Best Mac n Cheese Recipes: Tried and True Favorites

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Discussion Overview

This thread centers around sharing and discussing various macaroni and cheese recipes, with participants exchanging personal favorites and modifications to traditional recipes.

Discussion Character

  • Anecdotal
  • Opinion-based
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant, identifying as a consultant, shares a detailed recipe for Paula Deen's Mac and Cheese, highlighting its popularity and personal enjoyment.
  • Another participant mentions a recipe that includes a combination of five cheeses, evaporated milk, and a roux made from flour and butter.
  • Several users discuss their preference for the boxed version of mac and cheese, with some adding personal touches like sour cream or ranch dressing mix.
  • One participant describes a family recipe that incorporates ham into the cheese mixture, which their family enjoys.
  • Another participant shares a unique method using cottage cheese and uncooked macaroni, emphasizing the flexibility of ingredient amounts.
  • One participant mentions a preference for a BLT-style mac and cheese, suggesting additional tomatoes and leeks for flavor.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Views differ on the best method and ingredients for making macaroni and cheese, with no clear consensus emerging on a single preferred recipe.

Contextual Notes

Participants share a mix of traditional and creative approaches to macaroni and cheese, reflecting personal tastes and family preferences.

Who May Find This Useful

Consultants looking for new macaroni and cheese recipes or variations may find the shared experiences and suggestions beneficial.

J
JaimeQ
Messages
2,317
Anyone have a really good recipe for Mac n Cheese? TIA
 
Paula Deen's Mac and Cheese Recipe

**For an extra flair, add garlic, scallions, paprika OR black pepper**

8 servings

1½ hours 20 min prep

3/4 lb elbow macaroni
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (10 oz.)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup milk
4 teaspoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly butter an 8x12" baking dish.
In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the macaroni until al dente. Drain, transfer to a bowl.
Add two cups of the cheese and toss until melted.
In another bowl, whisk the eggs with the sour cream.
Add the milk, butter, and 1/2 teaspoons salt.
Stir the mixture into the macaroni and pour it into the prepared baking dish.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
Bake for 35 minutes, until bubbling and cheese is melted.
Let the macaroni and cheese stand for 15 minutes before serving.

**THIS IS A GREAT RECIPE**
 
cooked mac
sharp cheddar, mild cheddar, jack cheese or gruyere, gouda any combo of 5 cheeses
evaporated milk
salt and pepper
flour and butter melt the butter add flour to make a thickening, add milk.
bake
 
  • Thread starter
  • #4
vwpamperedchef said:
Paula Deen's Mac and Cheese Recipe

**For an extra flair, add garlic, scallions, paprika OR black pepper**

8 servings

1½ hours 20 min prep

3/4 lb elbow macaroni
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (10 oz.)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup milk
4 teaspoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly butter an 8x12" baking dish.
In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the macaroni until al dente. Drain, transfer to a bowl.
Add two cups of the cheese and toss until melted.
In another bowl, whisk the eggs with the sour cream.
Add the milk, butter, and 1/2 teaspoons salt.
Stir the mixture into the macaroni and pour it into the prepared baking dish.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
Bake for 35 minutes, until bubbling and cheese is melted.
Let the macaroni and cheese stand for 15 minutes before serving.

**THIS IS A GREAT RECIPE**
Click to expand...

Thank you I think this would be a great hit!
 
Get a blue box and follow directions.
 
Enjoy Jamie! What time is dinner? LOL
 
cmdtrgd said:
Get a blue box and follow directions.
Click to expand...
LOL... we like the box with the bunny of approval on it.
 
lkprescott said:
LOL... we like the box with the bunny of approval on it
Click to expand...

That's the one we like too - but I add about 1/2 cup of sour cream, and a teaspoon or two of dry ranch dressing mix....then stir in a cup or so of grated cheese - put it in the mini baker, and sprinkle it with buttered bread crumbs. Pop it in the oven at 350 for about 15-20 minutes.
 
DH, the birds and I like the box with the squishy pouch instead of powder. :) And then the birds destroy the box.
 
Jamie... GREAT idea starting this thread... I defintely want to try a new way to make it (we usually have the blue box with the powder. lol).

NOW I"M HUNGRY AGAIN! lol
 
Heres the one we make. My family loves it. Sometimes I will cut up a ham steak and add that into the melted cheese before I pour it over the noodles. Baked Macaroni and Cheese

3 Tbsp. Butter
2 Tbsp. Flour
2 cups milk
16 oz. Velveeta cheese
1 16 oz. box elbow macaroniMelt butter. Add flour and gradually add milk. Cube cheese and add. Cook and drain macaroni. Pour all ingredients into 11x9x2inch baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes.
 
I make the Paula Deen recipe; it's also the one she makes at her restaurant so you know it has to be good!
 
ChefBeckyD said:
That's the one we like too - but I add about 1/2 cup of sour cream, and a teaspoon or two of dry ranch dressing mix....then stir in a cup or so of grated cheese - put it in the mini baker, and sprinkle it with buttered bread crumbs. Pop it in the oven at 350 for about 15-20 minutes.
Click to expand...

