This classic recipe for Baked Mac and Cheese is incredibly easy and insanely delicious. With the holidays here, this always makes an appearance at our table. This traditional Southern dish pleases all, from the young children to the adults. 

photo of baked mac and cheese on white plate with fork

Homemade Mac and Cheese is nostalgic for me because at every holiday and family get-together, my grandma would make macaroni and cheese from scratch. She never missed once – even well into her late 80s. Now that she’s 96 years young, I feel like it is my duty to carry on this tradition and make this every holiday for my family.

What’s great about this recipe is if your oven is already busy, you don’t have to bake the Mac and Cheese; you can simply just not add the eggs and stir the noodles right into the sauce before serving.

What do I need to make Baked Mac and Cheese?

  • Elbow Macaroni Noodles — Really, you could use any sort of small pasta like penne or shells.
  • Cheese — You can really use any cheese you like, but I have a few suggestions based on our family’s taste buds. With that said, if you wanted to go all cheddar the first time around, it will still turn out amazing.
  • Half & Half, Heavy Cream and/or Milk — I love a mixture to make my creamy base.
  • Butter — This is pretty much essential for anything incredibly delicious and baked.
  • Flour — This is only used to make your roux.
  • Ground Mustard, Salt and Pepper — Pick and choose what you like. We tend to lean toward ground mustard, pepper, salt and paprika.

This holiday season I’m partnering with Beko Appliances, spreading holiday cheer and baking up some deliciousness.

This past November, I received three brand new appliances, updating my kitchen without taking it all apart. It was nice that switching out my refrigerator, oven and dishwasher could make such a drastic change to our central hub (aka the kitchen).

Our new 36” French 4-Door Counter-Depth Refrigerator, because it is used literally 10 times an hour if not more, was my first appliance to highlight. I shared my Aunt Patty’s best-ever pie, her Chocolate Mousse Fudge Pie, and all the features of the refrigerator I love. I’m still swooning over the ice maker, Active Fresh Blue Light & EverFresh+ technology, water dispenser and multi-climate zones, keeping all our food fresher longer!

Mac and Cheese on a plate

Today, I want to highlight my Dual Fuel Range. Not only is it beautiful, but I love having a gas cooktop! My kids feel the same way. Recently, our son Aiden said, “When I’m using the gas cooktop, I feel like I am really cooking.” I am not really sure what he was doing before on our other oven, but I believe he felt the same way I did. Now it feels and looks more sophisticated and professional.

Part of the reason I wanted the gas range was for photos on my blog; it visibly looks better to me.

There are so many great selections when it comes to ranges from Beko, but we ended up with the 30″ Slide-In Dual Fuel Range. It comes with 5 burners, center burner, Baking Drawer, Digital LED Multifunction Display and in Stainless Steel.

This made my Thanksgiving baking a breeze, and I completely loved the baking drawer in my new oven. In fact, I baked the green bean casserole in there. And, after it was baked through, I kept it in and added the mashed potatoes to keep them all warm and toasty while we finished baking the brussels sprouts, sweet potato focaccia bread and rolls.

Beko 30″ Slide-In Dual Fuel Range Features:

  • Self-Clean(and it’s programmable)
  • Auto Reignition: This feature is extremely cool. If one of the burners ever accidentally extinguishes while you’re cooking, your Beko range will automatically reignite the flame. This has only ever happened to me while boiling a pot of water and it overflowed.
  • **Holiday Baking Bonus**Prime Turkey Cooking: There are all sorts of pre-set cook settings, which makes it easy for any level of baker.
  • Central Oval Burner 10,000 BTU: This large center burner is oval-shaped and great for oversized pots or pans. I would definitely order the griddle accessory, which I am hoping will be in my stocking this year.
  • Meat Probe: Great for when you are cooking your prime rib or turkey, the internal temperature probe is perfect for large cuts of meat and checking the level of doneness every time.
  • InnovaChef Smart Display: This is personally one of my favorite features! This intuitive touch control clearly displays features and important cooking information. It is so easy to read!
  • Full Extension Baking Drawer: My favorite feature of the oven – one because the baking drawer heats up to 425 and really can bake anything. From cookies to casseroles, this baking drawer is completely convenient and extends your baking power.
  • Full Lower Extension Telescopic Rack: This makes taking out heavy items – e.g. turkey, prime rib and casseroles – easy. It supports the heaviest dishes confidently and safely with fully extending pull-out racks.
  • Easy-to-Clean Enamel Burner Plate: This is 100% accurate!!! I love the enamel cooking surface. Not only is it durable, but so easy to clean.
  • 3 Heavy-Duty Wire Racks: These racks are completely professional-grade, a step up from my old oven. The strength of the racks confidently handles large and heavy pots and pans.
  • XL Cooktop Surface: This cooktop surface is great – not only for the holidays, but also for feeding my large family. You can literally multi-task on this XL Cooktop Surface. It fits 4 10-inch pots + a griddle. You can do one complete meal on the surface at once plus bake your rolls all at the same time.

I made this Baked Mac and Cheese recipe using my dual fuel range. From boiling the water, making the cheesy sauce and then baking it all together, I was able to make our traditional Mac and Cheese for this Thanksgiving without any issues.

And the bonus was that I could make several dishes at once using my new Beko dual fuel range and oven.

So this holiday season, while I am celebrating with my family, creating memories and keeping traditions alive, I will add partnering with Beko to my gratitude list. It’s great to not only give my kitchen a simple update, but have quality products and brands as well.

