Baked Macaroni Cheese is the ultimate American side dish! My basic mac'n'cheese recipe includes a creamy and velvety sauce packed with three cheeses topped with a crunchy panko and mozzarella crust. Its perfect as a side or gussied up with any manner of extras to make a whole feast on its own.
Pop a full kettle on to boil. Pop a large saucepan onto the hob to warm.
Measure 500ml of Milk into a jug.
Weigh 250g Macaroni and add to the pan along with enough boiling water to cover and the pasta and enough extra to come up at least and inch above the pasta line. Add 2 tbsp Fine Salt to the boiling water.
Keep the pasta water boiling and make sure to stir the pasta every now and again whilst making the cheese sauce. Set a timer for the pasta. About 12 minutes. At whatever time the pasta is cooked, turn off the heat and drain. Leave the pasta to sit in a colander.
Meanwhile, pop a medium saucepan onto a medium heat. Add 40g Butter and stir around the pan until melted.
Add 40g Plain Flour and stir until fully combined. Allow to bubble away for a minute.
Add 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard and about 50ml of the milk and stir until thoroughly combined.
The sauce will be very thick and doughy at this point.
Add another 50ml of milk and stir again. Keep repeating with small amounts of milk.
Stir to properly combine and make sure there are no lumps before adding the next batch of milk.
You can start adding 100ml and then 200ml as it feels appropriate until all the milk is combined.
Leave the sauce to simmer gently whilst cutting 150g Double Gloucester into small cubes.
Add the cubed cheese to the sauce along with 50g Grated Mozzarella and 60g Cream Cheese.
Keep stirring the sauce until the cheeses are fully melted and combined.
Taste the sauce and season with 2 tsp Sea Salt Flakes or to your preference.
Add the drained pasta to the sauce and thoroughly combine.
Pour the macaroni cheese into a baking dish.
Combine the remaining 100g Mozzarella, 50g Panko Breadcrumbs and 1 tbsp Olive Oil in a bowl.
Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the top of the macaroni and sauce.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until the top is golden brown and bubbly.
Serve the Macaroni Cheese hot.
Notes
Important! If you have adjusted the serving size of this recipe, the cooking time will vary. A larger dish will take longer to cook and a smaller one will take less.