Creamy Baked Macaroni and Cheese

By Eric Kim

Updated Dec. 16, 2024

Creamy Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Total Time
1 hour
Rating
4(5,686)
Comments
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This macaroni and cheese recipe, inspired by Stouffer’s, delivers the best of all worlds: creamy, saucy comfort, with a consistency that’s slightly more set than a stovetop version, thanks to a final bake in the oven. It stays voluptuous and molten as a result of a higher ratio of sauce to noodles, which are cooked completely so they don’t soak up as much liquid. The Velveeta is necessary here, as it has sodium citrate, which prevents the sauce from separating in the oven. Elbow macaroni works fine, but cavatappi is an especially fun shape to eat with its telephone-cord bounciness.

Featured in: The Platonic Ideal of Macaroni and Cheese

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings
  • Salt
  • 1pound cavatappi or elbow macaroni
  • ½cup unsalted butter
  • ½cup all-purpose flour
  • 6cups whole milk
  • 1pound sharp or extra-sharp yellow Cheddar, coarsely grated (5¼ cups)
  • 8ounces Velveeta, torn into pieces
  • 4ounces Pecorino Romano, coarsely grated (1 cup)
  • ½teaspoon dry mustard powder
  • ¼teaspoon onion powder
  • Pinch of ground cayenne
  • Freshly ground black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

946 calories; 57 grams fat; 34 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 14 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 64 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 14 grams sugars; 43 grams protein; 1278 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees.

  2. Step 2

    Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season generously with salt. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until just past al dente. Drain and set aside.

  3. Step 3

    Return the empty pot to the stove (no need to clean it) and set over medium heat. Melt the butter and simmer, whisking occasionally, until the butter stops spurting and quiets down, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the flour and cook, whisking, until smooth like gravy, about 1 minute.

  4. Step 4

    Whisk in the milk. Raise the heat to high and bring to a simmer, whisking constantly, then immediately reduce the heat to low and continue simmering until the sauce lightly coats the back of a spoon, 2 to 5 minutes. At this stage, the sauce should be smooth but relatively loose. Take the pot off the heat.

  5. Step 5

    To the pot, add the Cheddar, Velveeta, Pecorino Romano, mustard powder, onion powder and cayenne, and season generously with salt and black pepper. Whisk until the cheese is melted and smooth like nacho cheese. Add the drained pasta, breaking up any clumps, and stir until evenly coated in the cheese sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

  6. Step 6

    Transfer to a 9-by-13-inch baking pan or dish and bake until bubbling at the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

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FAQS

  1. You can hold the finished dish at room temperature, covered, for up to 1 hour; it will firm up as it sits and may need to be reheated. Mac and cheese also can be prepared through the step before baking, then covered and refrigerated in the baking dish for up to 3 days before it goes in the oven. It will take longer to heat through if baking directly from the refrigerator.

Ratings

4 out of 5
5,686 user ratings
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Comments

Ryan

I'd encourage the posters who want more "interesting" cheese, or an 18th-century French version of the dish, to actually read the story accompanying the recipe--there's a place for all of that but that's not what this recipe is intended to provide.

Janet H.

I wanted to make this recipe, as I have always loved Stouffer's version. After looking through the entire list of notes for helpful hints, it appears that only one person actually made the recipe before commenting (thank you, Steve). I made the recipe as written, and although the proportions of butter to flour in the roux seemed like it would be thin, it worked perfectly. It is a perfectly-balanced macaroni and cheese. I broiled the finished top for a minute to get extra color.

Lisa

Great recipe. Re Velveeta -- my mom was the sort of mother who, in the 60's, insisted we eat Pepperidge Farm instead of Wonder Bread, and made all her cakes from scratch. She didn't allow much processed food in the house. But for my favorite birthday treat of "frankfurter noodle casserole" (mac 'n cheese with Hebrew National hot dogs mixed in), she reluctantly used Velveeta in the sauce. Nothing else would do.

cocktail hour

I happily use velveeta for my TexMex queso. But here, I tried extra sharp white cheddar, sharp orange cheddar, some medium cheddar for the smoothness, and pecorino. Dry mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika (1/2 tsp). Roux with 1/4 c flour and butter, 4 c milk (1:3 ratio cream and 2%). It turned out great, if different from what the author intended. I appreciate the technique and being able to be flexible and use what’s on hand. It’s so much faster than many Mac and cheese recipes. Highly recommend.

Beth DZ

To freeze after it's baked undercook your pasta by two to three minutes before freezing. Since noodles absorb liquid as they sit, slightly firmer pasta will help prevent your mac and cheese from turning mushy after reheating. While the texture of the cheese sauce may shift just a bit, the flavor will remain rich and creamy once it’s warmed up again.

Erin

I bloomed the spices in the roux but otherwise followed the directions. This recipe is delicious. Be sure to shred cheese by hand for a truly creamy dish; pre-shredded cheese is coated to keep the shreds separate. Enjoyed this Martha Rose Shulman’s black-eyed peas with greens from NYT along with spoonbread and a sweet potato pie for New Years. Amazing.

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