove how you broke everything down with the pictures! Great idea!
Hi Christy – does it matter what kind of milk is used?
I’m making a full Thanksgiving dinner for my family and this dish will be on the menu. Thanks!
I want to make this for my family for Thanksgiving, It looks sooo yummy. But how much milk do I pour over? Thanks!
Im sorry I see how much now when I scrolled back up… But thanks again
Hi Christy. I tried this a few weeks ago and it was good but I have a question! I was still able to see flour after it was done. Do I need to use more milk? I cooked in a casserole dish. Should I cover with milk when its all put together. Thanks in advance.