Baked Mac and Cheese

Who doesn't love mac and cheese! Skip the box and make this simple and easy homemade mac and cheese. Making it from scratch is a lot easier than you think and it taste 100 times better too! You can get creative and use your own cheese variations as well. Don't forget the breadcrumbs to give that extra crunch to your mac too!

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Step 2

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When boiling, add dried pasta and cook 1 minute less than the package directs for al dente. Drain and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil to keep from sticking.

Step 3

Divide your cheeses. Approximately 3 cups for the sauce, 1 1/2 cups for the inner layer, and 1 1/2 cups for the topping.

Step 4

Melt butter in a large saucepan over MED heat. Sprinkle in flour and whisk to combine. Mixture will look like very wet sand. Cook for approximately 1 minute, whisking often.

Step 5

Slowly add in milk and whisk to combine and smooth.

Step 6

Continue to heat over MED heat, whisking very often, until thickened to a very thick consistency. It should almost be the consistency of a semi thinned out condensed soup.

Step 7

Remove from the heat and stir in spices and 1 1/2 cups of the cheeses, stirring to melt and combine. Stir in another 1 1/2 cups of cheese, and stir until completely melted and smooth.

Step 8

In a large mixing bowl, combine drained pasta with cheese sauce, stirring to combine fully.

Step 9

Pour half of the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheeses, then top that with the remaining pasta mixture.

Step 10

Sprinkle the top with the last 1 1/2 cups of cheese and your bread crumbs. Then bake for 15 minutes, until cheesy is bubbly and lightly golden brown.