Sounds yummy... DD would never eat it LOL... she's a fickle pickle.
 
lkprescott said:
Sounds yummy... DD would never eat it LOL... she's a fickle pickle.
Click to expand...
What is it with kids? DS loves all sorts of foods - but you can't mix them together...
For instance - he loves spinach, eggs, and cheese. Tonight I made a spinach and cheese quiche for supper - with 3 of his favorite foods - and he refused to try even one bite!:rolleyes: :grumpy:
 
climbercanoe3 said:
Heres the one we make. My family loves it. Sometimes I will cut up a ham steak and add that into the melted cheese before I pour it over the noodles.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

3 Tbsp. Butter
2 Tbsp. Flour
2 cups milk
16 oz. Velveeta cheese
1 16 oz. box elbow macaroni

Melt butter. Add flour and gradually add milk. Cube cheese and add. Cook and drain macaroni. Pour all ingredients into 11x9x2inch baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes.
Click to expand...


I use pretty much the same recipe, except with three cups of milk. I also butter two slices of bread and cube it to go on top. Mac and Cheese is just about my favorite food ever!
 
ChefBeckyD said:
What is it with kids? DS loves all sorts of foods - but you can't mix them together...
For instance - he loves spinach, eggs, and cheese. Tonight I made a spinach and cheese quiche for supper - with 3 of his favorite foods - and he refused to try even one bite!:rolleyes: :grumpy:
Click to expand...

DD tries my patience. Know that rule 'they' say that if you put a certain food in front of a kid like 10 or 12 times, they'll eat it? Ha! She's unaware of that one... she makes her own rules including 'just cuz I hate it before doesn't mean I'll eat it again'... the only hard and fast foods she'll eat are peas, pb&j sandwiches and mac n cheese so long as it came from the stove and not the oven. LOL... oh and cheese... and 'naked' pasta...

Oh and she'll eat french fries and 'smile' potatoes... but not potatoes in any other form... ugh. We do the 'eat what we eat or you don't eat' too and she's quite happy with not eating... ugh... she just doesn't fit the mold at all. LOL..
 
I like the BLT kind in the 29 minutes to dinner. I would add more tomatoes and Leeks next time, though.
My kids prefer Kraft from a box with the powder, butter and milk.
 
  • Thread starter
  • #18
That is the side dish i'm making for Christmas dinner;) Thanks for all the help. Who would have though Mac n Cheese would spark up some conversation.
 
This is my favorite macaroni & cheese. A friend brought it to a dinner years ago & I fell in love with it!!! The only problem with it is that there are no "exact" amounts.Take a container of cottage cheese. Empty it into either the rectangle baker or the square baker (any piece of stoneware that is at least as deep as the square baker would work fine). Fill the cottage cheese container with uncooked macaroni & dump it into the stoneware. Fill the container up with water & dump it into the stoneware. Add as much shredded cheese as you like. I usually use at least 1 8 oz bag, sometimes 1 1/2. You can use any combination of cheeses that you like, sharp cheddar, mild cheddar, colby jack. I use whatever I happen to have. (You can shred your own but since I have a love/hate relationship with our cheese grater I just use shredded!) Season to taste with fresh ground pepper & salt. Bake at 350 until noodles are soft & the top is golden brown & bubbly. A couple of times I have added some leftover chicken & chopped broccoli or small pieces of ham. Very yummy!
 
I have no measures but I make a roux with onions and then add XXX cheese (extra, extra, extra) sharp cheese, swiss cheese, a little jalapeno cheese, cheddar parmesan and what ever else may be lingering in the frig.

I add a little dry mustard, one drop of hot sauce and a small amount of worchest. sauce. After I combine it with the mac. (make sure that your mac is saucey...not too dry and not too saucey) then I sprinkle Italian bread crumbs on top or crunched up saltines or Ritz.

The cheese combos I learned with my Mom and with trial and error. The seasonings I learned when I went to the Culinary Institute in Hyde Park, NY. The topping is up to whatever I have on hand. It never turns out completely identical every time, but it is YUMMY! every time:chef:
 
Oh Yum!!!!!!!Okay I love my homemade mac & chez!:chef:


Preheat oven for 400 degrees
Melt 4 tblsp of butter in pan
add 1 cup of chopped onion (saute onions till translucent)
add 2 cans of chedder chez soup
add 2 cloves of garlilc, fresh ground pepper
1/4-1/2 cup of milk
Mix together add cooked noodles of your choice (I like rotini)
Now add 5 slices of chopped cooked bacon
Now for the chez I mix in Jack, provolone, Mozzerlla, asiago, parmisian
Now I mix the chez's together add about a 1/2 of cup to the noodle mix, then cover the top w/ chez and take the onions in the can and add to the top for a crunch and more parmasian chez. I bake for about 25 mins.

Now I have started someting new. Safeway carries their select soups they have a smoked chedder ale soup, I substitute that for the 2 cans of campbells soup. If I only have the can soup I add white wine or an ale to the onion cooking and it's awesome. I make this usually in the family skillet, straight from stove top to the oven.
 
cmdtrgd said:
Get a blue box and follow directions.
Click to expand...

