easiest baked mac-and-cheese (2024)

Sarah

My boyfriend and I were just talking last night about making some homemade mac & cheese (because what good is the cold outside without comfort food?). I was looking for a yummy recipe that wouldn’t take me all day long to make. This looks pretty easy and delicious! Thanks for reading my mind and posting it!

bridget

Sounds good. I just made mac and cheese on Monday, but it was the ever delicious recipe from America’s Test Kitchen which I love – also simple and definitely worth checking out.

Yep, it’s a good one. Ben and I made it in January (if you click on my name, you can read about it), and were immobile after ingesting all that cheese. IM-MO-BILE. Good, though.

M

Mmmmmmmmmmmm

Farmer Beth

Got to love it. My Aunt, is notoriously famous for bringing baked macncheese to each and every family gathering ever held! Her recipe is as follows: Boil16 oz bag of large elbows. Drain. Dump into glass 9×13 dish. Take stick of butter, cut into chunks and dot on top of pasta, salt, pepper add 2-3 cups shredded cheddar, pour milk over the top until it comes about halfway up the sides of the pan – pop into oven at 350. In 15-20 minutes (or when you think about it) stir to combine. Then let bake until the top achieves the preferred amount of cripyness. Nothing fancy. Just good! And yes, any inner child screams to be fed this!

Nikki

Mm that looks delish. I like Alton Brown’s recipe (in theory, never having had the time to make it)- my boyfriend isn’t a fan of baked mac&cheese unfort. but Alton also has a “stove top mac & cheese” recipe I’m keen on trying.

Will you come over? And bring some of that Mac & Cheese? Please?

farmerbeth

Muffy — where? where? I may be headed that way after the first of the year!

It’s like youth in a bowl.

Macaroni and cheese is about my favorite food in the entire world. However, I tried this recipe a while ago, and it came out looking nothing like how yours turned out, and tasted horrible, so we threw it away. Now I’ll have to figure out exactly where I went wrong, because that looks amazing and I want to try it again.

while sick a few weeks ago i managed to come up with an even easier recipe, b/c when ones sick, theres no need to make life complicated, no?
but yeah, mac&cheese is just about the most awesome food ever created by woman (b/c a man could never have invented something this good)

I love this entry because I had never even heard of boxed mac and cheese, thanks to my make-it-from-scratch mom, until my high school friends corrupted me. I practically lived off of the stuff in college, which did my waistline no good. But, have you heard of S’MAC (http://www.smacnyc.com/home.html)? I read about it on MSNBC, and it appears to have gussied up the mac and cheese combo with profitable results. I haven’t decided whether this falls in my must-visit category or my against-my-principles one…

KikiLee

P.S. My husband just emailed me from work: “We must make that mac and cheese from Smitten Kitchen.” End of email. Can’t you hear the desperation?

S

oh man…that…looks…so…goood….*drool*

M

I am totally cracking up at Michelle’s comment above.

Now I’m starving and have neither Mac on hand, nor cheese. What is a girl to do!

Oh my, I think I drooled a little……… That looks fantastic!

This is sooo not helping my diet :)

tammy

you must try barefoot contessa’s macaroni and cheese. sinful yet elegant enough to serve to a large crowd!

ive tried this recipe!! =) thought it was good, but i thought it was missing a nice crispy topping, so i added buttered breadcrumbs to the tops.. mmm…soo much better!!

Lori

Just tried this recipe last night and it is awesome! I tried just puree the cottage cheese first in the blender and was unsuccessful. It may be my low-end blender, but is just pushed the cottage cheese to the sides without puree-ing. Used Grey Poupon as well b/c I didn’t have any mustard seed. I’m trying Ina Garten’s recipe next, but it seems more labor intensive.

LMB815

We tried the recipe last night too – perfect halloween dinner. We as in “I worked all day so I made my mother cook it”. Despite my urging she did NOT do a cheddar/american cheese combo…I suppose I really didn’t care considering the amount that I ended up eating. Quite tasty though…thanks for trying it first.

I see that several people besides myself had the brilliant idea to make this as a delicious, warm, feel-good meal on Halloween night. And it sure lived up to the hype! Great recipe.

Stella

I actually made this with skim milk, lowfat cottage cheese and 2% cheddar and it still came out great! Thank you for the recipe.

Johanna

I love, love love your site and am currently scouring the archives. That’s how I came up on this post. I have to tell you thought – I tried this recipe and both my and my boyfriend really didn’t care for this recipe. I thought the cheese mix curdled a bit and the oils separated. I wonder what I’m doing wrong…dunno. I’m gonna stick to my tried n true white sauce/cheddar combo.
Anyway, love your writing and your site, keep up the great posts.

Just thought you might like to know I tried this last night and was really impressed at how well it came out for the simplicity of the recipe. Thanks for the “plain folks” version! I don’t have a food processor, only an ancient blender, so shudder at blender/processor recipes — but the only casualty was a chunk of finger in the box grater. I know, ew.

Erin

First, some history: macaroni and cheese has always–for as long as I can remember–been my favorite food. I have many other loves, but mac and cheese always comes out on top. When I was growing up, we had an older lady that went to our church, Miss Norma, that was all country and made a fantastic homemade macaroni and cheese. She knew I loved it so much that she made me a mini pan of it for a gift when I graduated from high school. The other night, I decided to finally make this recipe, although I had an eye on it since I first read it. Oh. My. Gosh. I will never make another macaroni and cheese. This is the first homemade version I have ever made, and I love it even more than Miss Norma’s! It is soooo rich and cheesy, and I agree that a little cheese on top makes a perfectly crunchy finish! We actually did use whole wheat elbows, and it still worked great. I set the timer to wait the 15 minutes after pulling it out of the oven, but we only made it 7 1/2 before diving in. My fiance doesn’t even like macaroni and cheese, and he has been devouring the leftovers with me! Thank you for the recipe!

Yes, indeedy, that is one fine macaroni & cheese. It’s over-the-top cheesy, but sometimes that’s just what you need. And that no-boiling-the-pasta thing is wonderful.

Alice

This recipe was very tasty, but definitely too cheesy for my taste. Yes I said it! I would have like a little more creamy and a little less cheesy. So next time I will decrease the cheese to 3/4 lb and increase the cayenne a bit. It was very good with hot sauce on the side.
Thank you for another good recipe!

Ali

This was really great! If I had thought about it, I probably could have guessed that it was going to firm up a lot, but it looked so soupy… it wound up a bit overcooked. But the flavor was great, and it was so easy.
A note to anyone else making it in a toaster oven though: Don’t put the top layer of cheese on until the last 10 minutes of cooking or so. I had to stir the crust in, or else it would have burned (another of those things that if I’d thought more, I probably could have avoided). It was still really, really tasty.

I made this tonight…it had a really, really good flavor to it. I think I cooked it too long because it was kind of dry. That can definitely be alleviated next time I make it.

I have a dish of this sitting in my oven right now. I have high hopes! Smells great.

Oh, my. It was fantabulous!

charlotte s

wow this looks amazing! and amazingly simple- cant wait!

I’m not a huge mac-and-cheese fan, but I’m thinking of whipping this up for my hub. If I do, he will no doubt track you down so he can give you a hug because you got his wife to make him a big ol’ cheesy dish!

cindy

I made this for a family potluck type dinner, and LOVED it! My husband could taste the cottage cheese though, and wasn’t crazy about it. Was it in there just to make it creamier, and if so, do you think cream cheese would do the same thing?

my husband and i are on the quest to find the best mac & cheese recipe EVER, and this is next on our list to try.

Kate

I did a loosely mimicked (due to the constraints of what was in my fridge) version of this that turned out pretty well. I think Cindy’s cottage cheese problem might be solved by using ricotta instead – it’s smoother and worked well for me. Also, this recipe (or at least my cobbled-together version) reheats much better than most m&c recipes I’ve tried. I’m off to make the by-the-book version now.

jk

thanks for this recipe, deb. i doubled the recipe plus added garlic and jalapenos during the cottage cheese blending phase of the recipe, and it turned out great. there was none left at the end of my superbowl party and i’ve led people to your blog.

