This is the ultimate Old Fashioned Baked Macaroni and Cheese recipe. This white cheddar mac and cheese is loaded with flavor and will bring you right back to childhood.
Make-ahead
Beginner-friendly
You’ll Learn: Why skipping pre-shredded cheese makes for a smoother sauce
Worth It: It builds a freezer stash for stress-free meals later
Bonus: Customize with your favorite cheese or crunchy topping
this classic mac and cheese recipe deserves a spot on your holiday table
There is truly nothing more comforting than a scoop of old fashioned baked macaroni and cheese. It immediately transports me back to my childhood.
My nana always made baked mac and cheese and could not understand why we would ever even want to eat the instant stuff. Now trust me, I still grab a blue box every once in a while, but nothing compare to the homemade stuff.
It might take a bit longer, but take the time to grate the cheese by hand for a smooth and creamy sauce. I promise everyone will love this mac and cheese recipe!
Kitchen tools
- Large pot for boiling pasta and making cheese sauce
- Cheese grater
- Measuring spoons, measuring cups and liquid measuring cup
- 9×13 casserole dish or large baking dish
Serving Suggestions
This baked old fashioned mac and cheese recipe is a great addition to any holiday menu! If you need help planning your Thanksgiving meal, check out this Simple Thanksgiving Dinner Menu.
This mac n cheese recipe is one of my favorite side dishes to serve with chicken. I love to serve it with panko chicken. It is a simple baked chicken recipe that you bread with panko breadcrumbs.
I love making a batch of this old fashioned baked macaroni and cheese for friends who just had a baby or are sick. You can make it ahead of time, freeze it and then pop in the oven whenever you are ready to eat it.
Ingredients
- Pasta – use classic elbow macaroni noodles or any pasta shap that you like. Save prep time by using pre cooked macaroni.
- Butter – I used unsalted butter, but if you want to use salted butter just reduce the amount of salt by half.
- All purpose flour – use this to thicken the roux. If you need to make this recipe gluten free, use gluten free noodles and a 1:1 gluten free all purpose flour blend.
- Salt, dry mustard powder, black pepper, smoked paprika – add lots of flavor to the roux with this seasoning blend.
- Extra sharp white cheddar and sharp yellow cheddar – cheese choice really depends on taste. I love to use cheddar, but swiss and gruyere melt so nicely and taste delicious. Either way I recommend avoiding a pre-shredded cheese to keep the cheese sauce smooth and creamy.
- 2% milk – you can also use whole milk or heavy cream depending on how rich you want the cheese mixture.
- Hot sauce – this is optional but adds a nice addition of flavor and tang.
Feel free to add a bread crumb topping to make this comfort food even more comforting. Sprinkle crushed ritz crackers or toasted bread crumbs over the top before baking. Be sure to cover the dish with aluminum foil so that the bread crumbs don’t burn while baking.
What noodles are best for macaroni?
A classic macaroni noodle will always be a great choice for baked macaroni. I also like to use a large elbow because they hold a bit more cheese sauce.
For this recipe I used cavatapi noodles because the curve is great for a baked mac and cheese. One of my other favorite noodles for this dish is small shells.
Why should i grate my own cheese for baked macaroni?
Pre grated cheeses are made with fillers that prevent in clumping. These fillers make the cheese sauce gritty.
For a smooth and creamy cheese sauce it is best to buy a brick of sharp cheddar cheese and grate it yourself. Then, mix the hand grated cheese into the cheese sauce.
How to make old fashioned baked macaroni and cheese
Step 1: Boil noodles and grate cheese
To begin, preheat oven to 375F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil pasta until al dente.
While the pasta boils, grate the cheese. Mix the white cheddar and yellow cheddar together and then separate into 4 cups of cheese for the sauce and 2 cups of cheese for topping the casserole.
Then, drain cooked pasta and pour into a greased 9×13 casserole dish.
Step 2: Prepare cheese Sauce
Next, heat a large pot over medium-low heat and place butter inside. Once butter is melted, mix in the flour, salt, mustard powder, black pepper and smoked paprika. Mix until a smooth paste remains.
Slowly whisk in the milk mixing constantly until a smooth even sauce remains. Stir in the hot sauce.
Next, reduce heat to low and pour 4 cups of shredded cheese into the pot. Continue mixing constantly until the cheese is completely and a smooth sauce remains.
Step 3: mix it together and Bake in the oven
Then, pour cheese sauce over the noodles in the casserole dish and toss to coat the noodles evenly. Top with 2 cups shredded cheese.
If you are freezing this dish or making ahead of time, stop cooking here. Cover and place in fridge or freezer. See below for reheating instructions
Finally, bake at 375F covered with foil for 30 minutes, remove the foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
Storage and reheating
Allow the cooked old fashioned mac and cheese to cool completely and transfer to an airtight container. You can also save leftovers in the casserole dish in the refrigerator. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Reheat in the oven or toaster oven until warmed through. I like to heat at 300F for about 15 minutes.
can i make this ahead of time?
Yes! You can make this a few days ahead of time and place in the fridge OR you can make it and freeze it. It is good in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To bake from refrigerated, bake at 375F covered with foil for 45 minutes, remove the foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
To bake from frozen, bake at 375F covered with foil for 1 hour and 15 minutes, remove the foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
Check out these other Comforting side dishes
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Email Recipe for Later
Recipe
Old Fashioned Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 lb pasta – I used cavatapi but macaroni noodles are great
- 6 cups shredded cheddar cheese 4 cups extra sharp white cheddar + 2 cups sharp yellow cheddar ***for a smooth sauce, grate this by hand instead of buying pregrated.
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp mustard powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 cups 2% milk
- 1 tsp hot sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil pasta until al dente.
- While the pasta boils, grate the cheese. Mix the white cheddar and yellow cheddar together and then separate into 4 cups of cheese for the sauce and 2 cups of cheese for topping the casserole.
- Drain cooked pasta and pour into a greased 9×13 casserole dish.
- Heat a large pot over medium-low heat and place butter inside. Once butter is melted, mix in the flour, salt, mustard powder, black pepper and smoked paprika. Mix until a smooth paste remains.
- Slowly whisk in the milk mixing constantly until a smooth even sauce remains. Stir in the hot sauce.
- Reduce heat to low and pour 4 cups of shredded cheese into the pot. Continue mixing constantly until the cheese is completely and a smooth sauce remains.
- Pour cheese sauce over the noodles in the casserole dish and toss to coat the noodles evenly. Top with 2 cups shredded cheese. *** If you are freezing this dish or making ahead of time, stop cooking here. Cover and place in fridge or freezer.
- Bake at 375F covered with foil for 30 minutes, remove the foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
- *** To bake from refrigerated, bake at 375F covered with foil for 45 minutes, remove the foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes. To bake from frozen, bake at 375F covered with foil for 1 hour and 15 minutes, remove the foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
Recipe Notes
- hand grated cheese will make the sauce smoother and creamier
- extra sharp white cheddar cheese adds lots of flavor to this dish
- omit the hot sauce if you do not like spice
- use any kind of noodle, but I like cavatapi or macaroni noodles best
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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