Creamy Homemade Baked Mac and Cheese

This Baked Mac and Cheese recipe is easy to make (from scratch!) and turns out so flavorful and creamy.

We LOVE Macaroni and Cheese around here! I have already shared my butternut squash mac and cheese. And my one pot mac and cheese. And my crock pot mac and cheese, too. Ahem.

But here I’m sharing my way of making a pure, simple and classic creamy baked Mac and Cheese! It’s made completely from scratch (no Velveeta to be found here) and turns out super creamy and delicious.

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.

Ingredient notes

• Broth: Chicken or vegetable broth works best in this recipe. I would not recommend beef broth, as it has quite a strong taste that’s out of place in this particular dish.
• Cheeses: Feel free to use any blend of cheese your family enjoys. I generally try to use 1 cup of a melty cheese (mozzarella or a pizza blend work well) and 1 cup of a flavorful cheese (a sharp cheddar or monterey jack are both great).
• Milk: Whole milk yields the creamiest dish. I do not recommend going below 2% milk, unless you absolutely have to.
• Cream cheese: A previous version of my recipe used Greek yogurt instead of cream cheese. Feel free to use the yogurt as a lighter swap, but these days we prefer our mac and cheese with cream cheese.
• Breadcrumbs: Panko works absolutely best here, but regular old breadcrumbs are fine. Crushed Ritz crackers are the most decadent, but also the tastiest 😉

How to make Mac and Cheese

1 Prep:

Before you start making the cheese sauce, cook the macaroni according to package directions (check this post for pasta cooking tips), drain and then rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process.

You’ll also want to grease a 9×13 inch baking pan and pre-heat the oven to 350°F.

2 Make a roux:

A roux is what you call it when you first cook flour in fat and then add liquid. This is how you make béchamel, for example. The flour thickens the sauce.

Once you have melted the butter, whisk in the flour (use a silicone covered whisk like this one* from Amazon for easy clean up). It works best using a whisk, so try not to use another tool. It will become foamy, keep whisking until it is smooth and no longer foamy (about one minute).

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3 Make the sauce:

Then you’ll want to carefully but swiftly add about one cup of the recipe’s liquid (the pan is hot, so watch out!). It’s important to pour quite fast, as the flour will seize up and thicken the liquid immediately. Pull the pan off the heat if it happens too quickly.

Now you need to whisk very well and very fast to make a smooth and thick sauce. Then pour in the remaining milk and broth and whisk very well. No lumps allowed! Now you’ll need to simmer for about 5-6 minutes, whisking from time to time, until thickened.

4 Finish the sauce and add macaroni

Once the sauce has thickened, take it off the heat and stir in the remaining ingredients until the cheeses have melted and the sauce is smooth.

Then add the macaroni and toss them until they’re evenly coated.

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5. Finish and bake

Pour the macaroni and sauce back into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with your preferred mac and cheese topping, then bake until bubbly.

I like to finish this under the broiler for a browned and crisp topping, just make sure to watch it closely so it doesn’t burn!

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Recipe tips

Don’t overcook the macaroni

This is very important! Cook it a bit less than you would if you served it right away.

And it’s important to drain it and then immediately rinse it under cold water, because otherwise the cooking process will continue as it cools.

It’s important to do this because you will then bake the macaroni in the cheese sauce. Not only will they cook a bit more in the oven (and turn to mush if they’re already very soft), but when they’re hot when you mix in the sauce they will soak up too much of the cheese sauce and your mac will be less creamy.

Tip for the roux

It is very important that you do not let your pan get too hot when making the roux for this recipe. You don’t want to add any color to the flour (or worse – burn it!), just very gently cook it.

Check out my bechamel sauce post for detailed instructions and some great tips for beginners.

Don’t overbake

Don’t wait for the top to get browned and crispy, rather switch on the broiler and broil it for a minute or two, until golden brown and crispy. If you overbake the Mac and cheese, the macaroni will keep soaking up the sauce as they cook, and your Mac will not be creamy but dry and mushy at the same time.

If using yogurt

If the sauce is too hot when you add the Greek yogurt, it might split. Be sure to measure out the yogurt when you first start cooking and leave it out on the counter to bring it to room temperature. When you’ve cooked your roux, first take the sauce off the heat and stir in all other ingredients. This will cool the sauce down a bit. Once you add the Greek yogurt, stir it in very quickly.

Don’t let it sit

Serve this straight away. The longer it stands for, the more of the sauce the macaroni will soak up!

Serving ideas

• Serve it as a kid-friendly dinner with oven fried chicken (or buttermilk oven fried chicken or garlic parmesan oven fried chicken… OR air fryer fried chicken) and sautéed green beans
• Serve it as a side for a classic BBQ dinner with crock pot pulled pork (or instant pot pulled pork) with crockpot baked beans
• It’s also delicious with sloppy joes and coleslaw
• With meatloaf and air fryer broccoli (or garlic roasted broccoli)
• Or with air fryer hot dogs and grilled corn on the cob

More classic casseroles and bakes

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my email list, too!

Recipe first published in 2017. Updated with new photos, better text and slight changes to recipe on 11/22/2021.

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