Easy Southern Baked Macaroni & Cheese Recipe (Made With Cheese Sauce)

Baked Macaroni & Cheese like you’ve never tasted—cheesy, creamy, and soul food style, this dish brings together elbow macaroni in a rich, three-cheese sauce, baked to crispy perfection on top.

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Mac n cheese is probably most people’s favorite soul food dish and I feel like I’ve committed a crime not having a recipe for it on my website. I make it so many different ways but this way is probably my favorite way to make it.

Baked macaroni and cheese goes great with almost anything which is why it’s America’s favorite side dish and the perfect side for your next Sunday dinner. So give my recipe a shot and let me know how you like it by leaving a comment below.

Hey, PBJ’s!!! I have a super cheesy baked macaroni and cheese recipe I think yall will love. It’s made with a FIYAH creamy cheese sauce that you’re gonna love so I’m excited for yall to try it.

And just to let some of you out there who hate the idea of using flour to make cheese sauce, this recipe doesn’t include flour ok? Lol!

Childhood memories of baked macaroni and cheese

Im a black man and was raised by a bunch of cooking black women so yall already know I know all about baked macaroni and cheese. You cant talk soul food without mentioning baked macaroni and cheese.

My family made it all the time. We made it for every holiday like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and new Year’s eve. But we made it all year round too especially for Sunday night dinner. Baked macaroni and cheese was on the menu at last twice a month.

My grandmother’s were old school and from the south although they had moved to Philadelphia when they were young. They all made their baked macaroni and cheese the same way to. Lol!

With Sour cream, cheddar, salt, sugar, pepper, and good ole evaporated milk and eggs. Now I dont use eggs but that’s how folks back int he days made it. This generation is getting away from using eggs, which is a lil crazy now I think about it.

Classic vs modern baked mac and cheese

I mean really think about it… classic baked macaroni and cheese was suppose to be stiff like a pie. Something you can slice and cut through.

But todays generation of people are now making baked macaroni and cheese differently. We’re using cheese sauce which makes the baked macaroni and cheese soupy like stove top macaroni and cheese.

The only part that’s actually stiff now is the top. Lol! But this macaroni and cheese here is like a semi-classic baked macaroni and cheese recipe. I say that because although I dont use an egg, it’s still pretty stiff because of the way I prepare it.

So even though I do use a cheese sauce, this recipe will still give you the feel of a classic baked macaroni and cheese recipe, like the one ya grandma use to make. Ok let me talk about the utensils you’ll need.

Cookware & utensils you’ll need:

• A large pot: Ok so you’re obviously going to need a large pot to boil the macaroni in and to make the cheese sauce. 
• A Big spoon: You’ll need a big spoon to stir everything in and to serve the mac n cheese.
• Spatula: You don’t really need it but I like to have it on hand to level the top of the macaroni once it’s done, get all the sauce out of the pot, and to make space in the casserole dish.
  
  It’s like my clean up utensils because it can get to spots the big spoon cant. So I always make sure I have one on hand. You cant use it to neatly scoop and serve the mac n cheese too.
• Colander: You need a colander to strain the macaroni once it’s done.
• Casserole dish: You definitely have to have this on deck to bake the macaroni and cheese. 

Ingredients you’ll need:

• Macaroni
• 1/4 cup Butter
• 12 oz Block sharp yellow cheddar (8oz shredded, 4oz chopped)
• 12 oz Block sharp white cheddar (8oz shredded, 4oz chopped)
• Salt
• Garlic powder
• Sugar
• Black pepper
• Paprika
• Parsley

for the cheese sauce:

• 1/4 cup Butter
• Evporated milk
• Sour cream
• 8 oz Block Colby-Jack, chopped
• 4 oz Block sharp yellow cheddar, chopped
• 4 oz Block sharp white cheddar, chopped

Common questions about macaroni

What brand of macaroni do you use? A good name brand like Barilla, Mueller’s, and Ronzoni, to De Cecco and San Giorgio.

Should you boil the macaroni with oil? I used to do that because there’s a belief that it keeps the pasta from sticking but I think it’s pointless. Even if it does stick a little while boiling, it’ll easily come apart once you stir everything in.

Why do you add salt to pasta water? It adds flavor and limits the starch.

