• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
Sugar Spun Run
  • All Recipes
  • Desserts
    • Cookies
    • Candy
    • Bars & Brownies
    • Cake
    • Pies
  • Breads
  • Savory
  • Breakfast
    • Muffins
    • Scones
  • Seasonal
    • Cozy Winter / Holiday Treats
    • Easter / Spring
    • Fall Recipes
    • Summer Recipes
  • Shop
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About Me
  • All Recipes
  • Contact/Work with Me
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
  • ×
    You are here: Home / Savory / Baked Mac and Cheese

    Baked Mac and Cheese

    April 19, 2019 Updated March 16, 2021 BySam 301 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe
    Baked Mac & Cheese

    A classic and easy Baked Mac and Cheese Recipe!  This recipe is dangerously easy to make and is topped off with a buttery, crisp toasted panko topping!  If you have a cast iron or oven-safe pan handy, you can even bake it in the same pan that you use to make the sauce!

    Baked Mac and Cheese in a white bowl

    Baked Mac and Cheese

    Today I’m sharing one of my favorite comfort foods — baked mac and cheese!

    I hope you don’t mind all the savory recipes I’ve been sharing recently. With Easter right around the corner I’ve been refreshing some of my favorite side dishes like my broccoli salad, deviled eggs, and now this baked mac and cheese. Don’t worry, after today my calendar is full of sugar 😉

    Until then, let’s talk more about this classic comfort food. Homemade Mac & Cheese is a simple staple that everyone should have a go-to recipe for. This one is mine. It’s cheesy, creamy, and uncomplicated. Everything a good mac & cheese should be.

    A spoonful of panko-topped mac and cheese in the pan

    What Do I Need to Make Baked Mac & Cheese?

    Mac and cheese is simple to make and doesn’t require any fancy ingredients. Here’s what you need:

    • Macaroni Noodles — though let’s be real you can use 8 oz of pretty much any shape of pasta!
    • CHEESE — All caps for obvious reasons. Your cheese selection can make or break your baked mac and cheese. Shredding your own is preferred, more on that a bit further down the post.
    • Whole Milk
    • Butter
    • Flour — for making your roux. Don’t worry, it’s so easy! I hate to even mention that this baked mac and cheese starts with a roux because so many people are intimidated (I even have an easy mac and cheese that requires no flour and no roux because of this). All we’re doing is whisking together melted butter and flour, honestly.
    • Spices — salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion power, and ground mustard. A little goes a long way for flavor.

    Ingredients for making Baked Mac and Cheese

    How to Make Baked Mac and Cheese

    Alright, that roux I mentioned? It’s simple, just look at steps 1-5 below. Start by melting your butter and then add flour. Use a whisk to stir in the flour until the mixture is smooth and no lumps remain.

    When you add your milk the mixture may separate a bit. This is fine, everything will come back together once the milk warms up a bit. Add your spices and bring everything to a bubble and cook (stirring continuously so nothing burns) until the mixture is thickened.

    It’s very important that your mixture thickens before you continue. The mixture should be creamy and should coat the back of a spoon (see step 5 below). If it’s not thickened, your baked mac and cheese will be too liquidy and runny. We want creamy decadence, not a runny mess.

    Finally add your cheese and stir until melted (steps 6-7 below). Then in go your prepared macaroni noodles. Finally top everything off with some toasted panko and bake!

    How to make Baked Mac & Cheese

    Speaking of That Toasted Panko Topping…

    My baked macaroni and cheese is incredibly cheesy and creamy, but what really sets it over the top is the buttery panko topping.  I love the crisp, crunchy texture of panko (and 100% prefer it to using breadcrumbs).  Panko gives the smooth and creamy mac and cheese that extra something that makes it irresistible.

    Before adding it to the top of your (not yet) baked mac and cheese, you’ll add it to a small pan along with some butter and olive oil and then stir it frequently until it becomes lightly golden/toasted.

    It’s such an easy extra step and it adds everything to this baked mac and cheese!

    Toasting panko in small saucepan for baked mac and cheese

    What cheese should I use for my baked mac and cheese:

    I use a mix of sharp cheddar and white cheddar as well as mozzarella for this recipe, but you can substitute your favorite cheese for the cheddar (I recommend leaving the mozzarella alone, it helps make things creamy and amazing, but you do you).  Colby, Monterey Jack, and Gruyere are all great options!

    Another word of caution, most cheeses that you buy pre-shredded are tossed with cellulose powder before they are packaged. This keeps the shreds from clinging to each other so that you don’t have a big glob of sticky cheese. Unfortunately, this cellulose powder can keep things from melting properly when you go to use that cheese in this recipe. If you opt to use pre-shredded, you run the risk of things not melting properly and your mac and cheese not turning out.

    Honestly, more than once I’ve made this using pre-shredded cheese with great results, it’s just risky and results can’t be guaranteed. I’m currently having a moment with Tillamook brand cheese, which is the best pre-shredded cheese I’ve ever tasted and is not tossed with cellulose. It’s pricier but worth it (and no, they’re not paying me to say this!). Even Zach loves it and he’s usually the first to try and talk me back over to generic.

    Do you cover baked mac and cheese in the oven?  

    For this recipe there is no need to!

    White bowl filled with homemade mac and cheese

    I made a brief video (see it on my YouTube channel or below the recipe) so you can see exactly how I made this baked mac and cheese.  Enjoy!