Lisa

I don’t know what it is about men and homemade mac ‘n cheese but whenever I make this for my husband he showers me with praise for days! I’ve been using a terribly involved recipe – originally from the Nov ’06 recipe of Real Simple – but I can’t wait to try this one. Thanks Deb!

April

I have this in the oven right now. We’re going to have this with a green salad, wine, and Garret McCord’s blondies that are on Simply Recipes right now. My boyfriend is one happy, happy man.

Joey

Paige

WOW. My husband ate nearly the whole thing himself! And so easy – this is now one of my favorite easy dinners, and I suspect we’ll be making it a LOT. Thanks.

Sara

I am making this for Father’s Day. It’s in the over right now and smells amazing! Hopefully it turns out.. I can’t wait to taste it!!!

RachelB

Sara

I did end up making this for Father’s Day, and it turned out amazing. People wouldn’t stop complementing me. There were no leftovers, and I DOUBLED the recipe. I will be making this again for the 4th of July. I’m now known as the “Macaroni Lady” as I have been told I will be bringing it to every family get together.

Maurielle

Mmmm! I just finished my first bowl. I made it with penne and ricotta cheese cause that’s all we had but it was super yummy nonetheless. I am a new follower of your blog and I love all your photos!

I’m about to embark on making this, but I’m going to add some veges – blasphemous, I know, but I want to make a complete one-pan meal instead of going with salad. We’ll see how it works out…

Katie

This is just like my grandmother’s recipe, which I love. I have to *shamefully* admit that I’m a gussier-upper. I LOVE Mac N Cheese with smoked Gouda and just a hint of paprika. (Skip the cottage, for me at least.)
Mac n Cheese is just the ultimate indulgence. And I don’t understand why some people don’t get it. Poo on them.

ann

This was wonderful, I added 1/2 lb. of crumbled bacon and some onion, it was the best I’ve had for a very long time…I also replaced the cottage for riccota.

Leslie

Fabulous recipe, and I appreciated the suggestion to omit the nutmeg. Perfect fall comfort food; will make again.

Daun

Okay, I am making this for my daughter’s birthday party, I thought it would be perfect to warm up with after we all go to the Christmas parade in town…Wish me luck;-)

joyvox

love love LOVE this recipe! i double it for my family of 6 and we all eat until we are stuffed. i was SO stoked to finally find a great m&c recipe that didn’t require parboiling and the bechamel.

Jordan-Marci

We have been looking for a good baked macaroni and cheese recipe for awhile… so we were excited to run into yours. We tried it and it turned out great! So delicious and creamy. We did substitute some of the cottage cheese for cream cheese and still worked great. Thanks!

Lauren

Hi Lauren — I don’t do beer and wine recommendations. It’s just not my area of expertise, but also, I think people should drink what they like, not what they’re told to. You can never go wrong with someone’s favorite beer.

Monica

I’ll have to try this one! We’re big mac n chz hoarders here. I can never make enough to have leftovers! The recipe on cookingforengineers.com is the favorite so far – creamy & delicious, yet so thick & cheesy you can stand a fork in it. I do skip the topping he puts on it, though. (Yuck!) For quickness & ease without the Kraft box, we love Alton Brown’s Stove Top mac, minus any dry mustard or ? I do admit to adding tuna to my mac n chz and topping it with crumbled Ruffles. Yikes! Did I say that out loud?!

Lilivati

Every family should have a favorite mac’n’cheese recipe that isn’t elaborate. I have one already- involving tasty things like garlic, thyme, and dry mustard in addition to heaps of cheddar cheese- but if I didn’t this recipe would definitely be an excellent place to start!

Aladyinredpolish

I have no idea why, but mine was not creamy at all, and the top was very hard. If anyone can help me out here, it would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Kathryn

Oh goody, you still check up on this. I have to say, this was AMAZING. Made it tonight for a fantastic Fat Tuesday dinner and it certainly fit the bill! Although, you’re right about it being filling — I’ll probably be eating it for the next month, haha.

Beth

Debra

Great macaroni and cheese. I really appreciate that the neither the macaroni nor the sauce needs to be pre-cooked. Made half a batch using extra sharp cheddar. Very tasty.

Elle

I can’t wait to try this! My dad used to always make the most amazing baked mac and cheese that he was well known for. My boyfriend insists that he doesn’t like baked mac and cheese but hopefully this recipe well change his mind since I can’t make my fathers for him!

Cheryl

Made this tonight — AWESOME.

Monica

I made this tonight – I was so intrigued with a recipe I didn’t have do preboil noodles or stand over the stove making a cheese sauce & called for pureed cottage cheese. My 5 year old pretty much did everything to boot! Great recipe for kids.
I did love the noodles, as well as my husband who commented “The noodles aren’t mush!” The cheese sauce turned out very gritty though–little grainy lumps of cheese. The cheese crust was the best. I will keep the method but tweak it. I love Alton Brown’s Stove-Top Mac, it’s as easy as the box, but homemade. For that sliceable like-grandma-made, I love cookingforengineers.com’s. Nothing is as unhealthy but good as my mom’s – you feel a coronary coming on but can’t stop. I plan on making the other one of SK’s next, though.

schmanna

Jarod

Dawn K.

ellissajane

Perhaps my cheese was too strong, because I needed to take a bite of salad in between devouring the pasta. My family loved it, but then again, it’s just my mother, brother and me. My mom bought the cheese probably at some outrageous price. So, next time I make it, I would use a more mild flavor.

Jen McLeod

This was an incredible recipe! I have been craving real mac-and-cheese for months! I am new to your blog. I have been sick on the couch for months I wish I discovered your blog months ago! I have read all of your postings and love your style of cooking! Every recipe I have tried on your site has worked! I can’t say that for many food websites! I have been telling everyone about you, thanks for sharing your kitchen and your life with the world. You are doing a wonderful thing. Thank you!

Ross

Deb, I have made this recipe dozens of times for myself and friends when I wanted some comfort food. Tonight I am cooking for 40 hungry Jews; 6x’ing this recipe. I KNOW it’ll be a huge hit. Thanks for the great recipes!

Vicki

I’ve made this with cottage cheese and didn’t like the consistency – even after pureeing it was a bit gritty. I didn’t have cottage cheese this last time so I substituted nonfat Greek yogurt. It’s much better – smooth and creamy, perhaps a bit more tart (although that could have been the extra-sharp cheddar). And it reheats pretty well. I hate cooking pasta then turning around and baking it into submission. This is a keeper.

Judi

What a great recipe!!! Just the perfect consistency and cheeseiness. Thanks.

adele

mmmmmmm sounds great! i can’t wait to put this in the oven!!

Nuj

I made it twice, once with full fat cottage cheese and once with low fat. I was skeptical on the low fat, and it seemed a little watey when I pulled it out of the oven, but it was actually great when I dove into it half an hour later. I think I added too much pasta on version @2, so it was a little dry, but version 2 was perfect. This recipe is a keeper–can’t believe how easy it is!

ben

I’ve been coming back to this recipe for a year – afraid of the cottage cheese, but attracted to the ease. I always ended up back at the Martha Stewart recipe. However, last night, after being phoneless all day and having my car broken into, I needed mac n cheese. THis totally fit the bill as an easy, yummy, 3 dish meal on a weeknight – can’t wait to make it again.

Gretchen

Oh goodness, I’m so glad I found you!! Not long after you first posted this receipe I stumbled across it looking for what to make for dinner, well I ended up just having a caprese salad and completely forgot about mac-and-cheese (I know criminal!). I remembered the receipe, especially the ‘okay to have a 2:1 cheese to pasta ratio’ bit, but I couldn’t stumble across it again! So sad. So this week I just started looking at your cooking blog (I’ve been cooking a lot more lately), and lets not talk about how much time at work I’ve wasted reading your archives… However even if my projects never get finished everything will be okay, I found the mac-and-cheese receipe that does tell me to make a bechamel and tells me that the more cheese the better. So much for ordering chinese for dinner! :)

rf

Made this last night – ended up kind of oiling yet dry. What did we do wrong? Not enough milk / cottage cheese? We didnt have 1lb of cheese so i used about 2/3lb and topped up with parmesan .. could that be it?

