The next time you’re tempted to make boxed macaroni and cheese, make this instead. Nobody will be eating that powdered cheese when White Cheddar Mac and Cheese can be thrown together so easily.
If you love the taste of Panera’s mac and cheese, then hold the phone! You’re going to absolutely adore my White Cheddar Mac and Cheese. This dish is super-easy to prepare, combines the flavors you love in one simple dish, and is creamy, flavorful, comfort-food heaven, my dears.
White Cheddar Mac and Cheese is actually macaroni and cheese the way it was traditionally prepared (i.e., as an actual pasta dish with real cheese). It was introduced to America by immigrants who made the trek across the Atlantic. It became the comfort food we know it today during the Great Depression, when Kraft’s boxed mac ‘n’ cheese was a viable way to feed a family of four.
My hubby loves it when I slice up some Polska Kielbasa or apple-brie sausages in this mac and cheese and just let them warm up in that gooey sauce. He thought he was a solid cheddar-cheese mac and cheese lover until I completely converted him one day when he was too busy watching the Super Bowl to notice I’d plopped down a bowl of white mac and cheese in front of him.
I knew I’d won him over to my side when he paused the game and said, “What is this new kind of mac and cheese you bought here?”
I’m like, “Did he just say bought” (as if I have to buy my mac and cheese) “to me??”
Seriously, try my White Cheddar Mac and Cheese, and you’ll join the happy converted, too.
The Secret to Ooey Gooey Mac and Cheese
The secret to perfect mac and cheese is to not overcook the macaroni, the cheese, or the roux. You cannot have perfect mac and cheese without perfect macaroni and perfect cheese sauce. So do them both up proper.
To get that cheese sauce and roux just right, you don’t have to gauge degrees of doneness with your white flour if you don’t want to. You can simply get it to a stirred-sand consistency and then add your heavy cream and milk and, over oh-so-low heat — like the sous vide setting on your Instant Pot — let the flour taste cook off in the milk. Just let it cook longer during this step instead of the roux.
To get your macaroni perfect, you want them just shy of limp when you add them to that hot cheese mixture because that hot cheese mixture is going to seduce them into the limp lax stage you want them to be for this simply intoxicating concoction.
How do I prep and store this mac ‘n’ cheese?
This mac ‘n’ cheese can be stored three days in the fridge or frozen for up to three months. So make extra and freeze them in batches. Pull them out for dinners or as a pick-me-up on a rainy day when you’re blue, and voila! A scrumptious side dish or meal.
Serving Suggestions
There’s nothing better with this White Cheddar Mac and Cheese than barbecued dishes. That barbecue sauce against that white cheese is simply sublime. So try serving this with my Slow Cooker Sweet Korean BBQ or my Slow Cooker Beer BBQ Chicken with some Grilled Corn.
Now that’s some good cooking!
White Cheddar Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 4 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese cubed
- 8 ounces white American cheese preferably Boar’s Head brand from deli, sliced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon dried mustard
- 1 pound pasta such as orecchiette or elbow macaroni
Instructions
- Start boiling water: In a large pot, bring water to a rolling boil over high heat. Add a pinch of salt to enhance the pasta’s flavor.
- Cook pasta: Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook as per the package’s instructions until al dente. Drain well.
- Make roux for sauce: In a separate pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour to form a smooth paste, cooking for about 1 minute to remove the raw flour taste.
- Create cheese sauce: Gradually whisk in the milk and heavy cream to the roux, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Simmer for 8-10 minutes until the mixture thickens slightly.
- Add cheeses: Slowly incorporate the cubed white cheddar and sliced American cheese into the sauce, stirring after each addition until fully melted and smooth.
- Season sauce: Stir in the salt, pepper, and dried mustard. Adjust seasoning to taste.
- Combine pasta and sauce: Add the drained pasta to the cheese sauce, stirring gently to coat the pasta evenly.
- Serve: Dish out the macaroni and cheese while it’s warm and enjoy the creamy goodness!
Perfect Mac n cheese recipe- I followed to a T!
Yay! Glad it came out perfectly.