It might be bold to say, but this is the BEST baked homemade mac and cheese you’ll ever eat! This recipe combines tender pasta with a creamy, melty cheese sauce, baked until bubbly beneath a layer of crispy breadcrumbs.
I’m a little obsessed with homemade mac and cheese. This is the original recipe that’s inspired countless spin-offs you already love, like my baked Buffalo mac and cheese and pulled pork mac and cheese recipes.
This recipe takes homemade mac and cheese to its full potential, baked in the oven so it’s golden and gooey. The proof is in the strings of melted cheese!
Hand-over-heart, this is the best, most cheesy, creamy baked mac and cheese I’ve ever had. My recipe doesn’t reinvent the wheel, since it has all the classic ingredients, including tender elbow macaroni, a classic creamy sauce, and heaps of shredded cheese. But it’s all in how you prepare them.
Reasons You’ll Love This Baked Homemade Mac and Cheese
- Cheesy layers. This recipe features macaroni tossed in creamy cheese sauce, layered with even more cheese, and baked in the oven until it’s browned and bubbly.
- Family-friendly comfort food. Mac and cheese is the kind of meal that never fails to please kids and adults. I mean, hot, melty cheese and pasta? Classic!
- Crispy breadcrumb topping. The finishing touch on my homemade mac and cheese is the buttery Parmesan breadcrumb topping, which is irresistibly crispy.
- Easy to make. Best of all, if you have 45 minutes on a weeknight, you can make macaroni and cheese from scratch! There are only 10 minutes of hands-on work before you pop this baked mac and cheese in the oven.
Ingredients Needed to Make This Recipe
- Elbow Macaroni – The classic choice for macaroni and cheese. This being said, other good pasta shapes for mac and cheese include cavatappi, lumache (Italian for “snails”), small shells, orecchiette, penne, and rigatoni.
- Butter, Flour, and Milk – Together with nutmeg, these ingredients combine to make béchamel sauce. This creates a thickening base for the cheese sauce in the recipe.
- Heavy Cream – You could use half-and-half if you prefer a lighter mac and cheese.
- Cheese – I use a combination of grated mild cheddar and Provolone. You can use other cheeses, too, like Gruyère, sharp cheddar, or Colby. For the best results when making homemade mac and cheese, grate the cheese fresh from the block, if possible. Pre-shredded cheese doesn’t melt as smoothly.
- Panko Breadcrumbs – Regular plain breadcrumbs will work here, too. You could also use seasoned breadcrumbs for more flavor.
- Parmesan – Freshly grated, to combine with the breadcrumbs and melted butter to make the toasty, crispy, cheesy topping.
What Is Béchamel Sauce?
The cheese sauce for traditional mac and cheese begins with a classic French “mother sauce” called béchamel. Béchamel consists of flour that’s cooked off with butter, then combined with milk and a pinch of nutmeg to make a smooth, creamy white sauce. To this creamy base, we’ll add grated cheese and heavy cream.
Tips for the Best Homemade Mac and Cheese
- Don’t overcook the pasta. Boil the pasta just until it’s al dente (tender, with a little bite in the middle). If you overcook the macaroni to begin with, it’ll become soft and mushy after baking.
- Cook off the flour taste. Make sure you cook the roux for at least 1 to 1½ minutes before pouring in the milk. This helps the flour brown, so it loses that raw flour taste.
- Add herbs. If you want extra flavor, you can add some dried Italian herbs to the cheese sauce. Try adding dried basil, oregano, thyme, or Italian seasoning. Fresh herbs work nicely here, too!
- Make it keto. If you’re looking for a low-carb variation, try my keto mac and cheese with cauliflower, bacon, and cheddar cheese.
Easy Add-ins
If you’d like to jazz up this classic homemade mac and cheese even more, try adding some delicious extras! Easy add-ins for mac and cheese include pulled pork, leftover shredded Buffalo chicken, or Mexican shredded beef.
Make sure any mix-ins are pre-cooked. Fold them right into the cheese sauce or layer them into the mac and cheese before baking.
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Cook the pasta. Cook the elbow macaroni according to the package directions or until al dente.
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Prep. While the pasta cooks, preheat your oven to 350°F and butter a 9×9-inch baking dish. In a bowl, combine the shredded cheddar and provolone, toss to mix, and set aside.
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Make the sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, add the flour and cook, constantly whisking for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk and heavy cream until smooth. Add nutmeg and season to taste with salt and pepper.
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Cook. Continue cooking the sauce for 2 minutes, then whisk in half of the cheddar and provolone mixture. Stir until smooth and until the sauce is nice and thick.
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Prepare the breadcrumbs. Combine the Panko breadcrumbs, grated parmesan, and melted butter in a bowl.
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Assemble. Combine the cooked pasta with the prepared cheese sauce. Add half the pasta to a 9-inch baking dish, then top with the remaining provolone-cheddar cheese mixture. Layer the remaining pasta over the cheese, and finally, top the macaroni with the breadcrumb mixture.
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Bake. Transfer it to the oven and bake the pasta for 25-30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
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Serve. Remove the mac and cheese from the oven and let it cool briefly before serving.
- Cook the flour. Make sure you cook your flour for 1 to 1½ minutes before adding the milk. The sauce will have a better taste.
- Add flavor. You can add some dried Italian herbs to the sauce for extra flavor.
- Cheese options. I use a mixture of cheddar and Provolone, but you can use another cheese, like Gruyere, sharp cheddar, or Colby.
- Pasta shapes options. If you want to try other types of pasta, you can use cavatappi or lumache.
Serving: 1.25cups | Calories: 619kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 361mg | Potassium: 300mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1171IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 367mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make Baked Macaroni and Cheese
I’ve made homemade mac and cheese on the stovetop and in the Instant Pot, but there’s something next-level about oven-baked mac and cheese with its bubbling sauce and toasty, crispy breadcrumb topping. You’ll see for yourself soon enough!
- Cook the pasta. Start by boiling the macaroni (or your choice of pasta) in salted water until it’s just al dente. At the same time, preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Mix the cheese. Toss the shredded cheddar and Provolone together in a bowl and set aside.
- Make the sauce. Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan, then sprinkle in the flour to make a roux. Whisk constantly for a minute while the flour cooks off. Then, slowly whisk in the milk and heavy cream. Add a little nutmeg and season the sauce to taste.
- Make it cheesy. Let the béchamel simmer for 2 minutes, and fold in half of the shredded cheese. Keep stirring while the cheese melts and the sauce becomes smooth and thickened.
- Prepare the breadcrumb topping. In a small bowl, mix the Panko with parmesan and melted butter.
- Assemble the mac and cheese. Now, stir the cooked macaroni into the cheese sauce. Add half of the cheese pasta to a 9-inch baking dish, topped with the remaining shredded cheese. Then, spread the rest of the pasta on top, followed by the breadcrumb mixture.
- Bake. Bake this homemade mac and cheese at 350ºF for 25-30 minutes. Since it’s already pre-cooked, it won’t take long for the cheese to start bubbling and the top to turn crispy. Afterward, cool the casserole for a few minutes, and dig in.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Once cooled, store the leftover mac and cheese in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Reheat. To reheat, warm the mac and cheese in the microwave, in the oven, or on the stovetop. If you notice that the sauce has lost some of its texture, sprinkle a little milk over the pasta while reheating.
