Mac and Cheese

Mac and cheese is a creamy, cheesy pasta dish where short noodles get coated in a smooth, rich sauce. The key is building a real cheese sauce from butter, flour, and milk, then tossing it with pasta cooked just shy of tender so it finishes cooking in the sauce without turning soft.

Ingredients for Mac and Cheese

Elbow macaroni is the traditional shape and holds sauce well in its curves. Butter and all-purpose flour form the base that thickens the milk into sauce. Whole milk brings body and richness to the sauce. Sharp cheddar cheese, grated fresh from a block, melts smoothly and gives the sharp flavor this dish needs, while gruyere adds depth and helps the sauce stay creamy. Salt, black pepper, and dry mustard powder season the sauce. Panko breadcrumbs mixed with melted butter make a golden, crunchy topping.

Why This Mac and Cheese Works

The butter and flour cook together into a paste called a roux, which thickens milk without lumps when you whisk them slowly. This gives you a sauce with body that clings to the pasta instead of sliding off or pooling on the plate.

Cooking the pasta one minute short of the package time means it is still slightly firm when it goes into the hot sauce. The residual heat and the starchy cooking water you add finish cooking it to tender, and the starch helps the sauce coat every noodle evenly. If you cook the pasta all the way, it turns mushy in the sauce.

Grating cheese from a block instead of using pre-shredded keeps the sauce smooth. Pre-shredded cheese has starch on it to keep the pieces from clumping, and that starch makes the finished sauce grainy and broken-looking.

Mistakes To Avoid

Adding cheese to a sauce that is too hot makes it separate into greasy puddles. Let the sauce cool to warm, around body temperature, before stirring in the cheese. Stir constantly as you add it so it melts evenly.

Cooking the pasta all the way through in boiling water leaves no room for it to finish cooking in the sauce, and it ends up soft and mushy. Stop one minute before the package says it is done and drain it right away.

Using pre-shredded cheese makes the sauce grainy and dull, not smooth and creamy. The starch coating the shreds does not dissolve into the milk, it stays visible and changes the texture.

Skipping the breadcrumb topping or adding it too early means you lose the crispy contrast that makes this dish work. Toast the crumbs in butter and sprinkle them on just before the mac and cheese goes in the oven, or right before serving if you are not baking it.

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Ingredients

• 1 pound elbow macaroni
• Kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 4 ounces gruyere cheese, grated
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard powder
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Step-by-step Instructions

1. Fill a large pot with water, add 2 tablespoons salt, and bring to a rolling boil over high heat, about 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Add the elbow macaroni and stir once. Cook uncovered for one minute less than the package says, about 7 to 8 minutes total, until the pasta is just starting to soften but still has a slight bite. Drain in a colander and reserve 1 cup of the cooking water.
3. In a medium saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat, about 1 minute, until foaming.
4. Add the flour and stir constantly with a whisk for 1 minute until the mixture turns pale golden and smells toasted.
5. Slowly pour in the milk while whisking constantly so no lumps form. Keep whisking for 3 to 4 minutes until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
6. Remove from heat and let cool for 2 to 3 minutes until warm to the touch, not hot. Stir in the cheddar and gruyere, stirring constantly until the cheese melts and the sauce is smooth. Add the black pepper and mustard powder and taste for salt.
7. Pour the drained pasta into a 9×13 baking pan. Add the cheese sauce and stir gently with a wooden spoon, adding 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking water a little at a time until the sauce coats every noodle without pooling on the bottom.
8. Toss the panko with the melted butter and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl, then sprinkle evenly over the top.
9. Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 12 to 15 minutes until the breadcrumb topping is golden brown and you can see the sauce bubbling slightly around the edges.
10. Let rest for 2 minutes, then serve hot.