Chloe

I made this when I’d already used half my block of cheese for other recipes, and consequently, had half the amount I needed for this. I found that this tasted better reheated with extra cheese and a bit of milk to make it saucy. I’ll make this again when I have enough cheese in the house.

Petro Borchard

My first time ever commenting on a blog. Been drooling over your blog for a couple of months now and yesterday, while looking for a chicken recipe, saw this lovely mac one.
Too lazy to check metric equivalents, I added a whole 500 g packet of wholewheat macaroni elbows to the pot. Decided that it might be advisable to check and realised that I then had to double the rest of the ingredients. That had the result of making a HUGE amount which is wonderful – I am adding leftover shredded chicken to it tonight and then we will be digging in again!
I used yoghurt instead of cream cheese and crumbled in about 100g gorgonzola that I had available on top of the rest of the cheese. Suffice to say it is very filling and intensely satisfying. I guess if I ever had to request a “last meal” this would be it!
I threaded bacon onto skewers, dotted sweet chilli sauce on them and after grilling it to a yummy jammy crisp, served that as a side dish to keep my hubby silent about the absence of meat – not that he could say anything, he was too busy munching more mac+cheese!

wjbk

We just polished this off. Absolutely delicious. I used slightly less cheddar than called for — maybe 3/4 lb., and I also cut the butter and salt by about half. As Deb suggested, I pureed the cottage cheese before adding the milk gradually. No grit at all. Just a great, simple rendition of mac and cheese.

jarrelle sartwell

i made this for a friends whose dad is on hospice and the family has pretty much been living at the hospital. my friend and her husband have 2 little kids so i hoped that this was kid-friendly and adult-friendly also. it was both and it was a hit! i also made a batch for my family and we finished it in 2 days!!! once again thanks!

Kim

I was just wondering why do you need to puree the cottage cheese and milk first? And, also, could I use cream cheese and sour cream in place of the cottage cheese? I use cream cheese and sour cream in all my macaroni and cheese recipes, and I don’t want to let it go. also, can I use evaporated milk instead of regular milk?

Becky

I tried this with ricotta and I found it was a bit dry and didn’t seem ‘cheesy’ enough. I think you do need a lot of cheese that melts into strings (which ricotta doesn’t do, but cottage cheese kind of does), to make it cheesy. Was easy, though, and that’s always a great thing!

Tara

Wow – I’ve made this three times and it was so sinful and delicious. I keep meaning to make this to bring somewhere, but it’s so hard when I make it not to dig right in! I found even if I blend the cottage cheese first, it still kind of “clumps” back up during cooking. I’ve never liked cottage cheese, but thankfully, cannot taste it in this recipe.

Will

Hey Deb, what should i do if i can’t find non-lowfat cottage cheese anyway in Singapore? All the supermarkets carry exclusively low fat cottage cheese :(

Thanks for helping out Deb! I made it last night in a 8X8 square pan, i didn’t have enough cottage cheese and it dried out :D

Mina

Oh god, I’m gonna make this. I grew up trying to convince my mother to buy boxed mac and cheese whenever possible (I can count the number of times she agreed on one hand), as she always made it homemade. With onions. And cracker crumbs. Both of which I despised immensely. Even if I couldn’t really taste the onions, I knew they were there and that made it WRONG. I love you, mom, but I can’t find it in myself to accept your recipe as real mac and cheese.

Eliza

I used ricotta, skipped the butter, and used some ends of extra sharp cheddar and garlic herb cheddar and parm (less than a pound though) along with whole raw milk. It’s so good that my picky three year old asked for seconds… but maybe a bit dry.

Eliza

Mmmm! Second time and it’s even better… more cheese this time, cottage cheese, I still skipped the butter… it’s not dry at all, so gooood!

msrhellie

I printed this recipe out because it looked so darn good. I made it last evening and yes it was very good. I would not change a thing. I take that back, I would lower the temperature on my oven to 325 – 350 and perhaps use a water bath, it browned to quickly on the bottom. Being African American, for some reason we feel we make the best mac and cheese and it is a staple at our Thanksgiving dinner. My mom never ever brought that blue box into our home, always made it from scratch. Last year I gave my brother another recipe (because he makes the Thanksgiving dinner)which was good, but this year I am submitting this one…..YUMMO

Kristin

Ok, best thing ever. Add an egg, it does good things.

bunny

Abbey

My husband was in the hospital Monday for an awful case of food poisoning and requested “comfort food” when he finally got his appetite back. I couldn’t think of anything better than this mac and cheese recipe. It was delicious. We used a good sharp cheddar and a bit extra cayenne and it was exactly what the doctor ordered!

James

I did this with sour cream instead of cottage cheese, and a combination of odds and ends of half and half, cream, and soy milk for the milk. Came out fab!

Elly

A few friends and I are Smitten Kitchen fans and knew that we’d be making at least a thing or two from your site for my 21st birthday dinner. Cheese is one of my most favorite things, so we took your advice and served it with a “g’normous” salad, wine, and bread from the local market. It was a fantastic addition to my evening, and was so rich and so well balanced by its counterparts. Thanks for the recipe, Deb!

Candi

Fabulous!!!! and super duper easy. My kids loved it and so did I. I expect this will be my go-to recipe for mac-n-cheese!

Angie

YUM! I made this today and I did use the skim milk and nonfat cottage cheese and I can’t imagine it being any more fabulous! This is exactly what I was looking for and it was so easy to boot! Thank you!

Angie

Also, I made the pound of cheese with half sharp cheddar, a bit of parmesan and the rest colby jack. Gooooood! Best attempt at this yet…this is my new go to recipe for baked mac n cheese!

Dee

OMG! This is the easiest mac and cheese I have ever done in my life…I never cook on a Friday night but I wanted something comforting.I didn’t have a blender, no cayenne and no dry mustard. I used my mixer to blend the ingredients. I used almost a tsp. of ordinary yellow mustard, 2% milk and a little canned milk and I definitely added some nutmeg (dried). It is sooooooo good. I can’t believe it. My only concern was the placement in the oven since my element is at the TOP of my electric oven. Was it supposed to furthest away from the element?

Leah

I wonder if subsituting the whole milk for a 1% would work, or maybe condensed milk? And using 2% cottage cheese…I have made this twice already but I am always trying to make things a bit healthier.

Leah

or maybe subsituting fage greek yogurt might work as i have seen people using sour cream instead of the cottage cheese.

MikeB

Certainly an easy recipe and with half white sharp and half medium yellow Tillimok this came out as tasty as it looked! I bit of heresy however, I tossed in two cans of Goya Pulpo in hot sauce (that’s octopus in an oil based sauce – I drained it well). Was well satisfied with the result on a chilly southern california day. Happy New Year to all!

brooke

simply amazing! and ten times easier than the recipe i grew up with. i love the 2:1 ratio of cheese to pasta, but the idea “no-boil” was what really grabbed me!

Erin Day

Ok, this looks amazing. I love the addition of cottage cheese in mac n’ cheese. This reminds me a bit of our family’s famous Great-Aunt Betty’s mac n’ cheese recipe. Hers calls for cottage cheese, sour cream, an egg and extra sharp cheddar. It’s tangy and scrumptious. The secret is to underboil the elbows and let the mixture sit for at least overnight before you bake it. It’s better if it sits for 24 hrs. I don’t know why, but it’s magical. I am going to try your version for more immediate gratification! Thank you. I am smitten with your kitchen. Hehe.

Becky

I think this is the best mac & cheese I’ve ever tasted-and I was a big fan of the other recipe you refer to before this. This one is a keeper! Love your site!

