Nothing screams comfort food quite like mac and cheese! If you're going to take the time to make mac and cheese, I mean the one that gets baked in the oven, and you're going to incur the wrath of the fat gods, then you might as well make it right. Yup, you're going to need to stuff that dish full of different cheeses, make an extraordinary béchamel sauce to coat the pasta, and then top the dish with some homemade breadcrumbs before sticking it into the oven. About 100 bazillion calories later, you will have a perfect mac and cheese. Okay, so it's not really a 100 bazillion calories, but let's be honest here, this certainly isn't a low fat option.
If you've got a gaggle of kids coming over for Thanksgiving this year, or even if you're a mac and cheese lovin' adult, this recipe will not disappoint!
Creamy Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ cup breadcrumbs homemade preferred
- 5 cups milk
- ½ cup AP flour
- 2 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 cups shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
- 1 ½ cup shredded Gruyère
- ½ cup shredded Swiss Cheese
- 1 pound short cut pasta
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Spray a large casserole dish with non stick spray and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, warm the milk over medium heat.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter. Once the butter has melted and starts to bubble, ad the flour and whisk until the flour is fully incorporated.
- Continue to whisk and add the hot milk slowly. Whisk for about 1o minutes until the milk and flour mixture has thickened. Remove from heat and add the salt, nutmeg, pepper, cayenne, white cheddar, Gruyère, and Swiss cheese. Stir to combine until the mixture is smooth. Set aside.
- Boil a large pot of water. Cook the short cut pasta 1 minute short according to the package directions. Drain the pasta and then rinse with cold water. Stir the pasta into the cheese mixture and then pour the pasta into the prepared casserole dish.
- Sprinkle the top with the homemade breadcrumbs and bake for about 25-30 minutes until the edges just begin to brown. Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Information
And be sure to check out some other great ideas for Thanksgiving:
Parmesan Cheddar Chive Biscuits
Rustic Herb Skillet Stuffing
Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes
The Best Mashed Potatoes
Crispy Lemon Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Cumin Roasted Cauliflower
Potato and Goat Cheese Gratin
Zesty Cranberry Sauce
Roasted Turkey Breast
Spicy Garlic Green Beans
Will this be on the thanksgiving table?! I hope so...
Well girlfriend, as they say "go big, or go home"!!! I say.... go big!!
MM that crunch on top looks like the perfect counterpart to the creamy noodles 🙂 Beautiful!
Comfort food at its finest...this looks so heavenly!
Oh Gaby- if that is not a little dish baked full of heaven I don't know what is...
Oh my goodness....what a dish! I know a lot of people have mac and cheese on the Thanksgiving menu and this is a great option!
How much of sharp cheddar cheese do we use? 4 ounces? 4 cups?
Crazy daisy yummy!! Great seeing you this weekend girl!
I love the combination of gruyere and chedder in macaroni cheese, it gives it a wonderful depth and that fantastic nutty flavour. Now all I can think about is having macaroni and cheese for dinner tonight!
I would love a bucket full of this!!!!
Now this looks fabulous, Gaby!
Where's my shovel!?
This mac and cheese sounds delightful! Love it!
looks fantastic!! I've only made mac & cheese from scratch twice... i need to try it again! Happy Thanksgiving!
This looks scrumptious!