I am obsessed with baked macaroni & cheese. I absolutely hate that fake boxed mac & cheese crap- I would take a homemade, baked mac & cheese with a breadcrumb topping any day over that sh*t! Mac & cheese is my go-to comfort food. It’s the perfect dish for a cold fall or winter night!
I found this recipe on Pinterest & have made it several times. And honestly every time I make it, I switch up the cheeses I use. I basically use whatever cheese I have in the fridge at the time & it always comes out amazing. It’s fun to switch up the ingredients & see what kind outcome you get. Here is the original recipe from Culinary Hill.
Here is the recipe with some of my tweaks:
Mac & Cheese
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Serves: 8
Ingredients
- 1 lb. elbow macaroni
- ½ cup butter divided, plus more for buttering the dish
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 3 cups milk (I use reduced fat milk)
- 1 pkg. (2 cups) shredded mild cheddar cheese
- 1 pkg. (2 cups) shredded Monterey jack cheese
- 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
- ½ cup Italian style breadcrumbs
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a large casserole.
- Cook macaroni according to instructions on the box (about 6 min for al dente). Drain the pasta well.
- Return the pot to the stovetop. Over medium high heat, melt 6 tbsp. of butter until bubbling. Whisk in the flour and cook for about another minute. Be careful not to burn or brown the flour/butter mixture.
- Whisk in the milk & bring to a boil. Remove from heat & stir in your cheeses until melted.
- Fold in macaroni and stir until combined well. Season to taste with salt.
- Pour into prepared casserole dish.
- In a medium size bowl, melt the remaining 2 tbsp. of butter in the microwave. Stir in the garlic until fragrant. Add the breadcrumbs and mix until evenly coated.
- Pour the breadcrumb mixture over the macaroni. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the breadcrumbs have browned.