Lora

I made this with 1% milk, 2% cottage cheese, and a mix of mozzarella and cheddar; because that was what was in my refrigerator. It was delicous! My daughter couldn’t wait long enough to sit down, and tucked into her dinner standing up! I had to hide the cottage cheese container though, or she would not have eaten it!

Amanda Robinson

I liked that this was easy to make, no cooking the noodles on the stove or making a sauce. But, it wasn’t creamy enough for my liking – it seems almost grainy when I was eating it – I think that I’m going to have to stick to making a sauce!

My husband said, “Phenomenal.” I let it sit a little too long after it came out of the over, making it more dry than I meant, but boy, was it good. I also used a larger platter than I needed to, only had an 8×8 and a somewhat larger oval, which I used. Might have been too large. Really great, easy and totally delicious for all ages, as we proved tonight. Thank you!

taylor

Is it possible to make this ahead and freeze it? has anyone tried that?

I’ve just discovered your blog and had to try this. It tasted amazing, but seemed a little dry since I’m so used to overly cheesy, soggy versions (I also used 3/4 lb of cheddar). It was different, and I liked it!

Pegi

Olivia

Delicious!! I used ricotta instead of cottage cheese, and it still turned out great!! And it reheats like a dream (even 5 days later – my wonderful lunch today.) Definitely a recipe I’m holding onto!

Susan

this was amazing..and i used fat-free everything (except the cheese!). it was perfect!

Kim

Thank you so much! For a first-time mac-n-cheese maker this doesn’t look intimidating. Im trying this tonight! Thanks for the yummy idea!

Sarah DC

First time to the site via my colleague who is a devoted reader — clicked on “Surprise Me” and landed here — holy catfish! 1. What a great feature and 2. What a GREAT recipe to land on! Thank you thank you thank you!

Ross

Oh bummer… the only thing I have is orecchiette, so I guess I’m going rogue here. It still looked delicious while putting it together!

Kim

Deb,
Listened to you on Martha Stewart Everyday Foods last week while driving to my sons soccer game. Went to The Smitten Kitchen as soon as I got home. Love it! So, I am always in search of fabulous Mac & Cheese, always convinced that no matter how delicious, there’s a better recipe to be found. Well, my search is over, I will look no further! This is, hands down, the most delicious Mac & Cheese I have ever had! Thank you!

Laura

Hi Deb – at 8 months pregnant this recipe is the perfectly simple and delicious – THANK YOU! I keep thinking I will freeze some for life with a new baby – but then we eat it all. I have made one adjustment – I add a head of raw cauliflower cut into mini florets (the size of the pasta) and it adds a great flavor and a veggie…making a one dish meal that almost feels healthy. Thanks!

Michelle

Jen A

Deb, I love this recipe!! I have tried Martha’s mac and cheese but didn’t think it was worth the time and effort. I needed a mac and cheese for a busy weeknight dinner and this is the one. I love it. It is so simple and delicious. Thanks, I love your site.

Josh

Thank you so much! As a 33 year-old bachelor, I love this site! I have tried to cook before, and while it’s obvious that I cook with love, the results have been mixed and sometimes even completely disastrous. I seem to be the only person in my family who was not born with the Southern Cooking Gene, and actually believed that I was hopeless in the kitchen and resigned to a life of take out, cereal, and sandwiches. Macaroni and Cheese is my favorite food ever, and I happened upon your website and became, well..smitten! Crossing my fingers and hoping for the best, I made this recipe on Friday night, and when I finally tasted the finished product, I could hardly believe that I had made it! Baked Macaroni that was rich and creamy and cheesy all the way through and didn’t require preboiling the noodles no less! Since then, I’ve made your Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Squares (HUGE hit at work!) and have my eye on the Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup next. I’m legitimately excited to go home from work and cook now! Thank you so much for giving me confidence in the kitchen! Who knew Macaroni and Cheese could be so profound?!

shilo

AHh..im making this tonight – but only have Penne! Will this be an issue?!

carli

Ok, Deb- I’m having a mac n cheese crisis. I searched high and low for a great recipe at Thanksgiving. I was leaning toward the Martha Stewart one, and after seeing that you’d posted it, decided to go that route. In the end…yeah, it’s good. Solidly good. But for the PRICE and the EFFORT I wanted to be blown away and though it took me 2 days to admit it (because I wanted to have finally found THE recipe), I just wasn’t. It was a little flat for me. So here I am again. I’m interested in this recipe. Dare I try it for Christmas? What are your honest thoughts when comparing the two. Here’s what I’m going for- a nice “looseness”; not runny by any means and not even neccesarily creamy, but not dry. I hate the mac n cheese that you can cut into chunks. And a sharpness. Even with the pecorino the Martha recipe lacked any bite. Thanks for any thoughts. Love your site.

carli

Ah- one more question…how does this do when making ahead? That’s always a problem too. Wondering if baking ahead will dry it out?

carmen

@Michelle (143)- If you are still checking this, I used your “lazy girl” recipe and it was the ultimate success! I am keeping it for all future mac and cheese uses, especially on a cold night with a good movie or tv show. THANKS!

Megan

I made this and froze it (to eat in a few weeks when our baby arrives and I’m too crazed to make even something as simple as this recipe)… At what temp and for how long should I bake it when we take it out of the freezer?

Eliza

I just made a triple batch (that’s a LOT of cheese). It’s a favorite in our house and will come in handy in a few weeks (I’m freezing some) when my husband guts the kitchen (gah!). Thank you!

Katherine

Ha! We eat homemade mac’n cheese (The Joy of Cooking) and huge salads all the time! One of our favorite combos!

Goojah Mama

I have made this yummy Mac & Cheese once a week for the past four weeks since I discovered your recipe. Love the simplicity. I too had a bit of a grainy texture the first time I made it then realized that it will be creamy the more you “gently stir” after the first 30 minutes of baking. It has made it to my “favorites list”. Love your blog! Many thanks.

Heide

Made this tonight, and it turned out great! I added a head of broccoli (to the blender step) just to make me feel less guilty, still tasted amazing! As some others mentioned, mine was a bit curdle-y , but didn’t seem to impact the taste

Veronica

Allison

Made this tonight, followed recipe to a T. Was terrible, hard to choke down. Disappointed and a waste of $$$ for all the cheese required. Sadly, the hunt is still on for a decent edible mac n cheese.

Leah

Sorry to hear that Allison, I have made this at least 10 times and it’s been delicious each time.
Did u use full fat?

britnaay

haaaay! im britnaay and I made this Mac n cheese and it was like totally the best thing I’ve ever tasted. Like I couldn’t think of a better idea of a meal than this :-) lol anyway when I made it it, it looked creamier. So than I decided to make it less creamy by baking it more. It failed. ANYHOWS the results were fabulous and I reccomend it. :-)

Holley

I made this with ricotta rather than cottage cheese like a few commenters had suggested. Not worth making again that way. It tasted fine, nothing special, and was a bit greasy. It also was unattractively chunky-looking. One of my kids wouldn’t even taste it because she thought it looked so gross. If I’m going to eat something with a pound of cheese in it, I want it to be knock-your-socks-off delicious. With ricotta, this was not.

Lisa

The amount of pasta appeared so disproportionate to the huuuuge amount of cheese that I was skeptical – but I, um, might have just eaten almost a half-pan by myself. I didn’t have cottage cheese, so I used enough sour cream and french onion dip (heh) to equal 1 cup, and added a few dashes of hot sauce. GEEZ. Easiest mac and cheese I’ve ever made, and definitely a repeat. It’s not smooth and refined, but it reminds me of Grandma-type mac and cheeses at church potlucks. That’s a good thing.

Jade

just tried this gem and it turned out fabulously! thanks for posting. i misread your instructions and ended up blending most of the cheddar in with the cottage cheese mixture and it actually came out swell. we also had wet mustard not dry, and i used a tsp of that and it was great. i love that the recipe is so forgiving! husband, myself, sister-in-law, AND brother-in-law were happy all around! served with wine and an apple/arugula salad. the cheese and apples were a hit!

