Baked Mac and Cheese

5 from 5 votes

The best vegetarian homemade baked mac and cheese recipe! Rich and creamy and cheesy baked mac and cheese made with three kinds of cheese topped with panko breadcrumbs.

Prep Time10

Cook Time45

Total Time55

Course: Entree

Cuisine: American

Keyword: baked mac and cheese

Servings:

Calories: 444kcal

Author: Srividhya G

Equipment

saucepan or Dutch oven
cheese grater
conventional oven

Ingredients

Measurement Details: 1 cup=240ml; 1tsp=5ml;1tbsp=15ml;

For the pasta

½ lb elbow pasta
8 cups of water
2 tsp salt
2 tsp olive oil

For the sauce

1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil plus 1 tsp to grease the baking dish
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup reserved water
⅓ cup parmesan cheese
½ cup gruyere cheese
⅓ cup mild cheddar
½ tsp ground pepper or to taste
½ tsp nutmeg powder or to taste

For the topping

2 tbsp parmesan
2 tbsp mild cheddar
3 to 4 tbsp panko bread crumbs

Instructions

Prep-work:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the baking dish with oil and butter and set aside. I used my Corningware 2.5 qt oval baking dish. Grate the required amount of cheese and set it aside. Mix all the three-cheese varieties required for the sauce and keep it ready.

Cook the pasta.

Add 8 cups of water to a saucepan and add the salt and olive oil. Bring it to a rolling boil. Add pasta to the boiling water and cook for 6 minutes, 1 minute less than the time mentioned in the pasta package instructions for aldente pasta. Reserve ¼ cup of pasta water and drain the remaining water.

Prepare the sauce.

Add the 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp olive oil to a heavy-bottomed pan. I used my Dutch-oven. Let the butter melt, and when it is hot, add the all-purpose flour and mix.
Cook for 45 seconds to a minute, and when it forms like cookie dough as shown in the picture, add 1 cup of cold milk.
Using a wire whisk, mix until the sauce is nice and smooth. Then add the heavy cream and keep mixing until the sauce thickens.
Now add half the measure of the mixed cheese and whisk until smooth.
Now add the remaining cheese, freshly ground pepper, nutmeg powder and continue whisking until the sauce is creamy and smooth.
The sauce should be thick and creamy and like below. Set aside ½ cup of sauce from this measure.
Now add the cooked pasta, reserved pasta water, and mix thoroughly.
Cook for two minutes and turn off the heat.

Bake the mac and cheese.

Add the reserved ½ cup of the cheese sauce to the baking dish and form a bed.
Now spread the prepared mac and cheese into the baking dish and spread it evenly.
Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly on top, and then add the grated cheddar and parmesan cheese.
Bake this mac and cheese for 15 minutes at 350 deg F and after 15 minutes, turn off the oven. Let the mac and cheese sit in the oven for 5 minutes and then remove it from the oven. Serve it right away!

Notes

Do not overcook the pasta. Always cook a minute or two less than the time mentioned on the package instructions. As we are baking the pasta again with the sauce, overcooked pasta might become mushy.
Use cold milk and cream for this recipe as it helps to break down the roux. Whisk, whisk, and whisk while adding the milk. First, add the milk, ensure there aren't any lumps, and then add the heavy cream.
Add cheese in batches. Let the first batch melt, and then add the remaining. Again keep mixing, and that's the key.
This cheese measure works well for us. It's cheesy but not too cheesy and heavy. But you can always increase or decrease the cheese measure and the butter according to your preference.
Adjust the seasonings as per your preference. Add additional seasonings or dried herbs of your choice.
If you can't source Gruyere cheese, use any other swiss cheese or any available cheese. The taste might differ, but you can mix and match and find the right combination that you like.
I highly recommend mild cheddar, parmesan, and Gruyere for this classic mac and cheese, but you can choose as per the availability.
I don't bake for a longer time. I usually bake for 15 minutes at a max of 20 minutes. I remove it from the oven as soon the cheese is bubbly, and the cheese is light brown.
Skip the baking: If you want to skip the baking part, then cook the pasta as mentioned in the package. And add the panko directly and cook for a couple of minutes and serve it.

Nutrition