How to know when the macaroni is done? Whenever you’re boiling pasta, no matter which kind, you want to cook it until it’s al dente. Which means cooked til tender but firm. You don’t want it to be soggy, bloated, and limp!

About the seasonings

Ok so when it comes to seasoning my baked macaroni and cheese I’m pretty consistent with the seasonings I use. 

• Salt: I always use salt for taste obviously. Salt enhances flavor and gives things taste without it the mac n cheese would be bland and we dont want that! Lol! 
  
  I only use a little however, about 2 tsps because there’s sodium in the cheese and we’re using sharp cheddar cheese so a lot of salt isn’t needed. And when it comes to macaroni and cheese, I keep it simple.
  
  Some people like to use seasoning salt, complete seasonings etc. This not meat its mac n cheese and I want it to taste like mac n cheese.
  
  The one thing about salt is it enhances flavor without altering the taste so it’s the best seasoning to use for a dish like macaroni and cheese because you want your baked macaroni and cheese to actually taste like mac n cheese.
• Garlic powder: Now I’ve just started adding this to my mac n cheese. It just adds depth of flavor and goes well with macaroni and cheese. Garlic is a very popular seasoning for a reason and it’s because it makes everything taste better.
  
  But I make sure not to use too much of it. Im old school so I want my mac n cheese to taste like mac n cheese. Im very basic when it comes to macaroni and cheese. I cant stand overseasoned mac and cheese.
  
  I had a friend make me some one time and she put onion powder, sazon seasoning, laury’s seasoning, and a whole bunch of other seasonings in her mac and cheese and it came out tasting like fried chicken. Haha!
  
  I was so disgusted! But to each his own – and garlic is a strong seasoning, you never use too much of it on anything, especially not mac n cheese. I just like the little hint of goodness it adds to it.
• Black pepper: Pepper is a must! Just like garlic it makes everything taste better. It’s a common seasoning used in macaroni and cheese and it taste better with it than without it. Enough said.
• Sugar: Now it’s hard for me to explain what sugar does to macaroni and cheese but it adds depth of flavor and make it pop.
  
  It just takes it to another level. Most people, especially black folks put a little in theirs so its not uncommon. I see it listed as an ingredient in a lot of mac n cheese recipes nowadays.
  
  You only use a little though. This is a big dish so I used 2 tsps. Dont worry, it wont sweeten the mac n cheese. Haha!
  
  It sort of balances things out like the sharpness of the cheddar cheese and gives the mac n cheese and amazing neutral flavor.
• Paprika and parsley: You can use one or the other or BOTH! I use parsley, sometimes both for decoration purposes to garnishes the mac n cheese with. It doesn’t effect the taste because neither has a strong taste.

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About the cheese

Now when it comes to macaroni and cheese there are a limitless variety of cheese combinations you can use. But my favorite combination of cheese is cheddar and colby jack.

I may fancify my future mac and cheese recipe but I keep this one pretty simple for my folk out there who want a semi traditional and simple baked mac and cheese recipe. 

• Block and shredded sharp yellow cheddar: Cheddar cheese is hands down the best cheese to use for macaroni and cheese, especially a traditional mac and cheese. All good macaroni and cheese recipes include cheddar.
  
  And listen, it has to be sharp and yellow. Yellow for the color and sharp for that cheesy flavor and taste we all love. If it’s not sharp it wont hit the spot.
  
  Some folk like to use extra sharp cheese but I just use sharp, extra sharp is too strong for me. But yea for the taste, flavor, and color, we use sharp cheddar cheese.
  
  Medium cheddar is a good option too though if you dont like your sharp. Sharp cheddar is just traditional, common, and popular.
• Block and shredded sharp white cheddar: Now yall maybe asking, “why do you need sharp white cheddar”? I think most folk use both for no other reason than to give the mac & cheese that classic two tone complexion! lolol!
• Block Colby-jack cheese: Ok so colby-jack is a combination of Colby and Monterey Jack cheese. Colby cheese taste similar to cheddar but it’s milder, sweeter, meaning not as funky and tangy.
  
  Colby and Monterey cheeses, which together make Colby-jack cheese, is the “ULTIMATE MELTING CHEESE”! One thing you need to know is that all cheeses don’t melt equally. Some cheeses are hard like Parmesan, and refuse to melt.
  
