Homemade mac and cheese is the best comfort food that all families love. It's got a heavenly creamy white cheddar cheese sauce mixed with cooked pasta and topped with breadcrumbs for a crunchy finish. White cheddar mac and cheese is easy to make and ready in 1 hour.
If you are hosting a party and need side dishes inspiration, do no hesitate to make my delicious fried cabbage with bacon recipe. Super delicious to pair with any meal!
Contents
⭐ Why this recipe works
This white cheddar mac and cheese recipe has everything you could possibly want from a comforting family meal. It's filling, creamy, chewy, and full of flavor from the first bite.
The combination of parmesan and white cheddar melted in the white sauce is so delicious, and the breadcrumb topping adds a golden crunch to the whole dish.
It's an easy recipe that any home cook can make on the stove with minimal ingredients in one large pot and then baked in the oven to give it a crunch.
Creamy mac and cheese is a great recipe for kids - they love it! And any leftovers make perfect meal prep for their school-packed lunches. Serve it as a main meal or a creamy appetizer.
Mac and cheese is a budget-friendly pasta recipe that everyone loves to eat, and it's easily customizable to add your favorite ingredients like bacon, beef, chicken, or more cheese. Whichever way you make it, it's delicious!
🍽 Key Ingredients
White cheddar mac and cheese is an easy recipe to prepare anytime with household ingredients and essential cooking equipment.
Pasta - Elbow macaroni is the pasta of choice because it's the best variety for making this recipe absorb all the delicious flavors.
Dairy - Whole milk and butter are used to make the roux for the creamy sauce.
Cheese - Macaroni and cheese recipes require strong cheese, so were adding sharp white cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese to give the sauce a distinct flavor.
Breadcrumbs - For this recipe, we're baking it in the oven with a crunchy breadcrumb topping.
Flour - Any flour will work here to thicken the sauce.
Substitutions
Cheese
If you can't get sharp white cheddar cheese, you can substitute it for other strong-flavored cheese like gruyere cheese, Monterey Jack, or smoked gouda.
Milk
Whole milk is preferred to give the cheese sauce a creamier consistency, but you can use skim milk without seeing too much difference.
Pasta
Homemade macaroni and cheese are best made with small pasta like macaroni noodles, but other small pasta shapes are equal substations, like penne, rigatoni, or farfalle. Or make it gluten-free with a gluten-free pasta variety.
🔪 How to make
This white cheddar mac and cheese recipe takes half an hour to prepare and half an hour to bake. It's delicious and easy to make with my step-by-step instructions, helpful top tips, and FAQs.
Preparations
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) and grease a large casserole or baking dish.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta to package direction, minus one minute to be al dente, then drain it and set aside.
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
In a large heavy-bottomed skillet or pan over medium heat, melt butter and whisk in the flour until it browns and thickens.
Step 2
Add in the milk bit by bit, constantly whisking until it resembles a smooth, silky, thick cream sauce. It usually takes 7 to 8 minutes until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
Step 3
Take the white sauce off the heat and stir in the shredded cheese and cooked macaroni. Combine well and put the pan back on the heat for a few minutes to let the cheese melt.
Step 4
Melt the remaining butter and mix it with the breadcrumbs.
Step 5
Pour the mac and cheese mixture into the prepared baking dish and top with the breadcrumbs.
Step 6
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the breadcrumbs turn golden brown.
Allow cooling for 5 minutes before serving.
💭 Cooking tips
Lumpy sauce
If you get any stubborn lumps when whisking the sauce, pour it through a sieve, clean the pan, and add the sieved sauce back.
Thickness
Don't let the cheese sauce thicken too much, or else it will end up dry after being baked.
Don't use pre-grated cheese.
Buy block cheese and grate it yourself for a creamier texture for best results. Pre-grated cheddar cheese has a coating that prevents it from melting properly.
Don't rush the cheese sauce.
Making the sauce can take around 10 minutes, so don't be afraid if it doesn't look right after a few minutes. Once the butter is combined with the flour, whisk the milk constantly when adding it as it will thicken quickly, and towards the end of the 4 cups of milk, it will become smoother.
Al dente pasta
You want the macaroni to be slightly hard in the middle when boiling them so that when they're mixed with the cheese sauce and baked, they will become soft and chewy. Otherwise, if they're overcooked first, they will become too soft without any chew after being baked.
📖 Recipe Variations
White cheddar mac and cheese is easily customizable to create flavorsome variations like these three irresistible combinations.
