Chef’s Choice Creamy Macaroni and Cheese
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Creamy Macaroni and Cheese
One of the most sought out dishes requested by both adults and children during the holidays is this creamy macaroni and cheese.
This recipe reminds me so much of my grandmother. She used to make a creamy macaroni and cheese for all our family holiday gatherings like Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
This recipe calls for 8 ounces of dry noodles. It fits well in a deep casserole dish. If you are serving a large group of people I recommend doubling the ingredients and using a large aluminum deep dish pan. The kind you can dispose of after the creamy macaroni and cheese is all gone. Makes for easy clean up too.
A little bit about the sauce before we get going. The proper name is béchamel sauce. It is one of the most popular sauces of French and Italian cuisine. It is well known in most luxurious, high-end restaurants while others may know it as a simple “white sauce”.
There are three different consistencies of béchamel sauces:
- Thin béchamel is often used as a base for creamy soups.
- Medium-thick béchamel is what this recipe calls for.
- Thick béchamel is what’s used in souffle.
Béchamel sauce is very versatile and the flavor can easily be changed by using different cheeses. Use when making creamy soups, mac-n-cheese, and lasagna. It too makes a addition to cooked vegetables.
Let’s get this Mac thing going!
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1/3 cup flour
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 8 ounce or 2 1/2 cup dry large elbow pasta noodles
- 16 ounce Velveeta cheese original
- 1/2 cup to 1 cup milk for reserve if needed
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare a large pan of water and bring to boil. Add noodles and stir occasionally. The noodles should boil 5 to 7 minutes or until they start turning white. In other words, just before they start getting soft. They should not be hard and they should not be soft. (I hope that makes sense)
- While the noodles are cooking melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Gradually whisk in flour to melted butter to make a roux. Whisk until completely smooth. Let the mixture bubble for a few minutes while stirring. This is your roux.
- Gradually add milk a little at a time whisking to avoid clumps or scorching of the milk. Add salt.
- Slowly start adding about one third of the cheese block sliced in small pieces to the mixture stirring constantly.
- Simmer for a few minutes until the mixture begins to thicken to a medium consistency.
- Remove noodles from heat and strain off water in sink.
- Turn noodles into casserole dish or baking pan.
- Pour béchamel sauce over noodles.
- Slice remaining cheese and place in with noodles pushing cheese down into the mixture. If the mixture looks too thick gradually add a little bit of milk and stir. I like to put a thin layer of cheese on top.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove cover and bake for 15 more minutes.
ENJOY!
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Creamy Macaroni and Cheese
One of the most sought out dishes requested by both adults and children during the holidays is this creamy mac and cheese.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cups butter
- 1/3 cups flour
- 3 cups whole milk
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 8 ounces or 2 1/2 cup dry large elbow pasta noodles
- 16 ounces Velveeta cheese (original)
- 1/2 cup to 1 cup milk for reserve (if needed)
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
-
Prepare a large pan of water and bring to boil. Add noodles and stir occasionally. The noodles should boil 5 to 7 minutes or until they start turning white. In other words, just before they start getting soft. They should not be hard and they should not be soft. (I hope that makes sense)
-
While the noodles are cooking, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Gradually whisk in flour to melted butter to make a roux. Whisk until completely smooth. Let the mixture bubble for a few minutes while stirring. This is your roux.
-
Gradually add milk a little at a time whisking to avoid clumps or scorching of the milk. Add salt.
-
Slowly start adding about one third of the cheese block sliced in small pieces to the mixture stirring constantly.
-
Simmer for a few minutes until the mixture begins to thicken to a medium consistency.
-
Remove noodles from heat and strain off water in sink.
-
Turn noodles into casserole dish or baking pan.
-
Pour béchamel sauce over noodles.
-
Slice remaining cheese and place in with noodles pushing cheese down into the mixture. If the mixture looks too thick gradually add a little bit of milk and stir. I like to put a thin layer of cheese on top.
-
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
-
Remove cover and bake for 15 more minutes.
-
ENJOY!
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