Mac and cheese
Instructions
Pasta:
Mornay sauce:
Marinated beans:
Tips
To ensure a creamy mornay sauce for your macaroni and cheese, make sure to add cold milk to the butter and flour roux and keep whisking it until it is completely smooth. You should also make sure to incorporate the grated cheese only after removing the saucepan from the heat. With these easy tips, you should be able to avoid the sauce curdling and becoming gritty.
Tips
If you are wondering how to fix grainy mac and cheese sauce, we suggest removing the sauce from the heat and letting it cool for a couple of minutes. Add either a spoonful of lemon juice, white wine, or cream (never add all of them; you must choose one) and whisk the sauce vigorously to combine it into a smooth mixture. The acidity of the lemon juice and white wine or the fat in the cream will help stabilise the sauce.
Questions about mac and cheese
With a simple mac and cheese recipe, making a deliciously cheesy dinner is easy as pie! Continue reading below to learn more about the dish.
Baked mac and cheese is a wonderfully rich and creamy pasta dish. Luckily, this comfort food is quite easy to prepare! Simply mix boiled macaroni and onions with a homemade, cheesy mornay sauce, gratinate with some more cheese, and pop the pasta bake in the oven. Use the time to prepare a light side dish like our suggested green bean salad with a tangy marinade that will brighten the cheesy, golden-brown dish.
There is no clear consensus on what the best cheese for mac and cheese is, but you should go for one that melts easily without being stringy. It should also have a good flavour that is neither too mild nor too strong and pungent. We use a type that is made specifically for melting well with a good, balanced flavour from cheddar, Maasdam, and matured cheeses.
A quick baked mac and cheese is wonderful with a light side dish like our marinated green beans. Serving the cheesy dish with a crunchy side salad helps brighten it and turn it into a well-rounded meal. Many also choose to serve mac and cheese with bacon on top or cut-up herbs like chives as a salty or fresh addition.
Mac and cheese should be baked for around 20 minutes. Precise baking times may, as you might have experienced, depend on your oven. Ideally, the cheese you have garnished the pasta bake with should be melted to golden perfection and bubble lightly when you take it out of the oven. If it has not melted entirely after 20 minutes, try baking it for a little while longer as you keep an eye on it.
Making mac and cheese with white sauce, also known as mornay sauce, is quite easy. Start by making a roux by combining melted butter and flour, stir in the milk little by little, and boil it for a few minutes. After removing the sauce from the heat, incorporate the grated cheese and season it to taste. The sauce is now ready to be combined with the cooked pasta before baking it in the oven.
The mornay sauce used to make creamy baked macaroni and cheese may become grainy if the milk added to the roux is warm rather than cold or if the grated cheese is added to the sauce while it is still very warm. To prevent graininess due to these issues, use cold milk and make sure to remove the saucepan from the heat before incorporating the cheese into the sauce.
Freezing leftover mac and cheese is a good option as it does not have a long shelf-life. In the freezer, it will last for around 3 months. Let the dish cool before transferring it to portion-sized, airtight containers or freezer-safe bags so you can get out enough for just one meal without having to reheat the entire thing. Let it thaw overnight before reheating it. If it seems a bit dry after you have defrosted it, you can stir in a bit of milk before you reheat it.
In the refrigerator, this baked casserole will keep for 3-4 days. Refrigerated macaroni and cheese may be reheated either in the microwave, on your stovetop, or in the oven. In the microwave, the dish will require 1-2 minutes, while it will take about 5 minutes to reheat it in a saucepan. In the oven, it will take 20-30 minutes at 175°C. The leftovers should be placed in an oven-proof dish and covered with aluminium foil. If the cold macaroni and cheese looks dry you can add a couple of tablespoons of milk to make it creamy again.
Ingredients
Pasta:
|
Water
|
3 litres |
|---|---|
|
Coarse salt
|
1 tbsp |
|
Dried white pasta, for instance, elbow macaroni or ditalini pasta
|
350 g |
|
Chopped yellow onions (approx. 150 g)
|
2 |
Mornay sauce:
|
Butter
|
25 g |
|---|---|
|
Wheat flour
|
2 tbsp |
|
Milk
|
600 ml |
|
Grated cheddar and maasdam cheese
|
100 g |
|
Coarse salt
|
1 tsp |
|
Freshly churned pepper
|
|
Grated cheddar and maasdam cheese
|
75 g |
|---|
Marinated beans:
|
Frozen beans mix (green beans and mixed beans)
|
450 g |
|---|---|
|
Water
|
1½ litre |
|
Coarse salt
|
1½ tsp |
|
White wine vinegar
|
½ tbsp |
|
Dijon mustard
|
½ tbsp |
|
Water
|
½ tbsp |
|
Small, crushed garlic clove
|
1 |
|
Coarse salt
|
½ tsp |
|
Freshly churned pepper
|
|
|
Herbs, for instance, flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
|
1 dl |
Other recipes
Creamy homemade mac and cheese
American mac and cheese is a wonderful meal and many consider it to be the ultimate comfort food. The combination of tender pasta and a rich cheesy sauce is a classic that is impossible to resist.
In our recipe for old-fashioned mac and cheese, the dish is baked to create a slightly crispy yet chewy layer of gooey, melted cheese on top. This deliciously gooey layer also prevents the macaroni from drying out as the casserole dish bakes, ensuring a creamy eating experience.
Served with marinated green beans
If you have been wondering what to make with mac and cheese, we strongly suggest you give our marinated mixed beans a try! The combination of mixed beans with green beans and mac and cheese is a classic since the different beans add some freshness to the cheesy dish. Use a mix of green beans and bean types like white beans and kidney beans to get different textures. As they are only blanched for a minute, they still have a lot of bite, and their crunchy texture beautifully complements the soft and cheesy pasta bake.
Served with fresh herbs and a tangy marinade with a bit of sharpness, this simple salad brightens the dish to create a well-rounded meal.
Making the perfect cheese sauce for mac and cheese
To get this dish right, it needs a decadent, rich sauce. That is why we believe that mornay sauce is the perfect sauce for this dish. A cheesy version of the classic bechamel sauce, this French sauce may be prepared with a range of different cheeses.
We chose grated cheese with a mix of cheddar, maasdam, and hard, mature cheeses to give a lavish sauce with plenty of salty and nutty flavours. These flavours are perfect for using with macaroni pasta to ensure an extra creamy baked mac and cheese.
Easy cheesy family favourite for dinner
The best homemade mac and cheese is a hit with people of all ages. Fortunately, this family favourite does not take long to prepare. When served with a marinated green bean salad with more mature flavours like sharp garlic, flavourful Dijon mustard, and mildly sour white wine vinegar, the classic American dish truly becomes a favourite for the entire family.
In case you are looking for more easy lunch and dinner recipes for the whole family to enjoy, we suggest checking out our chicken burger recipe, spaghetti bolognese recipe, and tortilla recipe too.
Add a touch of heat
Turning up the heat with your ingredients for mac and cheese is quite easy. You can, for instance, use fresh chilli, pickled chilis like jalapeños, or chilli powder in the dish or as spicy mac and cheese toppings.
If you do not want to use fresh or pickled chilli, a homemade spice mix with cayenne powder, paprika, and mustard powder will add a wonderful combination of heat, sweetness, and a slight smokiness without it being overpowering.