Macaroni and Cheese

There are many ways to make a delicious meal of macaroni and cheese from the blue box of my childhood to Instant Pot methods and this classical route of making a roux to thicken a Béchamel Sauce that is transformed into a cheese sauce by adding cheese before enrobing the cooked pasta in it.

This recipe is highly adaptable. Want more cheesy sauce? You can easily make a double batch of the Béchamel Sauce and double the amount of cheese. Any excess cheese sauce can be held in the refrigerator to be reheated and spooned over cooked vegetables, eggs, or a baked potato. Want to broil your macaroni in the oven? Go ahead and add any sort of crunchy topping you like from bread crumbs to potato chips to a layer of Parmesan that will toast in the oven.

I have used many combinations of cheeses for this dish. I survey the deli drawer and select cheese that melt smoothly and have a mild to medium flavor as I know that is what the family members gathered at my dinner table prefer. You can choose whatever sort of cheeses that your diners enjoy. If you like the cheese melted on a sandwich, pizza, or other recipe, you’ll most likely enjoy them in this one.

Don’t have macaroni in the pantry? You don’t need to. While macaroni is the standard, you can use any shape of pasta you have on hand. I find that shorter, tubular shapes are the easiest to fully coat in the cheese sauce, but any sort of pasta can be delicious.

Author: Jennifer from 1840 Farm

Ingredients

1 recipe Béchamel Sauce (recipe below)
12-16 ounces dry pasta
2 cups shredded or grated cheese (see note above about selecting cheeses)

Instructions

Place a large pot of water over high heat. Bring to a boil before adding around 2 tablespoons of salt and holding at a boil until you are ready to cook the pasta.
In another large pot or saucepan, make the Béchamel Sauce. I like to select a pot that is large enough to transfer the cooked pasta into and serve from. If you intend to move your macaroni and cheese to the oven for finishing, that isn't necessary as you can prepare a baking dish for that purpose.
While I would usually season the sauce with salt and pepper, I don't in this recipe as the cheese will add plenty of salt to the finished sauce. I prefer to taste the pasta and season as needed right before serving. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and keep the sauce just warm enough to prevent it from setting up.
Add the dried pasta to the boiling salted water and cook until al dente or slightly underdone as it will continue to soften as it is stirred into the warm cheese sauce. I normally check it 1 – 2 minutes short of the package instructions.
As the pasta cooks, make the cheese sauce by adding the shredded or grated cheese to your warm Béchamel Sauce. Increase the heat slightly, if needed, to aid the warming and melting of the cheeses. Stir until smooth. Taste your cheese sauce and season or adjust as needed to your liking.
Take care not to increase the heat too much as high heat can cause the cheese to curdle and lend a grainy texture to your sauce. If that happens, remove your cheese sauce from the heat and allow it to cool slightly for a few minutes. Add a splash or two of heavy cream, stir rather vigorously, and return the pot to low heat. The cream should reduce the heat of the sauce slightly and help the cheese sauce stabilize and return to a velvety smooth texture.
When the pasta is at the done but still just a bit toothsome stage, transfer the cooked pasta to the cheese sauce. I like to move the pasta between the boiling pot and the saucepot to preserve the starchy cooking water in case I want to use a bit to loosen the cheese sauce. If you prefer to drain the pasta in a colander, simply reserve a bit of the starchy cooking water beforehand, moving it to a measuring cup or small bowl in case you need it.
Gently stir the pasta into your cheese sauce, turning to coat your pasta fully. If you find that your sauce is too thick or that there doesn’t seem to be enough, you can add a bit of that starchy pasta water or a splash of milk or heavy cream.
Once the pasta is coated to your liking, taste the macaroni and cheese and adjust as needed and desired by seasoning or adding more cheese.
I like to serve my macaroni and cheese straight from the pot, but you can transfer yours into an oven safe baking vessel prepped with a little butter or oil, top with your favorite baked pasta topping, and place it in the oven to broil the top or keep warm until you are ready to serve.

Notes

Be sure to save any leftovers. They are easy to warm up the next day in a saucepan or the microwave with just a bit of milk or heavy cream.