How to make Baked Mac and Cheese.

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9×13-inch oven-proof casserole dish. Be sure to spray down the inside of the baking dish with oil or melt two tablespoons of butter and spread around the bottom and sides of your dish.
  • In a saucepan over medium heat, add cream, half-and-half and 4 tablespoons butter. Whisk in the seasonings and flour. Continue to whisk until the mixture is smooth, 1-2 minutes.
  • Add all of your cheese and whisk together, reduce the heat to low and continue to whisk until all of the cheese has melted. Keep cheese over low or warm heat while you prepare your noodles.
  • In a large pot or Dutch oven, add 8 cups of water + a sprinkle of salt and bring to boil. Put in the pasta and cook per package directions.
  • Drain noodles and pour them into the sauce. Stir until combined.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, and then stir them into the noodles and sauce until you cannot see them anymore.
  • Pour the pasta into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with paprika.
  • Bake for 30 – 40 minutes. I prefer a nice golden crust, so I bake it the whole time, whereas my kids like it the other way, so I’ll only bake 25-30 minutes. You can also choose to not bake it and serve it super saucy – just don’t add the eggs.
  • Let it stand 5-10 minutes before serving.
Mac and Cheese with a serving spoon

If you typically don’t make homemade Mac and Cheese, you could be wondering what cheese is the best to use in a mac and cheese recipe. So while we have our favorites below, we also included what is traditionally used.

TIP! Make sure to grate your cheese fresh; don’t buy it pre-shredded or grated as this will affect the overall taste of the cheese in your dish.

What is the best cheese for mac and cheese?

  • Sharp Cheddar — Really, any cheddar works well here. We prefer sharp because of the flavor and vibrancy in color.
  • White Cheddar — We love the mildness, and it melts well.
  • Smoked Gouda — Smoked Gouda is fantastic in mac and cheese and elevates your mac and cheese to the next level.
  • Fontina — This makes it oh-so-creamy and good. It’s mild but gives a nice buttery flavor.
  • Gruyère — I would use a mild Gruyère as it can be very strong and nutty tasting, and it has a tendency to overpower if large amounts are used.
  • Parmigiano Reggiano — We love this only freshly shredded. We typically save this for a white mac and cheese recipe, aka alfredo.
  • Gorgonzola — This is great and adds a lot of flavor. My kids don’t love their mac and cheese made with it as it resembles blue cheese.
  • Parmesan — Now we love this cheese. But for a traditional mac and cheese, if you use this, DO NOT USE prepackaged shelf grated Parmesan. It is a little too powerful and gives it a grainy texture. Only use freshly shredded/shaved parmesan.

With fantastic holiday food, comes many dirty dishes. I grew up with the notion that you basically hand washed the dishes and then put them in the dishwasher to sanitize. Once I became an adult and realized life doesn’t need to be this way, I became all about good quality dishwashers. Then as I became a mom to five children, this became not only a perk but a necessity.

The one thing I love is a good and quiet dishwasher. And my Beko 24″ Tall Tub, Top Control Dishwasher has been the answer to my dishwasher needs. I can hands down say that our Beko dishwasher is the best dishwasher we’ve ever had. And that is saying a lot.

Stay tuned for more delicious recipes, Beko kitchen updates and a post all about my new dishwasher. You won’t want to miss out.

Happy holidays friends.

xo San

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Baked Mac and Cheese

Prep: 25 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Total: 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 12
Calories: 484 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 4 tablespoons salted butter
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream you can sub whole half-and-half or whole milk
  • 2 cups half-and-half you can sub whole milk
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 4 cups sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup Fontina cheese
  • 1 cup Gruyere cheese
  • 8 cups water salted
  • 3/4 pound elbow macaroni you can use the full pound just won't be as much sauce
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon paprika

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a 9×13-inch oven-proof casserole dish. Be sure to spray down the inside of the baking dish with oil or melt two tablespoons of butter and spread around the bottom and sides of your dish. 
  • In a saucepan over medium heat, add cream, half-and-half and 4 tablespoons butter. Whisk in the seasonings and flour. Continue to whisk until the mixture is smooth, 1-2 minutes. 
  • Add all of your cheese and whisk together, reduce the heat to low and continue to whisk until all of the cheese has melted. Keep cheese over low or warm heat while you prepare your noodles.
  • Using a large pot or Dutch oven, add 8 cups of water + a sprinkle of salt and bring to boil. Put in the pasta and cook per package directions.
  • Drain noodles and pour them into the sauce. Stir until combined.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, and then stir them into the noodles and sauce until you cannot see them anymore.
  • Pour the pasta/sauce mixture into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with paprika. 
  • Bake for 30 – 40 minutes. I prefer a nice golden crust, so I bake the whole time, whereas my kids like it the other way, so I will only bake it for 25-30 minutes. You can also choose to not bake it and serve it super saucy – just don't add the eggs.
  • Let it stand 5-10 minutes before serving. 
Calories: 484kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 22gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 138mgSodium: 727mgPotassium: 193mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 1133IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 509mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know what you think!

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21 Comments

  1. Looks like some top notch appliances there! We have some replacing to do…will check them out. 🙂
    Your mac and cheese looks amazing too. That cheese combination is droolworthy…I’m kind of a cheese addict. Fontina and Gruyere…yum!

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