There seems to a huge difference between Macaroni and Cheese recipes floating around. Recently I had dinner on the Gold Coast that reminded me of the many Mac & Cheese dishes that I’ve eaten over the years.
The Perfect Macaroni and Cheese Recipe
- Needs to have a crusty grilled melted cheese layer on top.
- The recipe needs to include a tasty cheese with good melting ability, a stringy cheese and a matured cheese for extra flavour.
- The sauce needs to be creamy enough to coat the pasta and get inside the tubes of macaroni.
- The sauce should not be too thin that the dish won’t hold it’s shaped.
- The sauce should not be too thick that it tastes gluey with the pasta.
Ingredients for the Best Macaroni and Cheese
- 340 g / 3/4-pound uncooked macaroni pasta
- 70 g / 5 Tbs butter
- 60 g /6 Tbs plain flour
- 2 cups / 500ml full cream milk
- 2 cups / 500ml pouring cream
- 3 cups / 200gm grated tasty cheese
- 1 1/2 cup / 140gm grated mozzarella cheese
- 1 1/2 cup /140gm grated matured cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup / 45g grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon drymustard powder
- 1 Tbs tomato paste
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne or red pepper powder
- salt and (black) pepper to taste
Macaroni and Cheese Recipe Topping Ingredients
- 1 cups / 90gm grated tasty cheese
- 2 Tbs grated parmesan cheese
- sprinkle smoky paprika
Mac and Cheese Recipe - Macaroni with 4 Cheeses DELICIOUS!
Very Cheesy, an easy and delicious recipe our Mac and Cheese Recipe is an all-time family favourite
Print Pin RatePrep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 1278kcal
Ingredients
- 340 g elbow pasta
- 70 g butter
- 60 g plain flour
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups pouring cream
- 3 cups grated tasty cheese
- 1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese grated
- 1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese grated
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 Tbs tomato paste
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
- pinch salt to taste
Topping
- 1 cups tasty cheese
- 2 Tbs parmesan cheese
- pinch smoky paprika
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 350ºF or 180ºC.
- Cook the pasta as per the manufactures directions.
- Drain and place the cooked pasta and reserve for later.
Cheese Sauce
- Add the butter to a saucepan and melt gently.
- Stir through the flour to make a roux. The flour needs to be cooked but not browned, approx 2 mins stirring constantly.
- Reduce the heat and slowly add 1/2 cup of milk to the roux.
- Whisk the milk though the mixture vigorously until there are no lumps.
- Quickly add another 1/2 cup of milk and whisk again.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk through the remaining milk, cream, mustard tomato paste and cayenne pepper.
- Once combined add the saucepan to a medium heat.
- Stir the saucepan constantly until the sauce has thickened.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and add all the cheeses. Stir the sauce for a minute or two then return the saucepan to a low heat.
- Season the cheese sauce with salt and pepper as desired.
- Stir the sauce through the pasta.
- Pour the macaroni and cheese into a baking tray or individual serving dishes.
- Sprinkle the topping ingredients evenly over the macaroni cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the top is golden.
Nutrition
Serving: 340g | Calories: 1278kcal | Carbohydrates: 87g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 83g | Saturated Fat: 51g | Cholesterol: 270mg | Sodium: 1021mg | Potassium: 608mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 55.7% | Vitamin C: 1.9% | Calcium: 93.8% | Iron: 13.9%
What has been your experience with the humble Mac and Cheese? Do you add anything special to your Macaroni and Cheese recipe?
4.5
4.5