Kim Simmons

Curious if this will freeze and thaw well? My daughter loved the other Mac and Cheese on this site, but this one looks so much easier…

Thejewishhostess

Loved this recipe- for my teenage daughter I substituted quinoa pasta and skim plus milk. Dijon mustard was fine. LOVE the no-cook pasta idea. I just forwarded this recipe to my married working daughters who are always looking for easy and hearty recipes for their hungry hubbies. Deb- I love your new cookbook- wishing you continued success! Marlene.

Jess

I made this a few days ago for my classmates and it was a big hit! Making it again tonight for my boyfriend and myself. I wanted to chime in here because I used a tiny amount of nutmeg this time around (didn’t last time) and my kitchen smells like heaven!

Wendy

Made this on Christmas to go with fresh ham. It was a major hit! Used whole grain pasta and it was still fantastic!

Justin

I have made this several times now. Love it. My favorite substitution has been Creme Fraiche for the cottage cheese. It was all I had in the fridge one night and so used it instead. For the people who don’t like cottage cheese I thought it made everything even more creamy. I also have been throwing in some black truffle oil, just a couple of teaspoons. People seem to think it takes it over the top. Personally I didn’t notice much difference.

Justine

I made this this weekend and it was so delicious. I was skeptical since it didn’t require making a cream sauce, like most recipes do, but this one was absolutely perfect, especially when paired with a nice light salad.

Ally

Ally

Great mac n’ cheese recipe. I will be making this again.

Steph

Made this last night and it was so good. Hit the spot on a cold night with some steak. I kinda guilted myself into making a salad too but I knew all I really wanted was the mac and cheese! I might add a bit more liquid to make more sauce. I also used mozzarella, the authentic parmesan cheese [not Kraft] and cheddar. Yum!! =D

Kim

Oh my goodness! This recipe is so good! I’ve tried making other mac and cheese recipes and none measure up to this one! Sooooo good!

Erin

judy

I’ve been thinking of mac and cheese for ages. Yesterday I tried to make it. I looked for a recipe without bechamel sauce. I found an easy one and made it. It called for 2 eggs, mustard and worcestershire sauce. Well I dropped the bottle. I had another but the smell from the broken bottle put me off. I can’t get sharp cheddar where I am. Only special cheese shops. I didn’t like it but yours sounds lovely. Jamie Oliver usez cottage cheese I stead of bechamel in is half hour meals programme.

Carol

This is a winner! I have had terrible luck with baked mac & cheese recipes, but even the 5 year old agreed – this one rocks! Yum!

Al

Made this tonight – was feeling a bit too hungry to wait for an hour for the dish to cook and for some reason just HAD to have mac and cheese tonight and this recipe looked the best… so there were some speed-up adjustments I made.
I poured the milk and cottage cheese mixture into a pot, heated it up, added a little butter, salt, pepper and added the pasta to the mix. While I was grating the cheese and sauteing mushrooms (I had some for using up) the pasta got nice and soft. I added cheese, mushrooms and some additional milk to the pot, poured everything into a baking pan, put some cheese on top and stuffed it into a preheated oven. 15-20 more minutes in the oven were enough to have wonderful mac and cheese on my table!

Eliza

I made this with whey instead of milk and it was great! I’m happy to have another use for whey. Thanks!

polly c

proudm

Have made this many times – usually cooking in individual 14 oz. ramekins, and it is so ridiculously good and insanely easy, and works just as well with gluten-free penne. One note though – this recipe serves about 4 if making individual servings.

bd

I love this recipe! I experimented recently, making it in a slow cooker. It looked pretty much done after one hour on high, but due to timing of the meal, it sat on low for about another hour and got a nice, brown crusty edge…. mmmmmm

hanaleigirl

It worked! It worked! Even at altitude (6200 ft), it worked! I did not add more liquid like I often need too. Fiance gobbled it down, going into the rotation for easy/fast meals. W00t!

Sophie

Deb or anyone else, could this version work as a camping style ‘foil packet’ recipe? Looking for simple, fool proof meals I can get the kids to eat on a raimy British camping trip. Thanks

Allison

Rebecca

I added garlic powder, oregano, and parsley for an herby version. I also baked it in a 8ish” x 12ish” pan to maximize golden crust to cheesy goodness ratio.

Claudia

Deb, Would you consider substituting the cottage cheese with ricotta? Thanks.

I love this recipe. Next time I will use less macaroni as I like mine creamier. Thanks so much!

Allison

Just made this with jalapeños and bacon! Needless to say, it didn’t make it to the fridge.

Katy

Jane

Wow, this is so good! I halved the recipe and put in two pinches of cayenne pepper and I might eat the entire pan on my own.

Aida

Just have to say, I’m now in a food coma. This was the best Mac and cheese I have ever had… I came to your site looking for a macaroni and cheese recipe earlier today, and so happened to have all these ingredients on hand… I subbed half the pasta for raw cauliflower, and just mixed it with the noodles and cheese mixture in the very beginning… I will never make another macaroni recipe ever…. AMAZING !

Maro

Sandy

Made this in a dutch oven when camping. It’s a winner. Very rich and delish.

Patricia Manfull

Caitlin Moore

Hi,
How would you freeze this or is this not suitable? I am thinking of lunches for my toddler.
Thanks,
Caitlin

Ellie

Hi! I made this the other day, and was pleased how well it doubled for a 9 x 13 pan.
I want to double-y double (er, quadruple) the recipe and make this in large disposable aluminum pans for a potluck lunch for a bunch of hungry teenagers, but won’t be able to make it fresh right before serving it. Am I crazy for trying to make that big a batch, keeping it in the fridge overnight, and then reheating it before serving? What, if anything, could go wrong?

Sarah

This is my go-to mac and cheese recipe. Last night I added Frank’s red hot sauce and chopped up cauliflower for some more zip, and it was great. Next time I do it that way, I think I’d add some blue cheese and maybe some scallions.

Juliana

I have made this (awesome) recipe a bunch of times and it has always come out perfectly…until recently. The past two times I have made it, the cheese and pasta don’t come together and I get goopy cheese mixture next to barely covered pasta. The only thing I think that has changed is location…we moved, so new oven. Any ideas before I move on to your other Mac and cheese recipe? Thank you!!

Mindy

This was a rare miss for me of the recipes on this site. I have been aware of this NYTimes recipe for awhile and was always skeptical, but finally figured since it was on smitten kitchen it was worth a shot. Granted, I altered the recipe by substituting ricotta for cottage cheese, so this isn’t entirely a fair review, but I did not love this. I found it edible, but the texture was weird, and my 6 year old refused to eat it. And if I’m going to make mac and cheese from scratch, even one as easy as this, then it needs to be one that my child will eat.

Sarah

Kim G

This was sooooo good BUT my sauce curdled/ which happens every time I try a Mac and cheese recipe without a roux. Can anyone help?! I would love to make it again. Thanks!

Nancy

Made with Glutn Free noodles
1-3/4 milk
1/4 Franks hot sauce
1-1/2 c chicken

Sybil

Can you eliminate the cottage cheese (something I never have on hand or buy) or perhaps substitute something else successfully? I love the idea of no-boil pasta and everything in one pan.

Katie

Do you think I could make this in a slow cooker? If so, what time and setting should I use?

Jennifer Millar

ok, mine curdled as well,,,not sure what I did wrong,,,ugh

Kim G

Would someone please speak as to why this recipe curdles? I love the flavor and have made it 3 times with different cheeses and get the same result every time.

Marion Tayor

very easy and satisfying; has a nice ‘kick’ from mustard, ground pepper and healthy dash of cayenne. Used 1/2 of the recommended cheddar (ie, 8oz instead of 1#), and it seemed plenty ‘cheesy’

Donna

Hi Deb
Does this version of mac and cheese freeze ok?

