Old Fashioned Macaroni and Cheese Casserole Recipe

Old fashioned macaroni and cheese recipe – the kind that doesn’t come from a box- has got to be the top comfort food in the United States. Who doesn’t love that rich cheese sauce, gooey chunks of cheese that hang on your fork, and crispy crumb topping?  Is your mouth watering yet?

Guess what? You can make this! It really is SO easy! Plus I’m giving away a huge set of cookware in this post so be sure to enter for that! (This is not a sponsored post – it’s MY giveaway). This post has been updated and the giveaway added. It was originally published in January 2016.

For this recipe you will need: elbow macaroni, butter, all purpose flour, mustard powder, milk, half and half cream, eggs, salt, pepper, cheddar cheese – medium and sharp), Swiss cheese, breadcrumbs, and a large casserole dish or 13×9-inch baking pan

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There is absolutely nothing that can boast its comfort food status better than a plate of old fashioned macaroni and cheese. The tender macaroni not only is swathed in the rich, cheesy sauce but the macaroni soaks a little up while it’s baking.

My mother came from a family of seven. Each of the girls, and the sisters-in-law had a specialty that they brought to each family gathering. Being in Michigan the foods were likely to be jell-o salads, macaroni dishes, and such. Aunt Bernie was, I think, the hands down best cook in the family – her apple pandowdy was to die for!  But Aunt Lou made far and away the most magical, cheesiest, most amazing old fashioned macaroni and cheese in the history of the known world.

The edges of the macaroni were just a little crunchy and when you pulled the spoon out of the dish long, steaming strands of cheese would clutch at the dish until you took your finger and pulled those cheese threads away. The top was strewn with crispy, buttery, bread crumbs and black pepper. I can taste it to this day. I swear there has never been anything like it and I sure can’t do it justice, either. She obviously had the touch.

Just out of curiosity, does your family have that same sort of thing with the cooks? What are their specialties?

This baked mac & cheese is full of old fashioned goodness, crispy, buttery bread crumbs, and those tell-tale strands of gooey cheese. The cheesiness comes from two kinds of cheese used in two different ways. I like to use Panko for the top because it stays crispier but homemade bread crumbs are fine, too. For this particular recipe I added a tablespoon of smoke flavoring, sliced hot dogs that had been grilled (great way to use leftovers, right?) and a 1/2 cup of finely chopped pepperoncini. Mac & Cheese is versatile, you can add almost anything. I think that is one reason it became so popular.

You can actually put together this old fashioned macaroni and cheese casserole the night before, just be sure to leave off the crumbs until you are ready to bake. When you get home from work the next evening, or get home from sky diving, or whatever it is you do then add the crumbs and slide it into the oven for a half hour while you relax with a glass of wine and your favorite reality show.

That’s it. I promise you, you will love this stuff. Oh, here’s a hint. As much as I hate to say this – overcook the macaroni just slightly. You don’t want it a la dente for this dish. When it is soft (but not so much that it’s mushy) then it absorbs the cheese sauce a bit more. There is something about all of the textures and flavors that is just downright delicious.

Oh… by the way. This old fashioned macaroni and cheese recipe starts with a roux, a cooked combination of flour and butter. If this is not done right the entire recipe will be off. Undercooked and it will taste like raw flour – over cooked and it will taste scorched.

So here’s how you do it –

To Make Perfect Roux

1. Starting with a low fire (or lowest heat on an electric) melt the butter in a heavy saucepan until it foams. Don’t let the butter brown.
2. Add the flour all at once and stir constantly.
3. Carefully watch the color of the butter and flour mixture. Don’t worry about it lumping up just keep it moving.
4. When the mixture becomes a light golden brown slowly add warmed milk and cream, whisking constantly.
5. The process takes about eight minutes at my house but don’t try to go by the clock. You have to go by the color.

Win a 14 Piece Set of Rachael Ray Cookware! Here’s How!

