The Best Baked Mac and Cheese

Mac and cheese is the ULTIMATE comfort food, I think most would agree. It's great on a cold day, when your are upset and just want to say home binge watching your favorite shows (or Disney movies), it also pairs well almost anything. BBQ? How about a side of Mac and Cheese? Yes please! Steak? Mac and cheese sounds like the perfect side.

I remember thinking Kraft Mac and Cheese was the bomb when I was little, now as an adult I know better. Homemade mac and cheese is the way to go. It's so amazing, and fairly simple to make. My absolute favorite mac and cheese is baked mac and cheese. It really is just amaze balls. You know why? CRUMBLY TOPPING, that's why. Who doesn't love crumbly topping?!?!? (If you say you don't you need to go stand outside.) Baked mac and cheese is so fabulous because it combines these 2 awesome things, mac and cheese WITH crumbly topping!!! WHAT?!?!?

The recipe I'm about to share with is a fairly large amount, but if you are like me, it will be gone before you know it. What you need is, 1 lb of pasta (you can use elbow, shells, any really). I choose shells for this go around. You will also need 6 cups of cheese. You can use any cheese or combo you like. I did 4 cups of mild cheddar and 2 cups of sharp white cheddar. (Lazy girl tip, to save time and effort, buy the preshredded stuff). You will also need 4 cups of whole milk (don't use anything other than whole milk or cream or it will be runny). You will need 1/2 cup of butter, 1/2 cup of flour, salt and pepper, paprika, and red pepper (the paprika and red pepper are optional).

Cook your pasta according to directions on box.While the pasta is cooking, heat 1/2 cup of butter on medium heat. Once melted, sprinkle in 1/2 cup of flour and whisk constantly for about 2-3 minutes. Pour in your milk, and whisk. Add in salt and pepper (you will want a lot of it for this amount of pasta, but you can scale back the pepper if it's not your thing, you will want about 1 tbsp of each), also add in the paprika and red pepper if you like (just a sprinkle of each, it just adds a little to the flavor). Whisk on medium heat until thickened.

Grease 9x13 pan with butter and pour in pasta. Sprinkle the 6 cups of shredded cheese over the top and pour the sauce on top. Let the sit to melt the cheese a bit. Next you will make the crumbly topping. Heat 4 tbsp butter in a pan on medium heat. Once melted added 1 cup of bread crumbs (you can use any, but I prefer garlic and herb). Stir constantly until the crumbs are golden brown. Sprinkle on top. **If you aren't that into crumbly topping (something may be wrong with you), you can use 2 tbsp butter and 1/2 cup of bread crumbs.

Cook in oven at 325 for 12-15 minutes.


I made this for a bbq today, and it was gone before I even got a chance to eat! They devoured it. I did taste test it before going just to make sure it was good enough to serve to people (I have to make sure it was up to my standards, since this was my first time making it this way). It was amazing and I am so sad I didn't get any. I will 100% be making this again at home soon.