  But I love Colby-Jack because of it’s beautiful marbled color, it’s mild flavor, moisture, and how easily it melts creating a creamy cheesy sauce for my cheese sauce… speaking of cheese sauce

About the cheese sauce

The cheese sauce is important because it ensures that your baked mac n cheese is super cheesy and the macaroni is fully saturated in cheese.

Ever try someone’s baked mac n cheese and notice how some spoonful’s were devoid of cheese? LMBO! You might have just tastes the macaroni and butter. Well that’s because the macaroni wasn’t submerged in a creamy soupy cheese sauce. Lol!

When you bury the macaroni in cheese sauce, every spoonful will be full of ooey gooey cheese and that’s the way we all want it right? That’s the way baked macaroni & cheese should be, CHEESY!!! Which is why I love to add cheese sauce.

Cheese sauce ingredients and alternatives

• Butter: The butter is a must for a good cheese sauce. Without it something will feel, missing. It adds texture, flavor, and gives it a nice shine.
• Whole Milk: Whole milk will definitely work here. At the end of the day, milk is used to thin out and loosen the cheese to create a sauce. 
• Evaporated milk: I always use evaporated milk because it’s what my grandma used.
• Half & Half: Another very common milk used for baked macaroni and cheese. Half & half is a combination of milk and cream. It adds a nice richness to the cheese sauce and makes it nice and creamy so it’s a great choice.
• Heavy cream: Heavy cream is even richer because it’s just made of cream.
• Cheddar: Cheddar cheese is the king of all cheeses and has best flavor for mac and cheese. I use a half block of sharp yellow and white cheddar cheese. 
• Colby-Jack cheese: Colby-Jack as I stated earlier is the ultimate melting cheese.That makes it one of the best for a cheese sauce and baked macaroni and cheese dish.
  
  After all the goal is for the cheese to melt into a nice creamy ooey gooey cheese sauce right? I use a whole block of colby jack cheese.

• Gruyère: Taste different because it has a nutty flavor so give it a shot if you want to try something new. Despite it being a hard cheese, it melts nicely like Colby-Jack which makes it a good alternative.
• Sour cream: This can actually be used as a substitution for milk. But it’s sort of a secret ingredient southerners use to add flavor and provide the sauce with a silky texture and creaminess.

• Cream cheese: I wouldn’t even call this an alternative or substitution. It’s simply another option if you dont have sour cream. I use cream cheese a lot but never with sour cream. I use one or the other.
  
  Cream cheese is an amazing cheese to use for baked macaroni and cheese and perfect for a cheese sauce because it melts nicely.
  
  And its sort of like an emulsifier, a must if you use hard cheese like Parmesan that doesn’t melt well. My Parm cheese wont melt when Im making an Alfredo sauce unless I combine it with cream cheese. So yea I’m a big fan of cream cheese.

Why use flour for cheese sauce?

Some people especially when making stove top mac n cheese, completely omit the flour because they feel it will dilute the flavor of the cheese. I dont use it because it’s not needed. 

It’s used in cheese sauces as a emulsifier to prevent cheese from breaking aka separating but i dont have that problem because of the way I bake my macaroni and cheese and make the cheese sauce.

Covering the macaroni and cheese with shredded cheese protects it and baking it for a short amount of time on 350 gets the job done. Baking it for long in high temperatures causes the cheese to break and separate from the fat. 

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How to make cheese sauce

1. Place a pot over medium heat and add in the butter.
2. When it melts, add in the milk, and blocks of cheddar and Colby-Jack cheese.
3. Stir periodically until it melts.
4. Cut the fire off and lastly, stir in the sour cream until smooth.

How to make baked macaroni and cheese

1. Boil water with salt and once it comes to a boil add macaroni until al dente then strain.
2. Meanwhile, chop and shred the cheddar cheese.
3. Add the macaroni to a baking dish.
4. Add in the butter and seasonings.
5. Add in the chopped blocks of cheese, shredded cheese then stir well, and preheat oven to 350.
6. After making and adding in the cheese sauce (steps below), stir well.
7. Sprinkle with more shredded cheese and garnish with parsley or paprika or both.
8. Add to 350 degrees oven and bake until done.

