Recipe
Baked mac & cheese
The great American comfort dish: macaroni folded through a silky cheddar béchamel, baked under a golden breadcrumb crust. The roux decides everything - stir and be patient.
Baked mac & cheese takes about 55 minutes and makes 4 servings. Each serving has 920 kcal.
- Preparation
- 15 minutes
- Cooking
- 40 minutes
- Total time
- 55 minutes
- Servings
- 4
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 920 kcal
- Protein
- 37 g
- Carbohydrates
- 86 g
- Fat
- 43 g
Ingredients
- Macaroni (elbow pasta)350 g
- Butter60 g
- All-purpose flour40 g
- Milk700 ml
- Cheddar cheese250 g
- Parmesan50 g
- Dijon mustard1 tsp
- Breadcrumbs50 g
- Paprika1 tsp
- Salt1 pinch
- Pepper1 pinch
Instructions
- 1
Boil the macaroni in well-salted water for 2 minutes less than the packet says, then drain.
Tip: Undercook the pasta on purpose - it finishes cooking in the oven. Fully cooked macaroni bakes into mush.
- 2
Melt 40 g of the butter in a pot, whisk in the flour and cook the roux for 2 minutes, stirring constantly - it should smell nutty, not brown.
- 3
Whisk in the milk in small additions, letting each blend in; simmer gently until the béchamel coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes.
- 4
Take the pot off the heat and stir in two thirds of the cheddar, the parmesan and the mustard until smooth; season with salt and pepper.
Tip: Off the heat, always. If the sauce boils once the cheese is in, the fat splits and it turns grainy.
- 5
Fold the drained macaroni through the sauce and pour into a buttered baking dish; scatter the remaining cheddar on top.
- 6
Mix the breadcrumbs with the remaining 20 g of melted butter and the paprika, and scatter evenly over the top.
- 7
Bake at 200°C until bubbling at the edges and deep golden on top, about 20 minutes.
- 8
Rest for 10 minutes before serving - the sauce thickens as it settles.
Cooking methods
On the stove
The sauce wants a heavy-bottomed pot and medium-low heat - a thin pot scorches the béchamel at the edges. Whisk the milk in gradually and never walk away from the roux; the oven at 200°C does the rest.
On induction
Make the roux on 4 of 9 and raise to 5 for the milk. Induction heats the pot base fast, so whisk into the corners where béchamel catches first. Bake in the oven as usual.
Over an open fire
The bake is the hard part over fire, but a Dutch oven manages it: make the sauce over embers, then cover the pot and shovel coals onto the lid so the top browns. Turn the pot a quarter every 5 minutes for an even crust.
Recipe questions
- How long does this recipe take?
- Plan for about 55 minutes from start to finish.
- How many servings does this recipe make?
- This recipe makes 4 servings.
- Can I cook this recipe on induction?
- Yes. Make the roux on 4 of 9 and raise to 5 for the milk. Induction heats the pot base fast, so whisk into the corners where béchamel catches first. Bake in the oven as usual.
- Can I cook this recipe over an open fire?
- Yes. The bake is the hard part over fire, but a Dutch oven manages it: make the sauce over embers, then cover the pot and shovel coals onto the lid so the top browns. Turn the pot a quarter every 5 minutes for an even crust.
- Which dietary preferences does this recipe support?
- This recipe is tagged: vegetarian.
In the app
Cooking the way it should feel
One step on screen, a timer that keeps going, and clear progress until the dish is done.
