Old Fashioned Baked Macaroni and Cheese

A classic recipe for baked macaroni and cheese

Course Side

Cuisine American

Keyword old fashioned baked macaroni and cheese, old fashioned mac and cheese, white cheddar mac and cheese

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 45

Servings servings

Calories 540kcal

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

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 9x13 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.