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Home / Recipes / Side Dishes / Creamy Homemade Baked Mac and Cheese

Creamy Homemade Baked Mac and Cheese

1 hr
| 6 Comments |
4.88 from 8 votes
Jump to Recipe 11/22/21 | Updated: 11/22/21 | by Nora
Homemade Mac and Cheese Image Pin

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

close up photo of spoon stuck in dish with mac and cheese

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 printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

ingredients for homemade mac and cheese with text labels
Ingredients for Homemade Mac and Cheese: Macaroni, broth, cheddar, mozzarella, milk, cream cheese (OR Greek yogurt), butter, flour, breadcrumbs, garlic power, mustard powder, ground paprika, ground nutmeg, salt and pepper.

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).

  • cooked macaroni in baking dish
    cook and cool macaroni
  • milk pouring into pan with roux
    make the sauce

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.

  • bechamel sauce with cheese and cream cheese in a wide skillet
    add cheeses and seasoning to sauce
  • cooked macaroni in cheese sauce in wide skillet
    coat macaroni in sauce

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!

  • unbaked mac and cheese in white casserole dish
    add to casserole dish
  • overhead view of baked mac and cheese in white casserole dish
    bake until bubbly

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!

close up photo of macaroni and cheese

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
mac and cheese on fork

More classic casseroles and bakes

  • Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Casserole
  • Baked Ziti with Sausage
  • Homemade Shepherd’s Pie
  • Baked Spaghetti Casserole

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

Printable Recipe Card
close up photo of spoon stuck in dish with mac and cheese
Save Recipe Saved!

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.
Recipe by Nora from Savory Nothings
made it? tap the stars to add your rating!
4.88 from 8 votes
Print Add Review

Recipe details

Prep 30 mins
Cook 30 mins
Total 1 hr
Servings 8 servings
Difficulty Easy

Ingredients
 

Ingredients

  • 3 cups macaroni uncooked
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • ¼ cup all purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups milk
  • 1 ¾ cups chicken broth OR vegetable broth
  • ½ tsp mustard powder skip if not available
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ tsp ground paprika
  • ground black black pepper to taste
  • 1 pinch ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • ½ cup cream cheese OR Greek yogurt
  • 5 tbsp bread crumbs panko works best, crushed Ritz crackers are exceptional but decadent

Instructions
 

  • Prep macaroni, pan and oven: Cook macaroni according to package directions (do not overcook!). Drain and rinse under cold water to stop cooking process. Pour into a lightly greased 9×13" pan and set aside. Preheat oven to 350° F. 
  • Make roux: Melt butter in a wide skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, until flour is no longer foamy (about one minute).
  • Make sauce: Carefully whisk in milk and chicken broth (make sure pan is not too hot, or it will splatter) and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until lightly thickened (about 5-6 minutes). Take off the heat.
  • Finish sauce and combine with macaroni: Add all spices and all three cheeses, stir well until smooth. Add macaroni and stir to coat.
  • Finish and bake: Transfer macaroni and sauce back into casserole dish. Evenly sprinkle with breadcrumbs (or topping of choice). Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly around edges. Brown the top under the broiler for 1-2 minutes, if you like. Serve immediately.
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Notes

Ingredient notes

  • 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.

Recipe tips

  • 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.
  • 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: Measure out 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 to keep it from splitting.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 415kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 16gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 673mgPotassium: 257mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 708IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 264mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition is an estimate.

More recipe information

Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American

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

More pasta recipes

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  • One Pot Rigatoni Bolognese

Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings
About Nora 
When I got married to my professional chef husband, I realized I had to step up my game in the kitchen. Now I share my favorite foolproof family recipes here on Savory Nothings: Chef-approved, kid-vetted and easy enough for everyday home cooks like you and me!   Learn more.

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Comments

  1. Jackie in Florida says

    April 09, 2022 at 5:18 pm

    Made this last night Nora and it was delicious. I loved the chic broth/milk combo. The cheese sauce was wonderful. Thank you for such a great recipe. You never disappoint.

    Reply
    • Nora says

      April 14, 2022 at 6:37 pm

      Thank you so much for your kind words, Jackie! It’s always great to hear my recipes are appreciated.

      Reply
  2. Pam C says

    February 24, 2021 at 6:36 am

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious! Thanks for the tips in making this dish.

    Reply
  3. Penny says

    April 27, 2020 at 5:30 pm

    5 stars
    Excellent

    Reply
  4. Bethany says

    September 27, 2017 at 7:03 pm

    I love nothing better than a really good homemade mac and cheese! This looks awesome, and I love that you used mozzarella in it!

    Reply
  5. Ben Myhre says

    September 27, 2017 at 1:33 pm

    I loooove me some mac and cheese!

    Reply

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Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings

Hi, I'm Nora! I wasn't always a good cook, but then I fell in love with a professional chef and learned my way around the kitchen. Now I share all my secrets to effortlessly great food here on my blog, bite-sized for home cooks just like me and you.

More about me →

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