Creamy Mac and Cheese
This creamy stovetop mac and cheese is about to be the only mac and cheese recipe you'll ever need! This recipe creates the creamiest, dreamiest mac and cheese and then gets finished off with a crispy breadcrumb topping.Who doesn't love mac and cheese? It's cheesy and comforting and there are so many ways you can take it to the next level. I created a super creamy and simple stovetop mac and cheese then finished it off in the oven with a crispy breadcrumb topping. The breadcrumbs add such a nice texture to the mac and cheese!
What you need
One box of macaroni pasta
Two kinds of cheese. I used a combination of extra sharp white cheddar and sharp cheddar. I love this combination for a sharper tasting mac and cheese.
Heavy cream
Milk
Breadcrumbs
Butter
Flour
How to make it
First, spread oil around a cast iron and put it in the oven at 350 degrees. Boil the macaroni in salted water, but drain when the pasta is al dente (not quite cooked all the way through), usually a couple minutes shy of being completely cooked. Grate your cheese. In the same pot you boiled the pasta in, melt the butter and whisk in the flour to create the roux. Next, whisk in the heavy cream and cheese. Add the drained pasta into the cheese sauce and pour in the milk. Mix everything together and remove the cast iron from the oven. Dump the mac and cheese in the oven and then top with the buttery breadcrumbs. Broil for 1-2 minutes and it's ready to serve!Of course, you can call it quits before you add the topping and bake it in the cast iron for a stovetop mac and cheese, but the breading makes it so yummy! And I love presenting food in a cast iron. The mac and cheese will be super yummy straight out of the pot though.I hope you all enjoy this creamy mac and cheese recipe!!
Creamy Mac and Cheese
Creamy traditional mac and cheese made in the same pot, finished off in the oven with a breadcrumb topping.
1 lb macaroni pasta
7 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups Tillamook extra sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese, grated
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp fresh black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Rub oil all around a 12 inch cast iron skillet and place in the oven set to 350 degrees.
Boil the macaroni in salted water until al dente. Drain and set aside (toss with olive oil to prevent sticking).
In the same pot, melt four tablespoons of butter. Whisk in the flour and cook for one minute. Whisk in the heavy cream and cheeses. Once the cheeses are melted, stir in the pasta. Mix in the milk, one teaspoon salt and one teaspoon black pepper.
Melt three tablespoons of butter in the microwave. Mix in the breadcrumbs, half a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon black pepper and half a teaspoon garlic powder.
Pour the mac and cheese into the skillet and cover the top with the breadcrumbs. Broil for 1-2 minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden brown. Watch carefully! Serve hot from the cast iron.
