Extra Creamy Mac and Cheese With a Crunchy Golden Top

Some dinners feel like a warm hug, and this is one of them.

I make this extra creamy mac and cheese on cold Sundays, mostly. Soft and saucy in the middle. Crunchy on top. And the dish comes back empty, which is the only review I care about.

It’s a big pan too. Serves 8 to 10, so you’re not stuck scraping the bottom of a small dish for the last bite.

Why This Mac and Cheese Works

Pull the pasta one minute early. It finishes cooking in the oven, soaking up sauce, so it never turns mushy.

The cheese goes in two rounds. Half goes into the sauce first, until it melts, then the other half until it thickens up. Dump it all in at once and the sauce cools too fast and gets stringy. Two rounds keeps it smooth.

Gruyere does the heavy lifting on flavor. Sharp cheddar gives you the tang, Gruyere gives you the nutty, melty depth. Cheddar alone is fine. With Gruyere it tastes like you tried harder than you did.

And the topping. Panko tossed in melted butter, plus Parmesan, plus a little smoked paprika. The butter is the point. Dry panko just toasts and tastes like dust.

Ingredients

Pasta

• 16 oz elbow macaroni (or any tube pasta)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Cheese

• 4 cups shredded sharp cheddar
• 2 cups shredded Gruyere

Sauce

• 6 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Crunchy topping

• 1 1/2 cups panko
• 4 tbsp melted butter
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika (regular paprika works too)

How to Make Extra Creamy Mac and Cheese

1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 3 or 4-quart baking dish.
2. Toss the cheddar and Gruyere together in a bowl.
3. Boil the pasta, but pull it one minute before al dente. Drain it, toss with the olive oil, and let it cool a bit.
4. Melt 6 tbsp butter in a deep pot over medium heat. Whisk in the flour for about 1 minute, until bubbly and golden.
5. Pour in the milk and cream slowly, whisking until smooth. Once it bubbles, cook 2 more minutes. Add salt and pepper.
6. Stir in 2 cups of the cheese until melted, then another 2 cups until thick and creamy. Save the rest for layering.
7. Fold in the pasta until every piece is coated.
8. Pour half into the dish, sprinkle with half of the leftover cheese, add the rest of the pasta, then finish with the last of the cheese.
9. Mix the panko, melted butter, Parmesan and paprika. Spread it over the top.
10. Bake about 30 minutes, until bubbly and golden. Serve hot.

Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 45 minutes Total time: about 1 hour 5 minutes Servings: 8 to 10

Tips

Grate your own cheese. Pre-shredded has coating on it to stop clumping, and it can make the sauce grainy. I know. Extra work. Do it anyway.

Let it rest 5 minutes before serving. Straight from the oven it’s soup with a crust. After five minutes it holds its shape on the spoon.

Whisk the flour for the full minute. Raw flour taste is real and you can’t fix it later.

Season the sauce before the cheese goes in. Cheddar and Gruyere are salty, so go easy, but the milk needs something.

Variations

Crispy, salty, no complaints.

Swap the paprika for a pinch of cayenne if you want a little heat.

Skip the breadcrumb-and-cracker mashup versions. Crushed crackers go soft fast. Panko holds up.

Make-Ahead and Leftovers

Assemble it up to the point of baking and chill it a day ahead? Not really. The pasta keeps drinking the sauce overnight and it bakes up dry. Make it the same day.

Leftovers keep 3 days in the fridge. Reheat with a splash of milk to bring the creaminess back. Microwave in short bursts, stirring in between. The crunch won’t come back, but the middle will.

FAQ

Final Thoughts

Serve it next to something green and a little sharp. A simple salad with lemon dressing cuts through all that cheese. Or put it on the table next to a roast chicken and call it Sunday dinner.