Oven Baked Mac and Cheese
A 3-cheese béchamel over undercooked elbows, topped with buttered panko, baked 25 minutes for a bubbling casserole with a shatter-crisp crust.
oven Timer
Set for 25 mins @ 375°F (191°C)
Ingredients
Base recipe calibrated for 8 adults.
Get to the Point
Boil 1 lb elbows 5 min (2 short of al dente); drain, hold aside.
Cook 4 tbsp butter + 4 tbsp flour 90 sec; whisk in 3 cups warmed whole milk.
Off-heat, stir in 16 oz total shredded cheese blend + 1/2 tsp mustard powder.
Fold pasta into sauce, top with buttered panko, bake 25 min until deep golden.
Step-by-Step Guided Instructions
Bring 4 qts of water with 2 tbsp kosher salt to a boil. Cook 1 lb elbow macaroni for 5 minutes only — 2 minutes short of package al dente. Drain and toss with 1 tsp olive oil.
The pasta finishes cooking in the béchamel as it bakes. Fully-cooked elbows give you sludgy mac; undercooked ones keep their bite.
In a small saucepan, warm 3 cups whole milk over medium-low until steaming but not boiling (about 4 minutes). This prevents the béchamel from seizing when milk hits the hot roux.
Cold milk into hot roux causes lumps that no amount of whisking will smooth out. 4 minutes of warming saves the whole sauce.
In a 4-qt saucepan, melt 4 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add 4 tbsp all-purpose flour and whisk constantly for 90 seconds until the mixture smells like popcorn and turns pale gold. Do not brown.
Roux for mac and cheese should stay blonde — a brown roux tastes toasted, which fights the cheese. Watch the color, not the clock.
In a slow steady stream, whisk the warmed milk into the roux. Bring to a gentle bubble, whisking constantly, for 3-4 minutes until the béchamel coats the back of a wooden spoon.
Pour a splash of milk in first, whisk fully smooth, then pour the rest. Front-loaded smoothness prevents streaks and lumps in the finished sauce.
Kill the heat. Stir in 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar, 4 oz shredded gruyere, 4 oz shredded white cheddar, 1/2 tsp mustard powder, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper until fully melted and glossy.
Off-heat is the whole trick. Cheese added over a burner breaks into a greasy pool. Residual heat is enough to fully melt everything smoothly.
Fold the drained elbows into the cheese sauce and transfer to a buttered 9x13 baking dish. In a small bowl, mix 1 cup panko with 2 tbsp melted butter and 2 tbsp grated parmesan; sprinkle over the top. Bake at 375°F for 25 minutes until deeply golden and bubbling at the edges.
Rest 10 minutes before serving. Straight-from-oven mac and cheese is soup; a rested one holds its shape on the plate.
Pre-shredded bagged cheese is coated in cellulose to prevent clumping — the same coating stops it from melting smoothly. A block of cheese and 3 minutes with a box grater is the difference between velvety and grainy sauce.
Skip the mustard powder and gruyere for young palates. A cheddar-only version tastes closer to boxed mac while still using real cheese and real béchamel.
- Roasted broccoli or steamed broccolini
- Simple green salad with vinaigrette
- Barbecue pulled pork sandwiches
Warm portions in a covered dish with 2 tbsp whole milk stirred through, at 325°F for 20 minutes. Milk revives the béchamel — reheating dry gives you a solid brick.