Baked White Mac and Cheese

Name: Baked White Mac and Cheese
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 lb macaroni elbows; 5 cups milk (reduced fat); 1 and 1/4 cups white cheddar (shredded); 1 and 1/4 cups mozzarella (shredded); 4 tablespoons 58 grams of butter; 1 tablespoon of olive oil; 5 tablespoons of all-purpose flour; salt to taste; 1 cup panko breadcrumbs; 1 tablespoon of melted butter; 2 garlic cloves (mashed); 1 teaspoon of dried Italian herbs; pinch of salt

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Baked white mac and cheese is a delicious dish made 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

More recipes with bechamel sauce are stovetop truffle mac and cheese recipe and Italian lasagna with bechamel.

What I Love About This Recipe

This creamy mac and cheese can be a side dish or main dish. Mac and cheese is a pretty heavy meal, and I like that this one has just enough of the cheese sauce without going overboard. Oh, the gooey cheese sauce is phenomenal! Half of 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 the 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.
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 ℃).

Boil the macaroni elbows in a large pot of boiling water per the package instructions (about 6 to 7 minutes) 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.

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.

Look at that cheese pull!

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 for the panko crust to brown slightly. 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.

Variations and Substitutions

Skip the Panko topping and don't bake! Make this meal easier and quicker by skipping the breadcrumb topping and baking step.
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:

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

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

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.

Pasta Recipes

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