Wendy

Do i freeze this raw or cooked?

Ashlyn

I don’t like cottage cheese, so I substituted the same amount of whole milk ricotta – it worked really well!

Diane

I know I’m digging in the archive but I’ve gotta ask some questions. We are doing our best to pull of Thanksgiving while living out of the country. Your green bean casserole is already on the menu. I have some homesick Americans requesting macaroni and cheese. We have something very similar to cottage cheese that is really delicious and oddly creamy even though it’s lowfat. I don’t even know if I can get full fat cottage cheese here. Is the direction about the milk and cottage cheese being full fat about flavor or chemistry? I’m also struggling with the pasta to cheese ratio but have learned to trust you and your many followers.

Trevor

I’ve been a fan of yours for years but it seems odd to me to call this recipe your own, even with the “adapted from” line when it’s almost 1:1 to the original New York Times recipe, especially when looking at your 2006 version of the recipe. How did the 2006 version differ from the NYT original?

Erika

Charlotte Knox

Sounds yummy for my tummy.
We only use Cabot cheese at our house because it’s Lactose Free !! So, for those with lactose intolerance they could use ‘LACTAID’ brand milk and the CABOTS cheese.
Thanks for always sharing your work with the world

Barb

Do you think it will be ok with gluten free quinoa, rice, and cornflour pasta? It looks delicious and sounded wonderful bubbling away the other day on your feed.

Adrienne

Will Greek yogurt (2% or 5%) work in place of The sour cream? Thanks!! I look forward to trying this recipe!!

Heather

This unfortunately did not work for me. It could be because I used creme fraiche and cheese other than cheddar. It turned out very oily on top and not creamy or saucy at all. The other two mac’n’chee recipes on the site are far superior, and Martha’s, especially, is more forgiving in terms of using whatever cheese you have on hand. Jamie Oliver also has a nice one, with tomatoes in it.

This has been my favorite Mac and cheese recipe since I first made it several years ago. We have an open house on Halloween, and this is the most popular thing we serve. It’s so good, my friend asks that I bring it to her holiday party every year. In fact, I’m making it today. I also have to make it for her same friend next November when she runs the NYC Marathon. I’m tempted to try one of the cottage cheese alternates today, so I don’t have to mess up the blender… but I don’t want to mess with perfection. No need to try Martha’s recipe as this is the best. Everyone loves it!

Sam

Made this last night. It tasted good but it definitely wasn’t “luscious.” It was dry and curdled. The cheese separated and I think the sour cream got all lumpy. Made a different SK Mac & cheese based on a Martha Stewart recipe a few weeks ago that was amazing. This just isn’t that great.

Chelsea

Alyssa

Well this was a Hard No, one of only a handful from SK, which is my go-to. I followed this to the letter, down to the recommended Cabot cheese. Used sour cream because cottage cheese is another Hard No. This clumped up big-time in the oven, which means my kids wouldn’t touch it, and frankly I wasn’t interested in that texture, even if it tasted good. Not sure what happened. Mine wasn’t dry, but was a curdled mess :( Bummed because it was SO easy!

Tracy

This recipe was great! I used nonfat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, not because I’m a dieter or fat free person but because I was trying to avoid that brick in the stomach too full feeling I always get after eating mac n’ cheese. And I messed up and added the quarter cup of cheese on top at the beginning instead of halfway through, and did not mix either. Other that that, I followed the recipe to the letter. I really enjoyed it! It was still very rich (hard not to be with a pound of cheese) but not overly so. I thought about replacing the milk with buttermilk but figured one substitution was enough in these uncertain times. Now the real test will be if my toddler eats it. I would recommend putting a cookie sheet under the baking dish because mine bubbled over and caused some smoky burnage on the bottom of my oven.

Debra Murphy

This is amazing! My go-to has always been the Barefoot Contessa’s but I was looking for something less involved. Honestly, this recipe is just as good with so much less effort. I skipped the extra butter on top but followed the recipe otherwise and it is a winner! Thank you, Deb!

Rose

Ran out of milk so subbed scant 1 c. oat milk + water + a little extra butter. Worked great!

Does the cottage cheese make it grainy or is it smooth?

Robin

Made this during quarantine instead of ordering out for pizza. It seriously could not be easier or more delicious. I’ve been recommending it to all my friends who aren’t still pretending to not eat carbs. I used sour cream and creme fraiche because it’s what I had on hand (not because I’m fancy but because I shop super randomly these days. The hour-long wait to get into the store leaves me brain dead.) Didn’t have quite enough milk but I added a few tablespoons of water and hoped the full fat sour cream would balance it out. It worked! I added bread crumbs because we had leftovers from another recipe and it was a nice crunch bit of goodness but you’ll be fine without it. Everyone loved it, including my 10 year old who prefers her mac n cheese from a box. And glad I didn’t spend the $40 on sub-par, not-NY pizza.

This can become an expensive dish to make when using luxurious substitutes for cottage cheese so, my question is: For the sake of economy would it be okay to use 1 cup of evaporated milk instead of cottage cheese, or, perhaps 1/2 cup of evaporated paired with 1/2 cup of ricotta? I, too do not like using cottage cheese in a creamy sauce.

Liz Duerk

I made this today and it was very good but very rich (for my taste buds :) ). I used sour cream which was tasty but I think next time I make it, I’ll cut the amount used in half. Very cheesy and delish! I would definitely recommend trying this recipe!

Meghan

Made this basically to the T except for instead of elbows we used trompelli. I don’t know if that’s what caused this to go wrong or what. But I agree with the comment that said this was very ‘kugel’ like and seemed almost curdled. It tasted good but just didn’t hit the spot for mac and cheese that we were looking for.

sange

There are 3 mac and cheese recipes on SM and personally, this one didn’t give me the cheesy ooze I want in macaroni and cheese. It was good, quick, and didn’t call for $50 in cheese to make dinner for 4 people (all good things!) – but the other two recipes on this site definitely have a better (and tastier) wow factor.

Melanie

The recipe was delicious, but unfortunately it curdled. I used sour cream and sharp cheddar. I followed the recipe exactly – any idea what could be the reason? It’s such a pity because the recipe is so simple and otherwise super delicious.

Joanna D-C

HR

I would love to make this and bring it to my sister’s house for dinner. Can it be put together in advance and baked later?

Chuck

I’m doing this with whole goat milk and crème fraîche, buttered bread crumbs mixed with the cheese on top.

Kalle

Fingers crossed for an answer before thanksgiving! Any chance this same recipe could be done in the crock pot if I parboiled the noodles?

Lynette

Would you change anything about this recipe when using gluten free elbow macaroni?

Judy

I also recommend the Mac and cheese recipe in Art Smith’s cookbook. Similar concept-classic without extraneous ingredients or flavors. I think it calls for liquid smoke which I eliminated, and I think I use more dry mustard. It’s perfect and delicious, and I bake it in a9x13 roasting pan to increase the crunchy top layer. I highly recommend it.

Christina

Maybe this is a stupid question but can you sub Greek yogurt for the sour cream. The dairy in our house is limited to milk and Greek yogurt. We normally use the yogurt whenever we want sour cream on a dish.

Sharon Bayly

This tasted okay but the sauce broke. I think I followed the directions, what could cause this?

Kathleen

I’ve had a version of this recipe for many years, and shared it with the community we were a part of in Stockholm in the ‘aughts. Since the people living in our Visiting Scholars complex were from all over the world, we would all take turns sharing a special recipe from our country. This was ours!

Jessica

Smells delicious and I like the taste. I’m a bit reluctant about serving it to others. Like other commenters, I followed the recipe exactly and it curdled.

Sandy

Pretty tasty! Just made for Thanksgiving dinner with some changes: used Plain Greek yogurt in place of Sour Cream/Cottage Cheese, used yellow Mustard rather than Dry Mustard, added a squirt of Sriracha and instead of 8oz I just used the full 10oz bag of noodles.