Meaty mac and cheese
Upgrade your mac and cheese with some tender ground beef. This meaty mac and cheese variation uses a host of spices to add extra flavor, and the beef makes the meal more hearty and the boatload of sharp white cheddar cheese.
Buffalo chicken mac and cheese
If you like a bit of spice in your food, give this chicken mac and cheese a go. It's mildly spicy from the hot sauce mixed with the chicken and has a blue cheese breadcrumb butter topping to bring the whole dish together.
Bacon & Jalapeño Mac and Cheese
This spicy version combines seeded jalapenos and crispy bacon with creamy pasta sauce. Bacon mac and cheese is delicious and has a breadcrumb and melted cheese topping.
🥗 What to serve with
White cheddar mac and cheese is perfect on its own as the star main course for a family dinner, or it can be served as an appetizer/side dish.
BBQ bacon-wrapped meatloaf
I like to serve mac and cheese as a side dish with BBQ bacon-wrapped meatloaf. It's a super easy meal to prepare and is full of comforting ingredients the whole family will love. Meatloaf is always a popular meal, and when combined with white cheddar mac and cheese, it's a winning combination.
Bacon-wrapped stuffed chicken breasts
Even though stuffed chicken breasts seem fancy and difficult to make, It's actually not. The bacon is wrapped around the chicken in this dish and melts in your mouth as you bite into it, with all of the moisture from the spinach inside.
Jalapeño cheddar cornbread
If you're making the bacon and jalapeno mac and cheese, be sure to combine it with this jalapeño cheddar cornbread. You don't need to be a master baker here, as the recipe is easy to follow, takes 45 minutes, and tastes fantastic.
🙋 Frequently Asked Questions
Why are my mac and cheese greasy?
If you end up with grease forming on the top of the cheese sauce, it is because the cheese has overheated. When cheddar cheese is left on the heat too long, it causes the fat to separate, leading to oil floating on top of the sauce.
Do you rinse pasta when making mac and cheese?
No, you don't need to run the pasta under cold water after boiling it for mac and cheese. Rinsing pasta is only necessary for cold recipes like pasta salad. You can, however, rinse pasta under cold water and then add it to the sauce if you want to remove the starch.
🧊 Storing and ♨️ Reheating
White cheddar mac and cheese can be stored in the fridge or freezer once cooled completely.
Fridge - Transfer any leftover mac and cheese to an airtight container or cover the baking dish in the aluminum wrap and place it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freezer - To freeze the white cheddar mac and cheese, transfer the leftovers to an airtight container. It will freeze for up to 4 months.
Reheating - Preheat an oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and reheat the leftovers in a baking dish for 15 minutes and 25 minutes for frozen.
🍳 Related Macaroni Recipes
If you love my cheeseburger mac and cheese recipe. Try one of these fantastic mac and cheese recipes for your next meal.
👪 Serving Size
This white cheddar mac and cheese recipe will give you 6 generous servings. Or double or triple the recipe quantity to cater to more guests.
I usually make 2 of these to freeze one for later in the week. It makes life much easier, just baking the frozen white cheddar mac and cheese without thinking of creating a mess.
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page.
Try one of my comfort dinner recipes for your next family meal! And if you have any questions, I'm here to help!
📋 Recipe
White Cheddar Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta - macaroni, penne, rigatoni or similar
- 4 cups whole milk - room temperature
- 8 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ cup flour
- 2 tablespoon salt
- 3 cups white cheddar cheese - shredded
- 1 ½ cups parmesan - shredded
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs - crushed potato chips
- ground pepper - to taste
Instructions
Mac and Cheese Pasta
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) and grease a large casserole or baking dish.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta to package direction, minus one minute to be al dente, then drain it and set aside.
Mac and Cheese Sauce
- In a large heavy-bottomed skillet or pan over medium heat, melt butter and whisk in the flour until it browns and thickens.
- Add in the milk bit by bit, constantly whisking until it resembles a smooth, silky, thick cream sauce. It usually takes 7 to 8 minutes until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
- Take the white sauce off the heat and stir in the shredded cheese and cooked macaroni. Combine well and put the pan back on the heat for a few minutes to let the cheese melt.
- Melt the remaining butter and mix it with the breadcrumbs.
- Pour the mac and cheese mixture into the prepared baking dish and top with the breadcrumbs.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the breadcrumbs turn golden brown.
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