Creamy, cheesy, and baked to golden perfection—our Baked White Cheddar Mac and Cheese is an easy, comforting classic. Made with sharp white cheddar and Gruyere cheese, this velvety sauce, it’s topped with crispy, buttery breadcrumbs for the perfect balance of creamy and crunchy. Whether for weeknight dinners or holiday gatherings, this simple homemade mac and cheese is always a hit.
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 Tips
- 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 classic mac 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
With just a quick trip to the grocery store you will be ready to make the best white cheddar mac.
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 better than a skim milk to ensure that extra creamy finish. For extra flavor, you can use some heavy cream instead.
- 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. Use table salt or kosher salt if preferred.
- 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: We love the extra flavor from a sharp cheddar cheese.
- 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, pots, strainer, aluminum foil 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 or hot sauce added to the sauce, alternatively, you can top your final dish with chili flakes.
- Cheeses: We have experimented with yellow cheddar and cream cheese, but whatever you have on hand will work well. We prefer not to use a pre-shredded cheese, but if it makes your life easier than do it!
- Spicy Cheeses: For a little kick try a pepper jack or Monterey jack cheese.
- Gouda Mac: Subbing the Gruyere cheese for gouda would offer a lightly sweeter profile.
- Cooked Pasta: Whatever macaroni noodles or pasta shells you want to use are great, just keep it on the smaller side for best results.
- Herbs and Spices: When making your sauce you can add some garlic powder or onion powder.
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 oven-safe baking dish and preheat oven to 325F. Set aside.
Cook on pasta (on medium-high heat) based on the box directions for an al dente pasta (typically 1-2 minutes less than the cook time) in a large pot of salted water. 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 oven-safe dish back in the oven without the tinfoil until top of the Mac is 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 white cheddar mac n cheese recipe is a great way prep meals for the whole family! Whether you are planning ahead or making as a freezer meal, here are some helpful hints to extend this baked mac recipe.
- 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, this one makes a great freezer meal 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 of our favorite foods. Here are some ideas to get your taste buds dancing!
- Pork: There are so many varieties of pork that go well, but here are a few of our favourites: Slow cooker pulled pork, BBQ ribs, pork chops, BBQ pulled pork sliders, or our Hawaiian roll pulled pork sliders.
- Chicken Dishes: This creamy mac goes well with all types of chicken. We love serving it with fried chicken, our chicken thighs with honey or a simple chicken thigh marinade!
- Chili: Side by side or mixed together, we love marrying mac and cheese with our stove top chili recipe or pork and beef chili.
- 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.
- Turkey: This mac and cheese is perfect to serve alongside our herb butter turkey.
- Vegetables: Balancing your meal with some green beans or Brussels sprouts are great pairings.
Top Tips
Want to make sure this baked mac and cheese turns out just right? These tips will help.
- Freshly Shredded Cheese: Pre-shredded cheese does not melt as well as fresh due to additives they put in the packing to keep the cheese from sticking together. Shred your own for the creamiest sauce.
- Don’t Overcook: Cook the elbow noodles just to al dente, since they'll continue cooking in the oven and you don’t want them mushy.
- Add Cheese in Stages: Stirring in cheese off the heat and in batches helps create a smooth sauce and prevents clumping or graininess.
- Season the sauce well: Salt, white pepper, and dry mustard add layers of flavor that balance the richness of the cheese. Taste before assembling to adjust seasoning if needed.
- Use a Mix: Combining white cheddar, mozzarella, and gruyere gives you bold flavor, creaminess, and that satisfying stretch—don’t skip the trio!
- Broil Carefully: Keep a close eye when broiling the top. It only takes a minute or two to get a golden, crispy finish without burning the panko.
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
- 9x13 casserole dish
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Pots
- Strainer
- Aluminum Foil
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 16 ounces elbow pasta dry measurement
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 stick unsalted butter ½ cup
- 4 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk divided
- 2 cups whipping cream divided
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground dry mustard
- 12 ounces white cheddar cheese, shredded divided
- 7 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded divided
- 5 ounces gruyere cheese, shredded divided
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs or more
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
- Pre-shredded cheese does not melt as well as fresh due to additives they put in the packing to keep the cheese from sticking together. Shred your own for the creamiest sauce.
- Cook the elbow noodles just to al dente, since they'll continue cooking in the oven and you don’t want them mushy.
- Stirring in cheese off the heat and in batches helps create a smooth sauce and prevents clumping or graininess.
- Salt, white pepper, and dry mustard add layers of flavor that balance the richness of the cheese. Taste before assembling to adjust seasoning if needed.
- Combining white cheddar, mozzarella, and gruyere gives you bold flavor, creaminess, and that satisfying stretch—don’t skip the trio!
- Keep a close eye when broiling the top. It only takes a minute or two to get a golden, crispy finish without burning the panko.
Nutrition
We would be so grateful for you to leave us a rating and review on any recipes you try. If you make any alterations, let us know how they turned out.
Joanne says
The best macaroni and cheese. Very creamy and delicious
Eva Filer says
This is one of my favorite recipes too! Glad you liked it!
Eva Filer says
This recipe is pure flavor. The combination of cheeses is such a great balance. We love that it makes enough to serve everyone plus leftovers!