THE BEST MAC & CHEESE RECIPE EVER

Ingredients for this one below-

500g dried elbow pasta
120g unsalted butter
70g all purpose flour
950ml whole milk
450g grated medium sharp cheddar cheese
225g grated Gruyere cheese
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
60g panko breadcrumbs

[BullyMaguire]

500g dried elbow pasta
120g unsalted butter
70g all purpose flour
950ml whole milk
450g grated medium sharp cheddar cheese
225g grated Gruyere cheese
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
60g panko breadcrumbs

-dice butter, grate cheese
-warm milk in sauce pan
-pasta in boil salted water, stirring every 3-4 mins
-melt butter in big pot, add in flour. whisk and mix well
-add milk one ladle at a time and mix well till smooth
-cold water rinse cooked pasta
-add cheese in batches to mix well, save enough for putting on top
-taste to season, salt, lot of pepper, smoked paprika in
-mix well with pasta well in a pot
-pour into oven safe dish
-remaining cheese and breadcrumbs on top
-180°C (356°F) oven for 25 to 30 mins or until golden

easier to read when following, thanks for the great recipe Andy

[cityboy]

When I got married my wife had a limited number of things she was comfortable cooking. I taught her how to make a basic white sauce, which she mastered on her first attempt. To give her confidence, I pointed out that if everything went to hell with the sauce, she would end up throwing away a dollar to two's worth of ingredients and she could start again.

I showed her that by adding curry powder to the roux, before adding the milk, she could make an English curry sauce (lovely on grilled chicken!), or add stock to make a velouté. Now there is no stopping her... Dijon sauces, dill sauces, tarragon sauces (best chicken pot pie ever!!!), and the list goes on. We've since taught this to our three kids, and all of them turn out amazing sauces.

Thank you so much for showing this basic skill. Love your teaching style and always learn from your videos.

[limitlessbydesign]

I really like how you teach about the basis of white sauce and why the technique is important or a gateway to many dishes. This type of context and applicable knowledge is awesome, keep it up!

[Nancy-ygcm]

Thank you Mr. Andy for listing the ingredients and the measurements. I appreciate the step by step. Not all of us are talented like you Mr. Andy, that we can eyeball it. Its my sons favorite dish but this is the real deal not Kraft. Lol... I appreciate you. 😊 Thanks again!🙏

[ericnippard]

I have been watching your short version videos (“Hey Babe …”) for some time now and really enjoy your style of presentation. The longer version vids such as this item are just as good! More so in that the listener gets to try and replicate the recipe! I am a fan! Keep up the fantastic work!

[jasonkurto]

My girls love Mac and cheese so I made this for them for Easter. It was a huge hit! Everyone loved the dish and it's super easy to make. We will be including this in our Thanksgiving meals going forward. So yummie.

[jonathangedye]

This has been my Mum's Mac & Cheese recipe since I could remember for 40 years plus. A wonderful combination of french cooking techniques and horrendous interpretation of Italian Cuisine. I still make this dish to this day and love it all the same.

[ArmedDem]

A good trick is to use blocks of cheese and shred or chop instead of using pre-shredded cheese. Shredded cheese has an anti-caking agent which can make the bechamel gritty and a strange consistency. Also, a half white onion sauteed in the butter before making the roux gives the dish some depth, along with a teaspoon of mustard powder. Also, adding breadcrumbs to melted clarified butter before adding as a topping ensures a crispy, evenly gold crust.

[Gourmet_Goon]

Aged cheeses always work well with a good mac n cheese. When available, I like to use aged gouda. Also, dijon mustard in the bechemel adds a nice piquancy to your cheesy mac! 👍

[RebeccaRigby]

Your tip for using the ladle to add the milk bit by bit is soooo useful!! I’ve had such bad luck making white sauce in the past so I feel like this is gonna help me loads, thank you!! ❤❤

[RetardPwnage]

Hate me if you must but I made almost exactly this recipe last year but was lucky enough to get about $80AUD of black truffle, not much bigger than a nutmeg, shaved it over my mac and cheese. There is something otherworldly about the nutty, earthy, umami flavor of the truffle with the rich, creamy mac and cheese.

