I want to introduce you to a dish that is always a crowd pleaser, my Baked White Cheddar Mac and Cheese. The perfect blend of sharp cheddar, creamy mozzarella and nutty Gruyere make for an absolute flavor blast that will leave your mouth watering.
This creamy, cheesy dish is ideal for a cool fall day to warm the house with the aroma of melting cheeses and toasty breadcrumbs. White Cheddar Baked Mac and Cheese can be served as a side dish with a glazed ham or enjoyed as a full meal on its own.
Jump to:
- Why You Will Love This Baked White Cheddar Mac and Cheese Recipe
- Ingredients
- Substitutions and Variations
- How to Make This Recipe For White Cheddar Mac and Cheese
- Sauce:
- Assemble:
- More Recipes You Will Love
- How to Store Baked White Cheddar Mac and Cheese
- What to Serve with this Baked White Cheddar Mac and Cheese Recipe
- Top Tip
- Frequently Asked Questions About Making Baked Mac and Cheese
- More Recipes You Will Love
- Baked White Cheddar Mac and Cheese Recipe
This Baked Mac and Cheese and pairs well with our Chicken Thighs with Honey or Stove Top Chili Recipe! You may also love our Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese Velveeta recipe.
Why You Will Love This Baked White Cheddar Mac and Cheese Recipe
- Easy: This dish comes together quickly enough to satisfy your hunger.
- Flavorful: The combination of cheeses packs in maximum flavor.
- Cozy: This is a family favorite that you will find yourself making again and again.
- Adaptable: Mac and Cheese is one of those recipes that works well as a meal on its own, but can always be eaten as a side. You will love making this on Sunday as a prep to start your week off right. Pair it each night with a different protein and you'll be set!
Ingredients
You will enjoy the simplicity of the ingredients required to create this baked white cheddar mac and cheese. Most ingredients will be in your pantry, so you just need to add the pasta and focus on good cheese for the best results.
See the recipe card below for the exact quantities of each ingredient.
- Elbow Pasta: Any type of pasta would work well, but we do recommend keeping it smaller in size to hold the sauce better.
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: Any neutral oil will work.
- Unsalted Butter: This helps to build the thickness of the sauce.
- All-Purpose Flour: Flour will aid in the sauce thickening.
- Whole Milk: Full fat is best to ensure an extra creamy finish.
- Whipping Cream: Makes sure the creamy sauce is the perfect consistency, while adding some additional flavor.
- Sea Salt: This is added to help bring out the flavors.
- Ground White Pepper: It has a less peppery flavor but more heat than black pepper, you could choose your preferred one here.
- Ground Dry Mustard: Adds great depth and flavor.
- White Cheddar Cheese: The sharper the better for a more intense flavor.
- Mozzarella Cheese: This creates the ooey-gooey cheesy finish.
- Gruyere Cheese: A peppery cheese that balances well with white cheddar.
- Panko Breadcrumbs: These give the perfectly crunchy topping for the dish.
For this recipe, you'll want to have on hand a 9x13 casserole dish, measuring cups and spoons, a large and medium pot, strainer and a spatula.
Substitutions and Variations
Love this recipe but want to make it your own? Here are some helpful ways you can change up this baked white cheddar mac and cheese recipe.
- Gluten Free: You can easily swap out your pasta for a gluten free pasta. Run cooked noodles under cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour or Cornstarch: Swap the flour out for your preferred method to thicken the sauce.
- Potato Chips: A simple swap would be plain potato chips (certified gluten free) crushed and sprinkled over the dish before baking instead of the panko.
- Add Some Heat: Chili flakes added to the sauce, alternatively, you can top your final dish with chili flakes.
- Cheeses: You can mix up the cheeses for your favorites or whatever you have on hand.
How to Make This Recipe For White Cheddar Mac and Cheese
Once you have grated up all your cheese, you will be surprised at how quickly this Baked White Cheddar Mac and Cheese comes together.
Sauce:
Grease a 9x13 casserole dish and preheat oven to 325F. Set aside.
Cook pasta based on the box directions for al dente. Strain and toss back in the pot or a bowl and mix with 1 tablespoon olive oil to keep it from sticking together.
Over medium heat, in a large saucepan melt a stick of unsalted butter, and then whisk in flour for about 30-60 seconds.
Slowly whisk 1 cup of whole milk and 1 cup whipping cream until smooth, then repeat with the remaining milk and cream. Whisk regularly until the sauce starts to come to a boil.
Add sea salt, white pepper and ground dry mustard and mix well for another minute.
Remove from heat and add in about ½ of all shredded cheeses and stir until melted: 6 ounces white cheddar, 3 ounces mozzarella, and 2 ounces gruyere.
Assemble:
Pour pasta into prepped casserole dish and pour enough cheese sauce to coat evenly. Mix well with about ½ of the remaining cheeses: 3 ounces white cheddar, 2 ounces mozzarella and 1.5 ounces of gruyere.
Pour the remaining sauce on evenly and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
Sprinkle ½ cup (or more if preferred) panko breadcrumbs and bake, covered with foil, until cheese is hot (about 15-20 minutes).
Remove from the oven and move the oven rack up closer to the top and turn on broil. Put the dish back in the oven without the tinfoil until breadcrumbs are a golden brown.