So, last fall I won a set of Rachael Ray cookware. It’s heavy and it’s beautiful but it’s blue. As you know I have everything red from my car to my laptop to my hanging lights over the countertop. I have a red set of cookware and I didn’t know what I was going to do with blue. As I was thinking about it I decided that when things settled down in the Spring I would do a giveaway and let one of my wonderful Restless Chipotle readers win it.

Here’s the set-

So, you get all of that. The baking sheet, the pans, the covers, the spatulas. It’s all in the box and I’ve NEVER opened it. The box is still sealed in the plastic covering that UPS or Fedex or whoever used.  Which also means that if something happens to be missing or broken I’m sorry. I had no way of knowing and I’m not buying you a new set. The retail value on this is 299.00 according to the site.

I have been food blogging for 10 years now. TEN YEARS.  It’s been a long road with lots of wonderful experiences and some not so wonderful experiences. I wouldn’t give it up for the world! The thing is that if y’all didn’t come and read the blog, share it on social media, and tell your friends about my recipes I would not be able to continue doing this. SO… thank you. I am so grateful for every one of you. Good luck!!

You MUST use this giveaway box in order to be entered. Just leaving a comment with out clicking the box saying I left a comment will not count. Clicking the box without leaving a comment won’t count either – I check.

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Old Fashioned Macaroni and Cheese

4.63 from 24 votes

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Old Fashioned Macaroni and Cheese

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Total Time

45 mins

 

Creamy, gooey, mac and cheese topped with crispy, buttery breadcrumbs brings old fashioned goodness to your table whenever you need serious comfort food.

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: 8

Calories: 656 kcal

Author: Marye Audet

Ingredients

• 1 16-ounce elbow macaroni 16 ounce, cooked and drained
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 8 tablespoons flour
• 2 teaspoons mustard powder you may want a little more or a little less depending on your tastes
• 2 cups milk warm not hot
• 2 cups half and half cream light, warm, not hot
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground black pepper generously to taste
• 2 cups medium cheddar cheese about 1/2 pound, shredded
• 3 cups sharp cheddar This is about 3/4 pound…I use Tillamook, shredded
• 1 cup diced Swiss cheese about 1/4 pound
• 2 cups breadcrumbs
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Cook the macaroni in salted water - drain and set aside.
3. In a large, heavy saucepan melt the butter until it foams.
4. Add the flour mixed with salt and pepper and whisk until blended. (This is a roux)

5. Cook until the roux is a very light golden brown, moving the mixture around the pan constantly so it doesn’t scorch

6. Mix milk and cream together.

7. Pour milk mixture in slowly, whisking constantly.
8. Bring to a boil.
9. Reduce heat and cook while stirring until the mixture thickens – just a few minutes.
10. Remove from heat.

11. Stir in mustard powder.

12. Add about a 1/4 cup of the hot mixture to the beaten egg a tablespoon at a time, beating well so the egg doesn’t curdle.
13. Add the warm milk and egg mixture back into the mixture in the pan, whisking constantly.
14. Stir in 3 cups of the cheddar and 1 cup of the medium cheddar until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
15. Fold in the cooked, drained macaroni and the diced Swiss cheese.
16. Spoon the macaroni mixture into a buttered 13 x 9 inch casserole dish.
17. Top with the remaining cheddar.
18. Melt the remaining 1/3 cup of butter in a high sided frying pan.
19. Add the breadcrumbs and cook, stirring constantly, until the crumbs are coated with butter and crispy.
20. Add the breadcrumbs to the top of the macaroni and cheese and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbling.
21. Let the casserole stand for five minutes before serving.

Nutrition Facts

Old Fashioned Macaroni and Cheese

Amount Per Serving

Calories 656 Calories from Fat 432

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 48g 74%

Saturated Fat 29g 145%

Cholesterol 176mg 59%

Sodium 701mg 29%

Potassium 287mg 8%

Total Carbohydrates 32g 11%

Dietary Fiber 1g 4%

Sugars 5g

Protein 23g 46%

Vitamin A 29.9%

Vitamin C 0.7%

Calcium 60.6%

Iron 12.2%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.