I'm with you on this one! There are some things that are supposed to be mindless and easy enough for even the most chef-aphobic DH to do.
 
pamperedalf said:
Okay I love my homemade mac & chez!:chef:


Preheat oven for 400 degrees
Melt 4 tblsp of butter in pan
add 1 cup of chopped onion (saute onions till translucent)
add 2 cans of chedder chez soup
add 2 cloves of garlilc, fresh ground pepper
1/4-1/2 cup of milk
Mix together add cooked noodles of your choice (I like rotini)
Now add 5 slices of chopped cooked bacon
Now for the chez I mix in Jack, provolone, Mozzerlla, asiago, parmisian
Now I mix the chez's together add about a 1/2 of cup to the noodle mix, then cover the top w/ chez and take the onions in the can and add to the top for a crunch and more parmasian chez. I bake for about 25 mins.

Now I have started someting new. Safeway carries their select soups they have a smoked chedder ale soup, I substitute that for the 2 cans of campbells soup. If I only have the can soup I add white wine or an ale to the onion cooking and it's awesome. I make this usually in the family skillet, straight from stove top to the oven.
Click to expand...


GREAT TIP!!! Never thought of doing that - I always transfer from a pan to a stone ~ this saves me a step!
 
ChefBeckyD said:
GREAT TIP!!! Never thought of doing that - I always transfer from a pan to a stone ~ this saves me a step!
Click to expand...
and a dish!

(I'm lazy, and the fewer dishes I have to wash, the better. :) )
 
chefann said:
and a dish!

(I'm lazy, and the fewer dishes I have to wash, the better. :) )
Click to expand...


Me too!!!:D Love to cook - hate to clean-up.
 
Just further proof that we're kindred spirits! (I've found a lot of those around here. Which is both great and scary at the same time.)
 
chefann said:
Just further proof that we're kindred spirits! (I've found a lot of those around here. Which is both great and scary at the same time.)
Click to expand...

That is what keeps me here! Sometimes I think maybe I shouldn't spend so much time on CS, but then I think "Naaahhh! These are my friends! Couldn't imagine not chatting with the Cheffers!"
 
katie0128 said:
I'm with you on this one! There are some things that are supposed to be mindless and easy enough for even the most chef-aphobic DH to do.
Click to expand...


Don't bet on that!!! I worked with a lady whose husband couldn't even make boxed mac-n-cheese. He didn't boil the water first, he just put the macaroni & cheese packet & milk & butter in with the water & turned the burner on!! It was a gross mess. His 4 year old daughter had to tell him what he did wrong!!
 
1 LB ELBOW MACARONI
2 CUPS CORNFLAKES
1/3 CUP MELTED BUTTER
3 TSP CHOPPED ONION
1 CAN CREAM OF MUSHROOM OR CHEDDAR CHEESE SOUP
1/3 CUP MILK
1 ½ CUP SHREDDED CHEDDAR CHEESE

COOK MACARONI, FINELY CRUSH CORNFLAKES AND MIX WITH 2 TSP MELTED BUTTER. PUT REMAINING BUTTER IN A PAN AND SAUTE ONIONS. ADD MILK, SOUP, CHEESE AND COOK UNTIL CHEESE MELTS. IN A 9X9 PAN ADD MACARONI AND MIXTURE. STIR UNTIL WELL COATED. SPRINKLE TOP WITH CORNFLAKE MIXTURE AND BAKE AT 350 DEGREES FOR 30 MINUTES OR UNTIL HOT AND BUBBLY

This is my favorite it comes out with a nice crunchy topping! I think I need to make some tonight!
 

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some key ingredients for the best mac n cheese recipes?

Some key ingredients for delicious mac n cheese include high-quality pasta, a blend of cheeses such as cheddar, mozzarella, and cream cheese, milk or cream for creaminess, and seasonings like salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Adding breadcrumbs or toppings like bacon can enhance flavor and texture.

How can I make my mac n cheese creamier?

To achieve a creamier mac n cheese, use a combination of cheeses that melt well, such as cheddar and Gruyère. Incorporating cream or a béchamel sauce can also add richness. Cooking the pasta just until al dente and mixing it with the cheese sauce off the heat can help maintain a creamy consistency.

Can I make mac n cheese ahead of time?

Yes, you can prepare mac n cheese ahead of time. Assemble the dish and store it in the refrigerator before baking. When ready to serve, you can bake it straight from the fridge, although you may need to add a few extra minutes to the cooking time. Alternatively, you can freeze it for longer storage and thaw it overnight before baking.

What are some popular variations of mac n cheese?

Popular variations of mac n cheese include adding ingredients like lobster, buffalo chicken, or vegetables such as broccoli and spinach. You can also experiment with different cheeses, spices, or even incorporate different types of pasta for unique flavors and textures.

How can I elevate my mac n cheese for a special occasion?

To elevate your mac n cheese for a special occasion, consider using gourmet cheeses, adding truffle oil, or incorporating high-end ingredients like lobster or crab. You can also serve it in individual ramekins, top it with a crispy breadcrumb mixture, or garnish with fresh herbs for an elegant presentation.

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