I love me some Chick-fil-A. A grilled chicken sandwich with extra pickles and mayo with a side of Chick-fil-A Mac and Cheese—perfectly replicated in my recipe here—and I’m one happy girl. That’s why I worked hard to get this just right. Try it.
Why do restaurant mac and cheese recipes taste better than the macaroni and cheese you make at home?
Because they start with a béchamel sauce. Now, don’t get it twisted. Sauces only take time if you’re making a brown or dark roux. White sauces are actually super quick. No sooner is your butter a-sizzling in the pan than you’re stirring in your white flour and simply moving it about the pan to get it to the right consistency. Now, you want to turn your heat down super low because the trick is to cook the flour taste out but not let it brown at all—then add milk and cook out that flour taste a bit more. Plus, you need to get the milk warm enough to begin melting that cheese.
Once you add the cheese, though, you’re home free. Cheese is easier to gauge in terms of doneness. Once it’s melted, you’re ready to add your cooked macaroni. Voilà—you have perfect mac and cheese.
The Secret to Delicious Mac and Cheese
The real secret, besides perfectly cooking your sauce, is to cook your pasta to a perfect al dente before adding it to the sauce.
Why is this important? Because a smart chef uses the secret of the power of carryover cooking to bring all their creations to a perfect point. If you get that macaroni just before it goes soft, it will have the perfect texture once it is in that warm cheese sauce. It will reach a state of heavenly, gooey perfection!
I’ve found that with basic pasta, such as Barilla macaroni, once you bring some salted water to a rolling boil, it takes just about 7 minutes to reach the al dente point.
How to Make Ahead and Store
If you want to make this in advance, you can actually store gallon bags of macaroni and cheese, separately or together, for 3 days in the fridge or combine and freeze for up to 3 months.
Serving Suggestions
Enjoy this delicious mac and cheese with Easy Potato Wedges and some yummy Chicken Wraps that you can modify to taste like Chick-fil-A’s. For dessert, make a Delicious Vanilla Milkshake!
For more mac and cheese options, try Vegan Mac and Cheese, Jalapeño Mac and Cheese or this Baked Broccoli Mac and Cheese.
Chick-fil-A Mac and Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 ounces elbow pasta
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups shredded yellow cheddar cheese divided
- 1 1/2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese divided
- 8 slices processed American cheese cut into smaller chunks
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
Instructions
- Start by preheating your oven to 350℉ and greasing a 9×13 inch baking dish.
- Boil a large pot of salted water and cook the elbow pasta to al dente, then drain.
- Melt butter in a pot, whisk in flour, and cook for a few minutes.
- Gradually add milk, salt, and pepper, stirring until thickened.
- Mix in half the cheddar cheeses and all of the other cheeses until melted and smooth.
- Combine the cheese sauce with the cooked pasta and transfer to the baking dish.
- Top with the remaining cheddar cheeses and bake until bubbly.
That Chick-fil-A-inspired meal sounds absolutely delicious! 🍔🍟 Grilled chicken with extra pickles and mayo is such a winning combo, and homemade mac and cheese on the side? Perfect! 😋 Can’t wait to try your recipe—looks like you’ve really perfected it! 👏
So glad to hear you loved this recipe! Thanks for reading.