    Other Recipes You Might Like:

    • Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese
    • Stuffed Shells
    • Best Chili Recipe
    • Baked Ziti
    • Macaroni Salad
    Baked macaroni and cheese in bowl

    Baked Mac and Cheese

    A simple recipe for old-fashioned homemade baked mac and cheese!  
    Be sure to check out the how-to VIDEO at the bottom of the recipe!
    4.99 from 105 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dinner, Side Dish
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Servings: 8 servings
    Calories: 474kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt

    Ingredients

    • 8 oz dry macaroni noodles (230g)
    • 4 Tablespoons butter (55g)
    • ¼ cup all-purpose flour (31g)
    • 3 cups whole milk (710ml)
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon ground pepper
    • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
    • ½ teaspoon onion powder
    • ½ teaspoon ground mustard
    • 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese¹ (226g)
    • 1 ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese (170g)

    Panko Topping

    • 2 Tablespoons butter
    • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 cup seasoned panko crumbs (60g)
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350F (175C)
    • Begin cooking your pasta according to package instructions. Do not over-cook, in fact, for best results cook one minute less than indicated time.  Once finished, drain, drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil and toss to coat so the noodles don't stick together while sitting.
    • Meanwhile, melt butter in a 10" cast iron pan² over medium heat. Once it has melted, add flour and whisk until smooth and no lumps remain..
    • Add milk and spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and ground mustard), stir well and bring to a boil. You may notice that the milk and butter will separate -- continue to heat, stirring frequently, until the milk is heated and they combine
    • Once mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat, bring to a simmer, and stir frequently until mixture is thickened.
    • Reduce heat to low and add cheddar and mozzarella cheese.  Stir until cheeses are melted and mixture is smooth.
    • Add cooked, drained pasta noodles and stir until well coated by the sauce.
    • Set aside while you prepare your Panko topping.

    Panko Topping

    • Combine butter and olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat, stirring occasionally, until melted.
    • Add panko and stir well until the butter and oil has been mostly absorbed. Continue to stir until panko is lightly toasted and turns a light-medium brown color
    • Sprinkle toasted panko evenly over mac and cheese.
    • Transfer to oven and bake uncovered on 350F (175C) for 15 minutes.
    • Garnish with parsley, if desired, and serve.

    Notes

    ¹You may substitute another type of shredded cheese for all or part of this -- Colby, Monterey Jack, and Gruyere, would all work well.  I personally use half sharp cheddar and half white cheddar for mine! I also recommend buying your own block of cheese and grating it yourself to ensure that the cheese melts properly, please see my post for more information on pre-shredded vs block cheese.
    ²If you don't have a 10" cast iron pot, then prepare your macaroni and cheese according to these instructions and then transfer to a lightly buttered 9x9 square pan or 1.5qt baking dish before topping with panko and baking.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 474kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 624mg | Potassium: 255mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 836IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 438mg | Iron: 1mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

    This Baked Mac & Cheese Recipe was originally published 01/12/2018. Post has been updated to include additional tips and improve user experience 04/19/2019.

    « Coconut Cream Pie
    Rocky Road Brownies »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Terri White

      April 06, 2023 at 4:26 pm

      5 stars
      I made this ahead for our family’s Easter lunch tomorrow. It looks and smells fantastic! I always follow Sam’s recipes to the letter. I mean, she’s done all that work for me, so I take advantage of her cooking prowess.

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        April 06, 2023 at 5:09 pm

        We hope the mac and cheese is a huge hit at your lunch, Terri! Enjoy 🥰

        Reply
    2. Michelle

      January 09, 2023 at 7:55 pm

      5 stars
      My family loves this recipe. It’s my go to!

      Reply
    « Older Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    The author (Sam) in blue shirt holding donut Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

    The Best of Summer

    close-up view of smores cookies topped with chocolate and marshmallows

    S’mores Cookies

    Overhead of two bowls of corn chowder

    Summer Corn Chowder

    burger made with fresh bun

    Burger Buns

    pink strawberry cake on white plate

    Strawberry Cake

    Strawberry sauce in jar with spoon on marble surface

    Simple Strawberry Sauce

    mason jar of iced sweet tea with a lemon round garnish

    Sweet Tea

    Most Popular

    flaky biscuit on white cloth

    Easy Homemade Biscuits

    Pizza dough in glass bowl, after rising

    The Best Pizza Dough Recipe

    one bite missing from a slice of vanilla cake with chocolate frosting

    The Best Vanilla Cake Recipe

    Slice of cheesecake

    The Best Cheesecake Recipe

    Potato soup in bowl, with toppings

    The Ultimate Creamy Potato Soup

    Stack of cookies made from this chocolate chip cookie recipe with melty chocolate chips and a bite missing from the top cookie

    The WORST Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

    places sugar spun run has been featured (Women's Day, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Country Living, the huffington post, People, Delish, MSN, TLC, Parade, Better Homes & Gardens, Buzzfeed)
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube

    Privacy Policy|Accessibility Statement

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    ABOUT

    • About Me
    • Policies, Disclosure & Privacy
    • Terms of Use

    CONTACT

    • Contact
    • Work with Me!

    © 2020 Sugar Spun Run. All Rights Reserved

    • 331