Baked Macaroni and Cheese
This Baked Macaroni and Cheese comes together quick and simple. Generous amounts of homemade cheese sauce are cooked over the noodles until it becomes a thick, bubbling, golden brown perfection. This rich recipe is ideal for a weekday dinner when it is served with a large side of vegetables.
Ingredients
- 1 pound + 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese divided
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese divided
- 1 stick butter
- 6 tbsp flour
- 5 cups whole milk
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder optional
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg optional
- pepper to taste
- 1 pound elbow macaroni cooked
- flat leaf parsley chopped, optional
Instructions
- Position oven rack to the middle. Heat oven.
- Melt butter in large pot. Add flour; whisk for 3 minutes until batter thickens.
- Add milk gradually, a bit at a time, whisking. The sauce will be thicker the more slowly you add the milk.
- Include to the sauce one pound of cheddar and half a cup of parmesan cheese. Reserve cheddar and parmesan for using as toppings.
- Combine nutmeg, salt, pepper, mustard powder, and garlic powder into the sauce.
- If needed, mix the cooked macaroni noodles and sauce before transferring, tossing, to a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. When the oven is brown and bubbling, sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
- If desired, top with flat-leafed parsley.