How to Make Mac ’n’ Cheese

Mac ’n’ cheese is a simple, nutritious, and delicious dish that can be served on almost any occasion. You can prepare it quickly on the stove or turn it into a more sophisticated dinner option with additional ingredients and spices. 5-Minute Crafts will teach you the basics and share a more advanced recipe provided by a professional chef.

Basic recipe

Ingredients

• 16 oz of short pasta
• 1 1/2 cups of whole or 2% milk
• 1/4 cup of butter (optional)
• 2 tbsp of all-purpose white flour
• 2-3 cups of your favorite shredded cheese. You can use cheddar, Gruyère, Gouda, Parmesan, Monterey Jack, or Colby cheeses. If you want to cook mac ’n’ cheese in the oven, you might need a bit more cheese (optional).
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1/4 tsp of powdered mustard
• Breadcrumbs (optional)

Step 1. Boil pasta

• Pour a gallon of water into a large pot and bring it to a boil over high heat. Add salt.
• Put pasta in the boiling water. Cook it for about 8 minutes until al dente. If you aren’t sure about the cooking time, check the instructions on the package.
• Drain the water.

Step 2. Prepare the milk

Option 1 (without butter)

• Pour 1/2 cup of milk into a bowl or a saucepan and add flour. Whisk the mixture until there are no flour lumps.
• Pour a cup of milk into a pot and put it over medium heat. Don’t let the milk boil!
• When the milk becomes warm and starts steaming, add the milk-and-flour mixture to it and whisk well.
• Keep whisking until the milk becomes thicker. Your goal is to get the consistency of heavy cream. The process will likely take about 3-4 minutes.

Option 2 (with butter)

• Put the butter in a saucepan and melt it over medium heat. Add flour and stir well.
• Add warm milk to the butter-and-flour mixture and whisk. Keep whisking until the mixture becomes thicker. Don’t let it boil!

Step 3. Make cheese sauce

• When the milk becomes thick enough, turn the heat to low and add cheese.
• Stir well and add salt and mustard to taste.
• Keep stirring until you get a smooth and creamy sauce. Then remove it from the heat.

Step 4. Mix everything

• Mix pasta and cheese sauce together and stir well.
• If you don’t want to bake the dish, let mac ’n’ cheese cool down a bit before serving. This way, the sauce will become thicker.

Step 5. Bake mac ’n’ cheese (optional)

• Put the mac ’n’ cheese in a baking dish and cover it with aluminum foil. Bake it in a preheated oven at 350 °F for 30 minutes. Then, remove the foil, add some butter and breadcrumbs, and put the dish back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes.

Note:

• Baking time may differ depending on your preference. The dish is already cooked and ready to eat when you put it in the oven, so you can experiment to find out how you like it best.
• You can also add more cheese before putting the dish in the oven.

Bon appétit!

Advanced recipe

Ingredients

• 10 oz of short pasta
• 1 gallon of cold milk
• 3.5 oz of all-purpose flour
• Scallion

Cheese:

• 16 oz of grated cheddar cheese
• 16 oz of Philadelphia cream cheese
• 32 oz of grated Gruyère cheese
• 1.6 oz of mozzarella cheese

Spices:

• 1 oz of nutmeg and white pepper
• 1.9 oz of mustard powder and roasted garlic paste

For the topping:

• 2 cups of crumbled graham crackers
• Bacon
• 2 tbsp of melted butter
• 2 tbsp of white sugar
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• Black pepper to taste
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• 2 dashes of salt

Step 1. Boil pasta

• Pour water into a pot and bring it to a rapid boil. Add salt.
• Put the pasta in the pot with boiling water and stir quickly.
• Cook the pasta for about 8 minutes until al dente. Drain the water.

2. Make the topping

• Mix crumbled graham crackers, bacon, white and brown sugar, black pepper, and roasted garlic. Add melted butter and vanilla and stir well.

3. Prepare the bouillie and add cheese

• Pour cold milk into the saucepan and whisk the flour into it.
• Add nutmeg, white pepper, and dry mustard.
• Keep stirring and bring the mixture to a boil. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
• Add cheese and stir well.

4. Assemble the dish and bake it

• Put the pasta in a baking dish. Add cheese sauce and stir well. Add the topping.
• Put the dish in a preheated oven at 325 °F for 15-20 minutes.
• Remove the dish from the oven and decorate it with scallion.

Bon appétit!