Print Options:

Creamy Homestyle Macaroni & Cheese

Courses ,
Difficulty Intermediate
Time
Prep Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 15 mins Total Time: 35 mins
Servings 8
Ingredients
  • 500 g Dried Macaroni Pasta
  • 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
  • 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
  • 1 1/2 cup Milk
  • 2 1/2 cup Half and Half Cream
  • 4 cup Old Cheddar Cheese (shredded, measured & divided)
  • 2 cup Gruyere Swiss Cheese (shredded, measured & divided)
  • 1/2 tbsp Salt
  • 1/2 tsp White Pepper
  • 1/4 tsp Paprika
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and grease a 9x13 casserole dish.  Set aside.
  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.  
  3. While water is coming up to a boil, shred cheeses and toss together to mix, then divide into three piles.  Approximately 3 cups for the sauce, 1 1/2 cups for the inner layer, and 1 1/2 cups for the topping.
  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.  Slowly pour in about 2 cups or so of the milk/half and half, while whisking constantly, until smooth.  Slowly pour in the remaining milk/half and half, while whisking constantly, until combined and smooth.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. In a large mixing bowl, combine drained pasta with cheese sauce, stirring to combine fully. (It will look like a lot of sauce, but will thicken a lot during baking.) 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.
  8. Sprinkle the top with the last 1 1/2 cups of cheese and bake for 15 minutes, until cheesy is bubbly and lightly golden brown.