Baked Mac and Cheese
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Everyone’s favorite classic mac and cheese! Super simple, super easy and super quick. You’ll never want the boxed stuff ever again!
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Greetings from Chicago!
We did it. We finally moved to the Midwest after 20 years of living in California.
It almost feels a bit surreal as we cope with the 22 degree weather. I mean, it was 65 degrees when we left LA!
But honestly, it feels like home. Except home is filled with 17 unopened boxes filled with my kitchen stuff.
So I need to unpack as fast as possible so I can never leave my Chicago house and instead, nest inside with my new electric blanket and the coziest homemade mac and cheese ever.
This is your classic mac and cheese – there are no surprises here and there’s no fuss at all. It’s simple, it’s quick, and it’s completely made from scratch.
It’s perfectly cheesy without being too gummy, and the crunchy tops are just to die for before you get into that creamy heaven underneath.
You can of course choose to bake these in individual ramekins to avoid any kind of sharing or you can dump the entire mixture into a 2-qt baking dish.
Either works. It’s just that sharing can be a bit difficult on this one.
Baked Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 8 ounces elbow pasta
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 (12-ounce) cans evaporated milk
- 12 ounces shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese, about 3 cups, divided
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Whisk in flour, paprika and onion powder until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- Gradually whisk in evaporated milk until slightly thickened, about 4-5 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Stir in 2 cups cheddar cheese and Parmesan. Stir in pasta; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Divide pasta mixture into 5 (10-ounce) or 6 (8-ounce) ramekins or ovenproof bowls.* Place onto a baking sheet; sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheddar cheese.
- Place into oven and bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with chives, if desired.
Video
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Do you put anything on top i.e. cheese or bread crumbs?
Thanks
Carolyn
A family favourite! Definitely damn delicious!
Absolutely rave reviews. Perfect!!
Is this pasta measurement dry? Im assuming, correct?
Always requested for family gatherings
My grandkids love it
I double recipe and bake in 9×12
I have made this exactly as written many times and it always turns out great. My family loves it!
I love this recipe!
What is the best way to warm the leftover individual servings ?
This has to be one of my all time favorite recipe. It really takes me to my childhood. Thanks for sharing this.
Made this for dinner and it was SO good!! So creamy and flavorful, my entire family loved it so much. Can’t wait to make it again!
Hi Chungah, Thanks for this recipe, I really love this dish! However, I find it yummier when it’s kept a little longer in the oven to develop more caramelization and browning on top. Of course, I always keep an eye on it to not burn it completely. Other than that, your recipe is perfect!
Looks yummy. I love those little Staub ramekins! I never knew those existed.
This recipe was a hit! Everyone liked it. I made one dairy free batch (using plain oat milk) and the other batch was regular. Both batches were absolutely delicious!
Very delicious! Super easy to pull together and the sauce is so creamy and yummy! Please note that evaporated milk is absolutely NOT the same thing as condensed milk. This mistake was made in my house the first try and it was awful. Totally our fault, but if I can save someone the mistake it is worth mentioning. Second time trying the recipe we followed exactly with correct ingredients and it was delicious! We will definitely make again!
For this baked Mac and cheese recipe, you mention to eat immediately. Is it possible to prepare it but not put it in the oven and rather freeze it or leave it in the fridge to be baked later when we are ready to eat it? I am preparing meals for my 88 y.o. father who is undergoing radiotherapy treatments and I am looking for recipes that I can prepare in advance. Thanks so much for your great recipes. They are a life saver these days.
I have found that with most Mac and cheese. If you let it set a little before baking you will need to add extra sauce. And if it’s going to be baked and reheated I would also add extra sauce before baking. If reheated in the microwave it will loosen from how tight it was in the fridge when warm. If it didn’t loosen enough add a touch of milk.
So creamy! And those little ramekins are the best.
This is just perfect, I tried this and everyone loved it, thanks for sharing this awesome recipe.
This is amazing. I don’t have onion powder so just used paprika, so didn’t have chives do used green onions. My sauce was too thick before milk so had to add more milk but it tastes abso delicious nevertheless. Thank you
I tried it on Christmas and followed your steps. It turned out so well. Everyone in my family loved it.
This was delicious, and super easy. Some people commented that there was too much cheese for the pasta. However, I thought that it was perfect, especially after it has been baked. The next time I make it, I am going to do a panko/parmesan crumb crust. )(the ingredients for the panko crust can be found in the “Mac and Cheese Cups” recipe on this website). By the way, I would recommend saving yourself the hassle of using a skillet to make the cheese sauce. Simply cook the pasta, dump it in a strainer, and then whip up the sauce in the pot, which takes a couple minutes. Once the sauce is done, dump the pasta into the pot, stir it up, and then pour into your casserole or ramekins. That’s it! Then you have one less thing to clean!
I think the mac and cheese turned out better than the other recipes I tried. But I think next time I’ll leave the paprika and onion powder out of the mix. I feel like they don’t go in mac and cheese. But, you live and you learn. Good overall.