Trene

I’m a big Smitten Kitchen fan and can’t remember a recipe I’ve made from this site that wasn’t phenomenal. Unfortunately, this recipe was quite average to me and I definitely won’t make it again. On the plus side: the pasta did cook through until tender, which was my main point of skepticism. The dish cooked up exactly in line with the recipe instructions and had a beautifully brown and cheesy top. The flavor was quite good as well – though a bit mustardy for my taste – I think the flavor would be great for a summer barbecue with grilled or smoked meat. I was also impressed that the flavor was so satisfying with only 1 cheese (I used sharp white cheddar). That said, I had the same experience some other commenters did – the dish looked curdled and quickly turned tough as it cooled. My guess is this is the starch from the pasta at work (which usually cooks off when you parboil the pasta). I’m not a fan of creamy stovetop mac – my family only ever makes baked mac and cheese that bakes up like a firm casserole, but I’m used to something with a luscious cheese-pull when hot and much more silky than this. Some others thought the curdled/graininess of this dish was from not using a roux, so I’ll also share that my typical mac and cheese also doesn’t use a roux but it has never cooked up curdled. It’s a similar base of sour cream, milk, and seasoning but I use egg in it as well and at least 1 cheese with the cheddar that’s softer than the cheddar (e.g. gouda). For reference the recipe I use is very similar to Sunny Anderson’s spicy mac and cheese. Hope this helps others and thanks for years of AMAZING recipes Deb!

V

This was wonderful and just what I was looking for. Love that I don’t have to pre-cook the noodles-it’s a game changer. thank you!!!

Cristina

I made this with gemelli instead of elbows and dijon mustard instead of dried mustard. I let it cook for 10+ minutes with the oven turned off. It was delicious – I willmake this again! I’ll also freeze a few portions to keep some for another day.

I made this for Thanksgiving and again tonight and it is incredibly simple and very rich and tasty! I use 2% Greek yogurt instead of the cottage cheese or sour cream, and it works great. I also use 1/2 extra sharp and 1/2 sharp cheddar. I don’t think I will ever make mac n’ cheese again by boiling macaroni first and making a sauce with a roux. This one’s a winner!

Arleen Smith

Wanted to make this and add lobster to make……wait for it, Lobster MacnCheese!
Cook the lobster first? Boil, broil, or sauté it? When would you add it in?

Caroline Wallace

I am always scared of pasta dishes where you cook the pasta in the sauce, because I’m afraid it will be gluey. I wasn’t sure this was going to work when I realized I was out of sour cream and substituted cream cheese. But, I trusted Deb and this mac came out PERFECT. Absolutely delicious, perfectly cooked, crispy brown top. Everything I want from a mac and cheese! Make immediately.

DT

Mine curdled too. I followed recipe to a T except subbed sour cream for the cottage cheese. Looked like scrambled eggs were in there. However, all 5 of us ate it with no complaints and the taste was good. Love that the pasta cooks IN the sauce in the oven, saving time.

SBL

PATRICIA ROGERS

Is there a print option

Samantha

Hi! I’ve made this quite a few times (usually with some smoked gouda and whatever else I have on hand) and love the taste, but I also often encounter the curdling problem others have mentioned. Any ideas on how to avoid that?

Kelsey

I made this for the first time and brought it to a potluck dinner un-tasted. It was my first homemade mac and cheese. Everyone raved about it and wanted to know who made it and I wasn’t even a little bit surprised because Deb never lets me down! Everyone needs a go-to tried-and-true recipies-always-work place and smitten kitchen is absolutely that for me. Thank you!

Courtney

My kids wanted to make dinner and chose this because they didn’t need to boil the pasta. I was a little skeptical after reading some of the comments but it was so so good. We used sour cream, and took a previous commenter’s advice and did half mild cheddar, half sharp (nothing fancy). We forgot the butter completely. It baked up perfectly—browned on top, cheesy and smooth sauce, and somehow there was kind of a crust on the bottom too (?). Yum. My youngest asked for seconds after his first bite!

Chris W

I’ve made this recipe a few times and we really enjoy it. My bf makes a great “fancy” mac and cheese with a mix of cheeses and a roux, and last night he declared this mac to be even better than his and “restaurant quality.” The texture is definitely different than a mac made with a roux, which is why I think some commenters find the finished product to be curdled or separated. This is definitely a dense, intensely cheddary mac and cheese, and if you’re looking for something very smooth and creamy, this might not be the recipe for you.

Jamie

How would you adjust this for a gluten-free pasta? In my limited experience, GF (rice) pasta cooks MUCH faster than traditional, so presumably would need less baking time? Maybe baking for only 20-30 minutes covered and then slid under a broiler for the last few minutes to caramelize the cheese on top? I love this idea of not preboiling the pasta, especially since GF pasta goes from al dente to mush in no time at all.

Patti

I make this all the time as written it has saved us many many times and it is delicious and we always look forward to eating it

Emily

Do you have any suggestions or recommendations for re-heating if not going to eat right after making? Thanks!

Marlene

I see all the other comments were from eons ago, but I am here to say that in 2021, I made this mac ‘n cheese using gluten free elbows and oh boy, is it good!!
Thanks, thanks so much!! ❤️

Diana

I have this in the oven now, and I hope it lives up to the hype! My concern is not boiling the pasta before putting in the oven. But we’ll see! I’m wondering if you can please share cup measurements for the cheese and pasta, instead of the pound measurement? Thanks!

Katie

I’ve made this a few times now and it is one of my faves. Easy to prep ahead of time and tasty. My son is two and used to like it but lately won’t eat much when I make it. Such is the nature of toddlers. I almost never put in the extra butter (I forget) and tend to use whatever varieties Of cheese I have left in the fridge. Today I used cheddar, fontina, and smoked Gouda. It was tasty!!!!

Barb

I like large curd cottage cheese, and I think I’d like to leave it as is for bites of chunky cheesy goodness.

taash

samantha

hoping to use this recipe for thanksgiving! i’m wondering though if it could be made in a crockpot instead. and if so, any recipe changes to accommodate the different baking method?

Danita

Tasted great. I forgot to add the butter at end but it was fine without. I used sour cream and Trader Joe’s extra sharp cheddar. Love how easy it is to put together.

Erica

Finally found my perfect mac & cheese recipe—thank you, Deb, as always for absolute magic! I’ll be making this again right away since it’s too delicious not to add it to our Thanksgiving line-up, especially since it’s so easy. I opted for creme fraiche and added a generous splash of heavy cream, some gruyere, and a little bit of Trader Joe’s caramelized onion cheddar, and I never want another version, though I’m sure it’s terrific as written.

Colleen

I have made this many times and plan to make it this Thanksgiving! I have only ever used mascarpone (instead of cottage cheese or ricotta) and cabot cheddar. The texture has always been excellent the recipe loved by all from the 2 year old to the grandparents. An amazing go-to for my family!

Elise

I absolutely love most Smitten Kitchen recipes, and was super excited to try this because of how easy it looked, but this one was a miss! The top was a beautiful browned lid, but underneath, the sauce was curdled, similar to other commenters. I used sour cream and cheddar, as recommended, so I am not sure where it went wrong.

Nancy

I’ve made this twice and the elbows are coming out uncooked and crunchy. What am I doing wrong?

Niki Cunningham

I made this without the mustard, cayenne, or nutmeg and added pureed spinach. I also used ricotta and all the random cheese in the fridge (some mozarella, monterey jack, cheddar, colby) and it was was DELICIOUS. Huge crowd pleaser–adults and kids. thanks!

Christine

OMG – I couldn’t believe how easy this was to make and how DELICIOUS it is. I’ve tried this and the Martha’s Mac & Cheese and while Martha’s is great, not sure it is worth the work when this one is so yummy. I made it with sour cream and did use the nutmeg. Wouldn’t change a thing.

Pamela Lestenkof

When baking in a milk glass casserole dish, do I need to reduce the oven temp by 25 degrees?

