Sunday, August 24, 2014

Baked Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

The weekend is always an excuse to make something indulging. And when it comes to comfort food, you won't have to search too long to come across a Macaroni and Cheese Recipe. Everyone has their own version, method and desired ingredients, and this here is mine. 

Now before you make this, let me tell you what kind of Macaroni and Cheese I like. I want a baked version, where the inside is full of flavorful sauce and the top is crispy and crunchy. And that's exactly what you will get from this recipe.

click on the images for a bigger view



The ingredients are:
- 250 gr (8 ounces) macaroni (or other shaped pasta) + 1 tbsp salt for cooking
- 60 gr (4 tbsp) butter
- 30 gr (1/4 cup) flour
- 500 ml (2 cups) milk
- 400 gr (3 cups) Gouda or Cheddar cheese (150 gr/1 cup from that is for the topping)
- 1 tbsp salt for sauce


1. Preheat your oven to 200C (400F)

2. Cook the macaroni, in salted water, until it's al dente, which means that it's chewy. You want it this way, because it will continue to cook in the oven later. Once cooked, drain the water thoroughly. You don't want any water left that could dilute your sauce.

3. Make the Cheese Sauce. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter, then put in the flower and 1 tbsp salt. Add the milk and 250 gr/2 cups cheese and mix until blended. Turn the heat up and cook until the sauce has thickened (usually takes 5 minutes). Stir continuously until the sauce has thickened, you don't want any clumps.

4. Grease your casserole with butter, and mix sauce with cooked macaroni. Spread in the casserole and top with the rest of the cheese. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the top is golden brown.


This is a very basic recipe and is a perfect base for all sorts of additions. You can put cooked chicken into the mix, or broccoli and other vegetables. You can even fry some bacon and crumble it into the mixture. 

Do you like macaroni and cheese? What is your way of making it?

35 comments:

  1. I love macaroni and cheese.
    I have never tried it with Gouda ,
    but it sounds wonderful so now I have a new version to try .
    Thanks for the share Mersad

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    1. Hope you will try it this way. Take care!

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  2. thanks for posting this, i had forgotten how my mother made hers and this is how she did it and i do love it. i don't cook very much and really hate cooking, but this is so easy i can and will do it. thanks for the recipe..

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    1. It's a very traditional way of making it, I guess that's why your mom made it this way.

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  3. I am always surprised at how many places I have visited that serve "gourmet" mac and cheese. I guess I have a bias against it because of the many times I've eaten it as a kid and how often I treated my chlldren to it when I need a fast meal. I haven't been tempted to try it for years, but in your honor, I'll give it a whirl the next time my grand-kids are here. I love good Gouda, so I'll use that.

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    1. I'm glad you will give it another try. Don't know what can be gourmet about mac and cheese :) I guess they fancy it up a bit, but in this end this is home cooking.

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  4. Mersad. It is a staple dish for me but why miss out the fresh tomatoes? No excuse at this time of year. I chop three into bits and then slice as many as are needed to cover the dish. I like it in autumn and use a mild Dutch or Swiss cheese with fungi. Sour cream works well half and half crema de netta. It's the same as crema da cocina. Sorry I am not good with English let alone with what you call cooking cream. I think we call it UHT Cream but the Spanish cocina crema is better.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. As I said in the end, this is a base recipe, which you can make into a lot of other casseroles, by including meats or vegetables. Tomatoes are great this time of year, and we have them in abundance right now. I usually slice them up into salads, but they would be great in this dish as well.

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  5. I love mac and cheese.. I make a similar recipe to yours but sometimes I add diced tomatoes.

    Great recipe, thanks for sharing! Have a happy day and new week ahead!

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    1. Diced tomatoes are a great inclusion.

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  6. Oh, yes, we love mac and cheese here. :) When the kids were little they liked it with tuna baked in it with potato chips crumbled on the top. It was a quick meal when I got home from the office and the kids thought it was gourmet food.

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    1. Tuna sounds good. Maybe with a tomato sauce instead of the cheese sauce.

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  7. Okidoki...das sieht mal richtig lecker aus !! Yummmmmyyyyyyy :)

    Grüße und einen schönen Sonntagabend noch

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    1. Dank Timur! Grüße zurück.

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  8. Ah, one of my favorite dishes, too!! I'll try your recipe the next time I fix it! It looks and sounds delicious! Thanks, as always, for sharing the good things, Mersad, from food to lovely places!! Have a great new week!

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    1. Thanks for visiting. Hope you will like it this way.

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  9. Simple yet very delicious recipe! I am going to prepare it!

    Very excellent photos of this delicious recipe!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Kaya. Glad you liked it.

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  10. I made mac and cheese last week. I combined two recipes as I was going to make something else, then my blessing asked for mac and cheese so I combined the two.

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    1. That sounds good, I also have a different version of the recipe here on the blog.

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  11. We love mac and cheese here, too. I must try adding Gouda.

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    Replies
    1. The taste is really great. You can also try a mic of a couple of cheeses.

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  12. Nudeln mit Käse können bei mir jede Zeit in jeder Menge kommen, wie auch Pizza. :-) Liebe Grüße

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  13. Haven't had homemade mac 'n cheese for the longest time. This looks delicious.

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  14. Yum! This is such a comfort food. I like the crispy crust too. We add Bacon to ours.

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  15. Das schaut aber lecker aus! Jetzt hab ich Hunger! :)
    Aber ich weiß zumindest schon, was ich morgen koche!

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  16. I love this meal, and I do it in the same way
    good one
    Ciao
    Stefano

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  17. I add a very small about of red pepper the kind that comes with your pizza delivery to mine before baking.. It gives an added zip.

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