scooping a big ladle full of gooey, creamy, and cheesy mac and cheese.

Mac and cheese is the BEST and the most comforting dish there is and there is not arguing about it! Adults and kids love it alike and it’s the perfect with for absolutely any time of the year. My favorite cheese combination for a classic mac and cheese is extra sharp cheddar, Monterrey Jack cheese, and a little cream cheese. Sharp cheddar provides great sharp flavor, Monterrey Jack melts beautifully but also has extra flavor, and cream cheese provides extra creamy texture. It’s a similar combination that I use in my baked mac and cheese and cauliflower mac and cheese because it never fails to satisfy!

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First mac and cheese recipe that my whole family loved! Will definitely be making this often! ~Amie”

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Tips To No Fail Homemade Mac and Cheese

Grate cheese off the block! It’s always best to get a good brand of cheese and use a BLOCK not pre-shredded cheese. Pre-shredded cheese always had additives like separators and preservatives that will affect the texture of your sauce.
Best way to achieve smooth cheese sauce for mac and cheese and avoid lumps is to first whisk the flour and melted butter well to form a roux and then, slowly pour in the milk while constantly stirring. (Roux is a smooth combination of butter and flour that’s mixed well.)
Avoid grainy cheese sauce: your cheese sauce can be grainy if the flour didn’t get a chance to cook well and thicken the milk or the type of cheese you used. When letting the milk heat through, before adding the cheese, make sure you give it several minutes to heat through completely and thicken. Don’t add cheese too soon.
Never let the cheese sauce or mac and cheese boil! Cook the cheese sauce over medium to medium-low heat to let the milk heat through and the cheese melt. After adding the pasta, you will only cook for additional couple of minutes to heat up the pasta.
Don’t over-cook! Most likely the cause of cheese sauce separating is overheating. Never let your cheese sauce or milk boil. Cook over medium to medium-low heat the whole time. Don’t over-cook either, as soon as the cheese is melted and smooth, add in pasta. As soon as pasta is heated through, take the pot off heat.

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Step by Step Photos To Make Mac and Cheese

collage of two images of mixing butter in a pot and flour and adding in milk.

Cook macaroni according to the package instructions in salted water, drain, and set aside.
While pasta is cooking, grate cheese and start to prepare the cheese sauce:
Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Whisk in flour and once it’s combined, start pouring in milk while constantly stirring. Keep whisking slowly until all incorporated.

collage of two images of mixing in cream cheese into milk and adding shredded cheese.

Cut cream cheese into small pieces and add it to the pot. Stir and let cream cheese mix into the sauce. Add cheeses, one handful at a time, while slowly stirring.

collage of two images of mixing shredded cheese and stirring in seasoning in a pot.

Season with paprika, salt, and pepper. Once all cheese is melted and smooth, add pasta. Stir until all completely combined. Let it cook on medium-low for a couple of minutes and serve. The point if to heat the mac and cheese through after adding the pasta.

collage of two images of adding cooked macaroni into the cheese sauce and mixing.

What Cheeses Are Best For Mac and Cheese?

When choosing cheese, remember how well it melts, how smooth it melts, and the flavor.
If you want sharper, stronger flavors, then choose sharp cheeses. Note that the harder the cheese, the lower melting point. Parmesan and other hard cheeses don’t melt as well. Hard cheese can be a flavor addition but not the main cheese.
For smoother melted cheese, choose cheeses like cheddar, Monterrey Jack cheese, Colby Jack, and even Mozzarella. These cheeses all melt very well because they are not soft cheeses and not too hard.
My favorite cheese combination for this easy mac and cheese is extra sharp cheddar, Monterrey Jack cheese, and a little cream cheese.

a white pot of mac and cheese and spooning some out with a large wooden ladle.

How To Make Mac and Cheese Gluten Free?

Mac and cheese is very easy to make gluten free with just two easy substitutions. First, use gluten free pasta. (I prefer the Tinkayada brand of gluten free pasta. Its texture is the least crumbly and tastes the most like regular pasta.)
As far as thickeners, you have two options. Option one is substituting flour for gluten free flour, and option two is using cornstarch instead of flour.
If choosing to use gluten free all purpose flour, simply substitute it for regular flour and mix it with melted butter.
When using cornstarch instead of flour, it has to be mixed with cold milk first and then added to the pot to heat through. (1 tablespoon of cornstarch is enough for this recipe.)

How To Make It Lactose Free?

Did you know that you can easily enjoy mac and cheese even if you a lactose free? Many people who are lactose intolerant are actually not aware that they can still eat cheese. Cheese that is aged 6 months and longer is naturally lactose free through the aging process.
Soft cheeses like blue cheese, Brie, feta, cream cheese, and a few others are not lactose free but cheeses like cheddar, Parmesan, Monterrey Jack cheese and even some Mozzarella are lactose free.
Many brands will put lactose content right on the label, under the nutritional information. Look for words like “contains 0g of lactose per serving.” If the wording is not there, you can look at sugar content. If sugar is 0g, that will indicate there is very low chance for lactose.
Cream cheese can be substituted for vegan (plant-based) cream cheese. I haven’t tried all brands but a few brands that I’ve tried do melt and mix into the sauce well.
Instead of regular milk, use lactose free milk. (Tip: Fairlife brand is not as sweet as Lactaid. I recommend that one in savory dishes.)