Tips for best results:

• Remove macaroni from water immediately: Once the macaroni is done, remove it from the hot water immediately so it doesn’t overcook and become white soggy and bloated.
• Don’t cover with aluminum foil: We’re only baking this for 35 minutes which is enough time to get the top nice and crispy. You can get that if it’s covered with aluminum foil which is unnecessary anyway.

What to serve with it:

• BBQ Ribs: This would make food a good sunday night dinner. Ribs and mac n cheese? What’s better than that?
• Fried chicken: A very popular soul food dinner includes fried chicken and baked mac n cheese.
• Collard Green: As far as vegetables go, collard greens are soul food at it’s finest… and goes perfectly with baked mac n cheese
• Green Beans: Just like collard greens, taste great with this dish.

Storage and reheating

How to store baked macaroni and cheese: Properly storing your dish is important to prevent bacteria and food going bad fast which ultimately leads to wasting food.

How you store food depends on what you’re storing. In the case of baked macaroni and cheese, placing it in a glass Tupperware bowl is best. 

Set it in the refrigerator in the coldest area so that it stays fresh longer. If you want to save it for weeks or indefinitely, wrap it tightly in a ziploc bag and set it in the; it can stay fresh for up to 4-6 months.

Reheating baked macaroni and cheese: You can reheat it in the microwave or wrap it in some aluminum foil and place it in the oven on 350 for a few minutes until warm.

I found that warming it up in the microwave can dry it out sometimes so reheating it in the oven is the best option, that is if you’re not in a rush.

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Ok folks that’s pretty much it. Give this recipe a shot yall and let me know if ya like it down below in the comment section.

Enjoy, Later!
PBJ~

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Easy Southern Baked Macaroni & Cheese Recipe (Made With Cheese Sauce)

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• Author: Phillyboy Jay
• Prep Time: 30 Mins
• Cook Time: 30 Mins
• Total Time: 1Hr
• Yield: 6-8
• Category: Casserole
• Method: American
• Cuisine: Soul Food

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Description

Cheesy, Creamy, Southern Style Baked Macaroni & Cheese. The perfect side to a soul food Sunday night dinner.

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Ingredients

• 16 oz Elbow Macaroni
• 3 Qts Water
• 2 Tsps Salt
• 1/4 Cup Butter
• 4 oz Block Sharp Yellow Cheddar, shredded
• 4 oz Block Sharp White Cheddar, shredded
• 4 oz Block Sharp Yellow Cheddar, chopped
• 4 oz Block Sharp White Cheddar, chopped
• 1 Tbs Sugar
• 2 Tsp Salt
• 1/4 or 1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
• For the cheese sauce
• 1/4 cup Butter
• 1 cup Evaporated Milk
• 8 oz Block Colby-Jack, chopped
• 4 oz Block Sharp Yellow Cheddar, chopped
• 4 oz Block Sharp White Cheddar, chopped
• 1/4 Cup Sour Cream
• For the very top
• 4 oz Block Sharp Yellow Cheddar, shredded
• 4 oz Block Sharp White Cheddar, shredded
• Parsley Flakes
• Paprika

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Instructions

1.  Fill a large size pot with cool water and salr and place over high heat.
2.  After 10 minutes, or once it comes to a boil, add in the macaroni, boil for 10-12 minutes, then drain water and set aside.
3.  Meanwhile, chop 1 block of sharp yellow, 1 block of white cheddar, and 1 block of colby jack cheese up into thin pieces.
4.  Take another block of sharp yellow and white cheddar cheese and shred them with a grater.
5.  When the macaroni is done, strain it with the colander and then pour the macaroni into the casserole dish. 
6.  Add a half stick of butter (which is 1/4 cup) to the hot macaroni and add in the seasonings and stir well.
7.  Then add in half of the chopped yellow cheddar and half of the chopped white cheddar.
8.  Next add in half of the shredded yellow cheddar and half of the shredded white cheddar, then stir well.
9.  For the cheese sauce: Place a large pot over medium heat.
10.  Add in the other half stick of butter, the milk, the remaining chopped yellow cheddar, and chopped white cheddar, and the colby-jack cheese you chopped.
11.  Stir until smooth, then cut the fire off and add in the sour cream, then stir well.
12.  Add the cheese sauce to the macaroni and stir well.
13.  Garnish the very top: Top with the remaining shredded cheese, paprika, and parsley flakes. 
14.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, then remove. 

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 6-8