[digglediaries]

Hey Andy, your video inspired me to make this dish for my family today for Christmas. I’ve never ever made a white sauce before and always avoided it. It’s legit my favourite sauce, always got mum to make it.
Now I can do it and it’s all thanks to you! Merry Christmas and thanks for being so straight forward!

[danbullis]

Cheers for posting this one Chef. Mine has just come out of the oven and it is a decadent, gooey, cheesy success. I followed the recipe and method to the letter, paying close attention to the selection of cheeses and making sure that my milk for my Roux was warm. Best bechamel sauce I have ever made. The amount that the recipe has made is massive, so I've shared it with the neighbors.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Chef 👍

[thomasross]

My mac and cheese is pretty similar. I also frequently use havarti, but sometimes I'll use a smoked gouda. Typically I WILL use pre-grated sharp cheddar. Sometimes, like last night, it's the only cheese I use. I start by setting the pasta water to boil. Then scoop a couple heaping small silverware spoons of minced garlic from the jar and just enough butter to saute until it begins changing color. I set that aside and scoop a couple of heaping small silverware spoons of flour into a large wok-style pan and add just enough butter to make the roux like wet sand. I cook that, stirring and scraping almost constantly until it just barely starts to change color and then add three cups of milk a bit at a time. I don't preheat it. When about half the milk is in, I assess the thickness of the sauce and stir in an appropriate amount of corn starch into the milk that's left. You can't do that with hot milk. Then I add a small amount of salt and a healthy dose of white pepper. Black pepper makes the mac 'n' cheese a bit spicy and earthy. White pepper makes it more zesty. Adding a bit of Dijon mustard makes it zestier still. Use half to three-quarters of a teaspoon after some of the cheese has already been added. Add sauteed garlic. Throw big handfuls of cheese in until the sauce shows hints of stringiness. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. It this point the pasta should already be in the water but isn't ready yet. It wants to be cooked beyond al dente to the point of softness. I use rotelli because no cheese reaches the center of an elbow but does coat every single turn of a rotelli spiral. Once ready, drain pasta and dump it hot into the sauce, stirring until mixed. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 inch glass pan and cook in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes. Why greased? It eliminates any possibility of sticking even a little bit. I don't bother with extra cheese on top and/or breadcrumbs of panko because I tend to burn it. Let it sit at least ten minutes before serving.

[kristianbirkeland]

this has to be the best food-channel on youtube. so good at explaining things in an uncomplicated way, and just really easy to watch without falling off. keep up the good work man!

[annelbirt]

Thank you for bringing smiles and grins to my face. I enjoy watching every time I catch your show. Keep up the good work.

[Irnmn]

Wow, didn’t know he had longer videos with recipes, one of the best channels on YouTube!

[bassmafiaonline]

just made this tonight and I used his recipe with cheddar gruyere and gouda with a teaspoon of mustard and was very nice.

I will defo do again and using the pako gives a lovely crust and worth it.

For anyone else making this first time it comes out well not dry but I like my mac n cheese more saucey so next time once I have added all the cheese I will maybe add in another 100ml milk or try covering then grill at the end to see how that comes out. it is a lot of cheese in the sauce and moisture cooks out in the oven a little so if you like more runny you might want to try that but defo go by this recipe first and see how it comes out then tweak next time.

if I can tweak this to get the sauce consistency I like it will be my go to mac n cheese recipe from now on.

thanks Andy

[x-hurricane]

The only thing I do differently is fry up some diced brown onion or shallots, some crushed garlic and a few rashers of chopped streaky bacon. This just gets added to the dish at the same time as the cheese sauce. My rugrats call it Flash Macaroni Cheese😊

[bsweat]

I do add a pinch of nutmeg to my white sauce. Ina Gardner taught me that and it does make a difference. I use extra sharp Cheddar but I will try adding another cheese next time. Smokey is like the steakhouse makes theirs. Soynds yummy! 😍