Storing and Reheating Instructions

Keep any leftovers you have mac and cheese in an airtight food storage container, in the refrigerator. You can also use the same pot you used to cook it but cover it air-tight. Properly stored, this dish should stay good for about 3-4 days.
While you can reheat individual portions in the microwave, you can also reheat the whole pot on stove-top. Make sure to reheat it over medium-low heat and add about 1/4-1/3 cup of milk. Cover the pot as mac and cheese reheats and stir every few minutes.
When reheating individual portions in the microwave, add a couple of tablespoons of milk to the bowl with pasta and use a microwave cover if you have one. Reheat the mac and cheese in 30-45 second increments, stirring in between. Make sure to reheat only until heated through.
PRO TIP: you will need to add some milk when reheating, to invigorate the pasta and cheese sauce again. Pasta tends to soak up moisture from the sauces as it sits, so adding a little milk will help refresh it.

scooping some cheesy mac and cheese from a bowl using a fork.

More Mac and Cheese Recipes To Try

Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles on February 1, 2019.

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Categories:

Dinner Recipes, Pasta Recipes,

All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.

4.63 from 80 votes (68 ratings without comment)

50 Comments

Amie Bowden says:

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First mac and cheese recipe that my whole family loved! Will definitely be making this often!

1. LyubaB says:
  
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  I am so glad you liked it, Amie!
  
Deidre says:

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Can I use evaporated milk instead of regular or 2%?

1. LyubaB says:
  
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  Hi, I haven’t tried using evaporated milk in this recipe, I think it may change the flavor. If you’d like to use it add equal amounts of water to the milk. For example, the recipe calls for 2 cups of milk so you will use one cup of evaporated with one cup of water. Hope that helps.
  
Terry says:

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Are the servings for an entree or as a side dish?

1. LyubaB says:
  
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  Hi Terry, the serving is for a side dish. Hope you like it! 🙂
  
Eli says:

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Recipe amounts are perfect, wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you, we really enjoyed it on a rainy January evening 🙂

1. LyubaB says:
  
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  Thank you, Eli! Glad you liked it!
  
Laura says:

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Hi there
Do mine was a little grainy in texture not as bad as the first time. The first time I cheated and used bag cheese definitely don’t do that. Second time I used block cheese but it was still a little grainy. How long do I melt the cheese maybe I’m not melting it long enough?
Thanks
Laura

1. Amanda says:
  
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  Cheesesauce will break and become grainy if it gets too hot
  
Carly S says:

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Why was it sweet. Good, but why was it sweet.

1. LyubaB says:
  
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  Hmm, I am not sure, it shouldn’t be at all sweet. Maybe it was the cheese you used?
  
Annalise says:

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OH MY GOSH!!!! This is the BEST Mac and cheese I have ever made. I can’t thank you enough for this. I literally kept eating it out of the pot!!! The only thing I decided to do different was (after I was done eating several fork fulls out of the pot of course lol) put it in a baking dish add more cheese on top and bake it at 325 for 15 minutes.

1. LyubaB says:
  
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  Awe thank you! I am so glad you liked it! 🙂
  
Lyn B says:

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This is the BEST Mac-n-cheese ever!!! So rich, creamy and absolutely delicious!! I had been searching for the perfect Mac-n-cheese recipe and I finally found THE ONE!! Yummy!!

1. LyubaB says:
  
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  Wow! Thank you so much for the sweet compliment! I am so glad you liked it!
  
Ella says:

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Everytime i used the flour and butter to make a roux, the end macaroni and cheese always ends up being grainy despite whisking the heck out of the butter and flour mixture. Is there any way to fix that?

1. lyuba says:
  
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  Hi Ella!
  I’ve never noticed the grainy texture myself but you may be sensitive to texture. I know plenty of people who are sensitive to textures in sauces and other things.
  What you can do is try to use cornstarch to thicken the mac and cheese and see if you like it better that way. It’s a little bit of a different process though. You would whisk the cold milk and cornstarch together first, before adding it to the hot pot and warming it up. So start by melting butter and then whisk cornstarch (about 1 1/2-2 tablespoons) and cold milk. Pour the milk mixture into the pot and slowly stir the whole time as the milk is warming up. When the milk is hot, start adding the cheeses. The rest is really the same.
  I really hope this helps! Let me know
  
2. Manda says:
  
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  Youre getting it too hot. Cheesesauce will break if too hot and becomes grainy
  
Lisa in Spokane says:

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This was super easy and super yummy. I used a little more paprika (I’m a big fan), some mustard powder, cayenne and Essence of Emeril. Yum! I usually bake my Mac n cheese, but this was way better and cheaper. Yum—where has this recipe been all my life??

1. LyubaB says:
  
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  Hi Lisa,
  
  Thank you so much for the sweet compliment, you made my day! I am so happy you enjoyed it! 🙂

Homemade Mac and Cheese

Tips To No Fail Homemade Mac and Cheese

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