Allow to slightly cool and serve immediately.
Hint: It is so important that you make sure your pasta is not fully cooked, or else it can become mushy when baking in the oven.
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How to Store Baked White Cheddar Mac and Cheese
This is a great make ahead recipe that can be eaten throughout the week with all types of dishes. Here are some ways to do that.
- Refrigerator: Once cooled, place in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
- Freezer: While most casseroles recipes usually freeze well, ones that are dairy-heavy tend to be trickier as cheeses can hold a lot of water. However, because the sauce in this recipe is very thick and creamy that helps. Once fully cooled you can pop it in an airtight container or leave in the casserole dish and double wrap in plastic wrap, and then tinfoil before popping into the freezer.
- Reheating: From frozen, you can bake at 400F with tinfoil (make sure to remove the plastic wrap), for about 1 hour then remove the foil and bake until fully warmed throughout. From room temperature, you can bake, covered, at 350F until warmed throughout.
What to Serve with this Baked White Cheddar Mac and Cheese Recipe
Mac and Cheese is such a classic dish that pairs with so many options.
- Protein: There are so many varieties of meats that go well, but here are a few of our favourites: glazed ham, grilled or fried chicken, pulled pork, BBQ ribs or pork chops. We love pairing this with our Chicken Thighs with Honey recipe!
- Chili: Side by side or mixed together, we love marrying Mac and Cheese with our Stove Top Chili Recipe.
- Salad: A fresh salad with an oil based vinaigrette offers a nice balance to this Creamy Mac and Cheese.
- Tomato Soup: Since tomatoes are on the acidic side, they go well with this dish and it can help level out the creaminess.
Top Tip
With any baked dish it is important to allow it time to set once removed from the oven. The dish will be bubbling and smell delicious but please resist the urge to dig in immediately. With all the fats from the milk, cream and cheeses, the dish needs time for those fats to redistribute making for a creamy and consistent finished product.
Frequently Asked Questions About Making Baked Mac and Cheese
Do you have questions about our White Cheddar Mac and Cheese? Here are the most common questions we get asked.
We highly recommend shredding your own cheese. Pre-shredded cheeses contain anti-clumping agents and fillers. These fillers can prevent cheese from melting.
If using a microwave, we recommend warming it up one serving at a time. Add milk or cream and warm it on 50% for about 2 minutes. Stir half way through, or until fully warmed. If using an oven, preheat to 350F and bake, covered, for about 30-45 minutes or until warmed throughout. Timing will vary depending on the quantity you are reheating.
A great topper for many casseroles is crushed Ritz crackers mixed with a couple tablespoons of melted butter. This extra buttery flavor compliments the mmac and cheese perfectly.
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Baked White Cheddar Mac and Cheese Recipe
Equipment
- Large and Medium Pot
- 9x13 casserole dish
- Tinfoil
Ingredients
- 16 oz elbow pasta dried
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 stick unsalted butter ½ cup
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk divided
- 2 cups whipping cream divided
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoons ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground dry mustard
- 12 ounces white cheddar cheese shredded divided
- 7 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded divided
- 5 ounces cups gruyere cheese shredded divided
- ½ cup of panko breadcrumbs or more if desired
Instructions
- Grease well a 9x13 casserole dish and preheat oven to 325F degrees.
- Cook pasta based on the box directions for al dente. Strain and toss back in the pot or a bowl and mix with 1 tablespoon olive oil to keep it from sticking together.
- Over medium heat, in a large saucepan melt a stick of unsalted butter, and then whisk in flour for about 30-60 seconds.
- Slowly whisk 1 cup of whole milk and 1 cup whipping cream until smooth, then repeat with the remaining milk and cream. Whisk regularly until the sauce starts to come to a boil.
- Add sea salt, white pepper and ground dry mustard and mix well for another minute.
- Remove from heat and add in about ½ of all shredded cheeses and stir until melted: 6 ounces white cheddar, 3 ounces mozzarella, and 2 ounces gruyere.
- Pour pasta into prepped casserole dish and pour enough cheese sauce to coat evenly. Mix well with about ½ of the remaining cheeses: 3 ounces white cheddar, 2 ounces mozzarella and 1.5 ounces of gruyere.
- Pour the remaining sauce on evenly and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
- Sprinkle ½ cup (or more if preferred) panko breadcrumbs and bake, covered with foil, until cheese is hot (about 15-20 minutes).
- Remove from the oven and move the oven rack up closer to the top and turn on broil. Put the dish back in the oven without the tinfoil until breadcrumbs are a golden brown.
- Allow to slightly cool and serve immediately.
Notes
- Mac and cheese can be assembled ahead of time and refrigerated. Before baking, bring it up to room temperature to ensure even baking.
- Grate your own cheese! Cheese that comes pre-shredded in bags may be convenient, but they contain an anti-caking agent that makes it more difficult to melt. Cheese that has been grated will give you the creamiest mac and cheese.
- Cooking pasta until just al dente will ensure that it will not overcook and become mushy in the oven.
- Mac and cheese is traditionally made with elbow noodles, but you can use your favorite shape. Mini shells, cavatappi, and penne all hold sauce well.
Nutrition
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