Homemade Mac and Cheese Recipe — Ultra Creamy, Cheesy & Kid-Approved

1. Boil and drain the pasta.
2. Cook butter and flour into a roux.
3. Whisk in warm milk and cream until thickened.
4. Take off heat, then melt in the cheese.
5. Toss with pasta and serve, or bake with a breadcrumb topping.

• Grate the cheese yourself. Bagged shredded cheese is coated with starch and does not melt cleanly.
• Warm the milk before adding it. Cold milk into a hot roux causes lumps.
• Always take the pan off the heat before adding cheese. Even brief boiling will break the sauce.
• Pull the pasta out one minute early. It finishes cooking in the hot sauce and will not go mushy.
• Two cheeses work better than one. Sharp cheddar for flavor, something meltier like gruyere or fontina for texture.
• White pepper disappears into the sauce. Use it if you want heat without visible specks.

• Adding cheese to a sauce that is still on the burner. The heat makes it grainy and clumpy.
• Skipping the roux. Without it, the sauce is thin and starchy no matter how much cheese you add.
• Using low-fat milk. The sauce needs fat to stay stable and creamy.
• Boiling the pasta all the way through. It turns soft and falls apart once mixed with the sauce.
• Rushing the roux. Less than 90 seconds and you will taste raw flour in the finished dish.
• Leaving a lid on the pot after combining. Steam drips back in and thins the sauce out.

• Replace gruyere with fontina, gouda, or havarti for a softer, milder flavor.
• Use gluten-free pasta and a 1:1 GF flour blend to make the whole dish gluten-free.
• Stir in cooked crispy bacon or pancetta right before serving.
• A spoonful of cream cheese mixed in adds extra tang and makes the sauce thicker.
• Steamed broccoli florets or frozen peas fold in easily and make it more of a full meal.
• A small pinch of cayenne or a few dashes of hot sauce adds a gentle background heat.
• Evaporated milk works in place of heavy cream if that is what you have on hand.

• A simple green salad with vinaigrette cuts through the richness nicely
• Roasted broccoli or green beans
• Garlic bread or a thick slice of sourdough
• Grilled or baked chicken if you want to make it a fuller plate
• Tomato soup alongside for a classic combination
• Coleslaw if you are serving it at a cookout

• Keeps in the fridge, covered, for up to 4 days.
• The stovetop version does not freeze well. The sauce separates when thawed.
• The baked version holds up better in the freezer. Portion it first and freeze for up to 2 months.
• On the stove: add a splash of milk and reheat gently over low, stirring often.
• In the microwave: cover loosely, heat in 30-second bursts, stir in between.
• Do not use high heat when reheating. The sauce will split and turn greasy.

• Sharp cheddar makes a noticeably more flavorful sauce than mild. It is worth buying.
• The Dijon mustard does not make it taste like mustard. It just sharpens the cheese flavor. Do not skip it.
• Whole milk gives the creamiest result. Two-percent works but produces a slightly thinner sauce.
• If the sauce thickens too much before you add the pasta, loosen it with a few tablespoons of the starchy pasta cooking water.
• For very young kids, leave out the white pepper and skip any heat entirely.

This homemade mac and cheese recipe is one of those dishes that takes almost no time but tastes like it did. Once you know the basic sauce, you can adjust it to whatever cheese you have or whatever your household prefers. It is a genuinely useful recipe to have down.