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    Home » Recipes » Main Dish

    Baked White Cheddar Mac and Cheese

    By Lily・Published: Aug 17, 2023・Updated: Jun 6, 2023・Post may have affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Baked white mac and cheese is a delicious dish of tender macaroni elbows, cheesy bechamel sauce, and garlic herb Panko breadcrumbs. Homemade creamy bechamel sauce with lots of cheese pull compliments the crunchy, flavorful Panko topping. This homemade macaroni pasta recipe only takes 30 minutes to make.

    baked white mac and cheese in a casserole dish

    Mac and cheese is the ultimate comfort food. The best homemade mac and cheese has a great cheese sauce. I prefer making mac and cheese with cheese béchamel sauce rather than using heavy cream.

    Wondering what else you can do with bechamel sauce? You can make stovetop truffle mac and cheese recipe, Italian lasagna with bechamel, and chicken pot pie with biscuits.

    What I Love About This Recipe

    This white cheddar mac and cheese can be a great side dish or main dish. Creamy mac and cheese is a pretty heavy meal. I like that this easy recipe has just enough cheese sauce without going overboard. Oh, the gooey white sauce is phenomenal! Half the sauce almost didn't make it into the casserole dish because I kept licking the spoon. Sorry, not sorry!

    Ingredient Notes

    ingredients to make baked mac and cheese with panko breadcrumbs
    • Macaroni noodles: Use classic elbow macaroni.
    • Sharp white cheddar cheese: Use salty cheese like cheddar or Parmesan cheese. My favorite is sharp white cheddar cheese. You can shred a block of cheese or buy pre-shredded cheese. It will melt into the bechamel sauce just fine.
    • Mozzarella cheese: Use a cheese that melts well to get that cheese pull for the sauce. Also, I like to use a little lighter cheese to compliment the salty cheese. Other types of cheeses you can use are provolone, gruyere cheese (another one of my favorites!), and Monterrey Jack.
    • Milk: I prefer reduced-fat milk, but you can also use whole milk.
    • Flour and butter: Use all purpose flour and butter to make the roux for the bechamel sauce. I liked salted butter, but you can use unsalted butter.
    • Panko breadcrumbs: The best breadcrumbs for mac and cheese.
    • Crushed garlic: Mashed garlic and crushed garlic (using a garlic press) are like a paste that disperses evenly into food. This ingredient is perfect for the herb and butter Panko topping. If you don't have any fresh garlic cloves on hand, substitute a pinch of dried garlic powder.

    See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for quantities.

    How To Make Baked Mac and Cheese

    Heat the oven to 425 ℉ (220 ℃).

    boiled macaroni elbows

    Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water per the package instructions (about 6 to 7 minutes for elbow pasta) or until al dente. Drain and drizzle the cooked pasta with olive oil.

    panko, crushed garlic, dried Italian herbs, and melted butter in a bowl

    Mix the panko breadcrumbs, salt, dried Italian herbs, melted butter, and crushed (or mashed) garlic in a small bowl.

    making a butter and flour roux

    Melt butter in a large saucepan on medium-high to high heat. Add the flour, whisking for about 30 seconds.

    bechamel sauce coating the back of a wooden spoon

    Add the milk and whisk until the sauce thickens (about 2 to 3 minutes). Remove the bechamel sauce from the stovetop once it can coat the back of a spoon.

    add shredded cheese to the bechamel sauce

    Add the shredded mozzarella, shredded white cheddar, and salt to taste.

    melted cheese sauce on a wooden spoon

    Look at that cheese pull!

    add macaroni elbows to the cheese sauce

    Add the cooked macaroni elbows.

    the cheese sauce and macaroni elbows in a pot

    Mix the bechamel cheese sauce and macaroni.

    macaroni and cheese with a panko topping in a baking dish before going in the oven

    Pour the macaroni and cheese into a baking dish. Top it with the panko breadcrumbs.

    baked white mac and cheese in a baking dish

    Put the mac and cheese on the top rack of a 425 ℉ (220 ℃) oven for 5 to 10 minutes until the panko crust is golden brown. Don't cook too long, or the mac and cheese will dry out!

    Tips and Tricks

    • Don't over-bake! The delicious gooey cheese sauce dries up in the oven if you keep it in there too long. For the best results, toast the garlic herb Panko breadcrumb topping for just a few minutes.
    • Crush the fresh garlic. The garlic herb bread crumb topping is best with fresh garlic that's pressed or mashed into a paste. Use a garlic press or mortar and pestle to mash the peeled garlic cloves.
    baked white cheese sauce and macaroni

    Variations and Substitutions

    • Skip the Panko topping, and don't bake! Turn this meal into stovetop mac and cheese by skipping the breadcrumb topping and baking steps.
    • Use garlic powder instead of mashed garlic.
    • Substitute different cheeses for the homemade cheese sauce.

    Equipment

    • Large stovetop pot to boil the macaroni pasta
    • Strainer to strain the pasta
    • A 9" x 13" casserole dish to bake the mac n cheese
    • A second stovetop pot to prepare the creamy cheese sauce
    • A small bowl to mix the panko
    • A garlic press or mortar and pestle to mash the garlic

    Storage

    Mac and cheese does not reheat well because the pasta absorbs the liquid from the bechamel sauce in the fridge. You end up with dry mac and cheese! There are a few ways to get around this issue:

    1. Only prepare what will be eaten that day.
    2. Make extra cheesy bechamel sauce. When you reheat the mac and cheese, add some extra cheese sauce.
    3. Reduce the pasta.

    Store this recipe in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

    close up of the mac and cheese

    FAQs

    How do you make mac and cheese sauce?

    The base of mac and cheese sauce is a homemade bechamel sauce. Then add shredded cheese for the ultimate creamy sauce.

    What types of cheese do you use for mac and cheese?

    Traditionally, mac and cheese sauce has some type of cheddar. However, the cheese sauce is versatile, and any type of shredded cheese can be used. Try gruyere cheese, provolone, mozzarella, parmesan, or Monterey jack.

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    📋 Recipe

    close up view of baked mac and cheese.

    Baked White Cheddar Mac and Cheese

    Author: Lily
    Course: Side Dish
    Cuisine: American
    Prep: 20 minutes mins
    Cook: 10 minutes mins
    Total: 30 minutes mins
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Rate Email
    Servings 12
    Baked white mac and cheese is a comforting pasta dish with delicate macaroni elbows, homemade bechamel cheese sauce, and a garlic herb panko breadcrumb topping.

    Ingredients
     
    US Customary - Metric

    • 1 lb macaroni elbows
    • 5 cups milk reduced fat
    • 1 and ¼ cups white cheddar shredded
    • 1 and ¼ cups mozzarella shredded
    • 4 tablespoons 58 grams of butter
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 5 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
    • salt to taste

    Panko Topping

    • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
    • 1 tablespoon of melted butter
    • 2 garlic cloves mashed
    • 1 teaspoon of dried Italian herbs
    • pinch salt

    Instructions

    • Heat the oven to 425 ℉ (220 ℃).
    • Boil the macaroni elbows in a large pot of boiling water. Cook as per the package instructions (about 6 to 7 minutes) or until the macaroni noodles are tender. Drain the pasta. Drizzle a tad bit of olive oil to coat the cooked macaroni. Set it aside.
    • Mix the panko breadcrumbs, salt, dried Italian herbs, melted butter, and crushed (or mashed) garlic in a separate bowl. Set aside.
    • Melt the butter in a large saucepan on medium-high to high heat. Add the flour, whisking for about 30 seconds. Add the milk and whisk until the sauce thickens (about 2 to 3 minutes). Remove the bechamel sauce from the stovetop once it can coat the back of a wooden spoon. Add the shredded mozzarella, shredded white cheddar, and salt to taste.
    • Mix the bechamel cheese sauce with the macaroni elbows. Pour the macaroni and cheese into a baking dish. Top it with the panko breadcrumbs. Put the mac and cheese on the top rack of a 425 ℉ (220 ℃) oven for 5 to 10 minutes. Don't cook too long, or the mac and cheese will dry out!

    Notes

    1. Use any type of shredded cheese for the cheese sauce. I recommend pairing a salty cheese (cheddar or parmesan) with a cheese that melts well (Monterrey jack, gruyere, provolone, or mozzarella).

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1 /12 dish | Calories: 354 kcal | Carbohydrates: 40 g | Protein: 15 g | Fat: 16 g | Saturated Fat: 8 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8 g | Trans Fat: 0 g | Cholesterol: 44 mg | Sodium: 201 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 6 g

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    About Lily

    Howdy! My name is Lilian, but my friends call me Lily. I'm the founder and one of the recipe authors here at The Matbakh. I enjoy sunsets, long walks to the fridge, meaningful relationships, and anything related to food. I'm so happy you are here!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Daneille

      April 20, 2024 at 9:59 pm

      Hello, in the original description it says “…panko Parmesan cheese crust”. But there is no Parmesan listed in the actual bread crumb recipe. In Notes it says you can substitute Parm for another cheese for the sauce. Can you clarify if the bread crumb crust should have parm? It’s the reason I chose to look at the recipe.
      Thank you, Daneille Cummins

      (Another great mac and cheese recipe is this baked white mac and cheese with a panko parmesan cheese crust.
      This is an easy recipe to serve as a
      side dish for whole lobster.
      Check out this baked white mac
      and cheese.)

      Reply
      • Lily

        April 21, 2024 at 8:46 am

        Hi Danielle,
        Sorry the recipe doesn’t list parmesan in the crust. You can add it to the panko crust- that would be a lovely addition!

        Reply
    2. Kerry S.

      September 29, 2022 at 3:20 pm

      5 stars
      I could eat the creamy bechamel sauce by itself, it’s so fantastic. This was 10/10 same day but it dried out in the fridge. I recommend making only what you think you will eat. Or make some more creamy bechamel the next day to add in for the same effect

      Reply
      • Lily

        September 29, 2022 at 3:22 pm

        Thanks for the comment Kerry! I really like the creamy bechamel sauce too... it's the base sauce for stovetop truffle mac and cheese which is sooooo good. Great idea about making more bechamel sauce... that will solve things. The pasta absorbs the liquid in the fridge, so it dries out a little.

        Reply

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    lily at the matbakh

    I'm Lily

    I'm an American Lebanese living in Texas. My kitchen, or matbakh, is a hodgepodge of recipes from the U.S. and Mediterranean region.

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