Jordan Battani

I’m late to this party but feel compelled to comment. I’ve made this EXACTLY as described several times and it’s always been a big hit. (And here’s where I turn into that commenter who doesn’t follow the recipe….)
Today I had no milk, but had some wonderful buttermilk that needed using. And oh! A fridge container of some roasted cauliflower needed to be used (so it became half(ish) of the macaroni….) I always use Greek yogurt for the cottage cheese substitution. And then I was out of elbows – so it had to be the penne….
Everything else (and the method) exactly as written.
Still sublime. This is truly an awesome recipe (or, as I used it just-this-once) a guideline.
ThanksDeb! Chag Pesach sameach…

Mary C.

I have been making this recipe for years and cannot believe I have not yet left a comment. I will forever defend this recipe. It is not your creamy, saucy, kind of mac and cheese, but it is simple and divine. I typically use sour cream but this time I had whole milk Greek yogurt needing to be used. The end result was just as amazing. I also tend to lean towards the 3/4 of the amount of cheese prescribed method to feel slightly better about the enormous serving I consume. Amazing Sunday night dinner with leftovers to make Monday brighter. Thanks!

Mimi

A brick of philly cream cheese instead of cottage cheese, and a little caramelized onion.

Lisa Franey

Can I substitute oat or nut milk for cow milk?

Grace Hyde

Made this tonight and it was so easy and delicious. I used sour cream but didn’t have enough to make the 1 cup. But I did have a little bit of sour cream/horseradish mix leftover from steak for dinner the other evening. The small kick of horseradish was good! I really prefer this method versus the stovetop method. No boiling pasta ahead – just dump everything in and bake! Thanks for the recipe.

Moira O’Connell

A perennial Thanksgiving favorite in my house is “Classic Cul de Sac Mac ‘n’ Cheese” from Claud Mann’s “Dinner & a Movie Cookbook.” Mucho cheese.

Jo

Mine came out kinda curdled ☹️

Bethe K.

I’ve never been disappointed by a SK recipe until now. This was…inedible. I used sour cream and Cabot extra sharp with regular milk, so I’m not sure where it went wrong, but it was alarmingly awful. A bit curdled, way too oily, and just yuck. I’ll stick to not skipping the roux.

Rebecca

This was pretty good but something was off with the texture; too thick of a top layer of cheese and not enough goo to hold it together. However, it was super easy to make and of course I will eat the leftovers because there’s really no such thing as bad mac & cheese in my book!

Helen A

Followed the recipe to a T. Unfortunately it was not very tasty, although it was fast to make. The sour cream curdles and noodles were generally on the dry side. Maybe cooking the noodles first might help with the dryness issue, but then it wouldn’t be a one pot meal.

Meg Perry

Made this with banza chickpea pasta for a guest with celiac- came out great. I have childhood nostalgia for Mac and cheese with velveeta so I swapped that for part of the cheddar. No leftovers, much to my sorrow!

CJ

Made this for dinner using ricotta. It is quite tasty but next time I will not dot the butter on top as it just became an oily mess, but will use more than quarter cup of cheese on top. So happy not to have to cook noodles before hand!

Grace

Amy G

Man, idk if my dried mustard is more potent or what, but mine came out tasting like horseradish (and i guarantee i didn’t use that accidentally, I don’t have any), and I’m certain I only used a tsp. Quite sad about it, because I don’t think I can stand to eat the rest. :( So if you’re like that about mustard/horseradish, too, I recommend skipping it.

Nancy

This was perfect for the Mac ‘n cheese fix! I’ll cut down on the sour cream next time.

Holly Smith

I doubt anyone will see this comment in time, but I’m putting it out there anyway! I’ve used this recipe before and loved it, but tomorrow I would like to double it and bake it in a 9×13 pan. Can anyone recommend to me how I ought to adjust the baking time accordingly? Thanks!

Always a crowd pleaser. It’s been my family’s go-to recipe for a fast and comforting dish- for years! Thanks as always, Deb <3

Sarah

This looked so good and I made it immediately. Unfortunately it was a waste of ingredients. The cheese “sauce” doesn’t cling to the pasta and is just a broken mess. I’m an experienced cook and this should have been a successful recipe. It wasn’t.

Leslie

I have a baked Mac & Cheese recipe passed down by my grandmother who stated making it during the Depression (my mom was born in 1929, 4 months after it started) my mother learned by watching her mom, I in turn watched mine….we have NO written recipe for this lol, it’s all based on how it looks and how it ‘feels’ lol, when it feels ‘right’ it is, it’s definitely one of those “your ancestors tell you it’s good” recipes lol

Emily

What if I puréed burrata in the liquid it comes in instead of cottage cheese?

Marian

Why do you use so much more cheese in this baked mac and cheese compared to the stovetop version? In this baked recipe compared to the stovetop version, there is only twice as much pasta (8 ounces vs. 4 ounces in the stovetop recipe), but an additional 15 ounces of cheese (16 ounces vs. only 1 ounce in the stovetop recipe), which is way more cheese than in the stovetop version. Shouldn’t the stovetop recipe maybe have a bit more cheese (it has 1/16 of the cheese in the baked version)? Additionally, you call for 1 cup of cottage cheese or sour cream, which would add more richness and flavor to the baked version, and neither of these ingredients are added to the stovetop version, but now I want to try adding in maybe a tablespoon of one or the other to see what it tastes like.

Anita

Would you consider posting the recipe with your changes – it’s just a bit confusing.
Thanks.

Ingrid

Liked the flavor but like others said it curdled and was dry. I wonder how this could be corrected since the recipe is easy and flavor good. I used creme fraiche, NO cottage cheese.

Stephanie

Here is a crazy hack that happened:
I had no sour cream and no cottage cheese…but, I did have Trader Joe’s whole milk Eggnog yogurt. I tried it and noticed it was subtly sweet, tangy, hint of nutmeg. It worked! (I did NOT add more nutmeg).
Honestly, it gave luscious bechamel vibes.

FF

I made this yesterday with sour cream instead of cottage cheese, penne instead of elbow macaroni, & extra sharp cheddar. Easy & good, both right out of the oven & the next day. It’s not better than creamy versions with Bechamel sauce but it is faster & perfectly OK for family meals. Thanks!

janet

Can you re-write the recipe with 2023 updates? I can’t follow this. Thank you!

Ellie

Can this be made in advance? Or better to assemble in advance and bake when ready to serve? Thanks!

Leslie Stout

Deb! Fellow Smitteners! What a great recipe this is! I love the technique, and the finished product is every bit as delicious as it is gorgeous. I had several bits of leftover cheeses, from sharp cheddar to oozing stinky-ish Brie; they all contributed something to the enjoyment of the dish. Thank you AGAIN, Deb Perelman

Can cavatappi be used or will it not cook in time. Should I only use macaroni?

Karen Yoho

OK – it’s in the oven as hungry soon-to-be diners are either watching football, scrolling through devices, or napping. . . Waiting for thanksgiving meal. I don’t understand how 1/2 pound of pasta is enough. And it looks a little curdled. But we added more cheese and threw it back in the oven. I should have test drived at home before making in a strange oven. I love SK recipes so I am sure all will be well.

Elisabeth S

FYI this did NOT work with gluten free elbows. Must be something the GF pasta releases as it cooks, but the cheese sauce gets all chunky and curdled. Bummer. I have another mac and cheese recipe which calls for cooking the pasta first and the GF pasta works fine in that one :(

Poorna

To all those who are wondering if this is worth it after reading negative comments:
This is essentially southern-style baked macaroni casserole. And an extremely delicious version at that. If you want a creamy mac n cheese, this is not it. But this is my favorite kind of macaroni and cheese and I have been let down by so many other recipes (ina, Martha, etc.) because I was craving the mac from all the potluck suppers and tuesday night dinners of my childhood. My mom always made this with evaporated milk, but I live in Europe so I used the mascarpone sub per Deb’s instructions, along with a sharp British cheddar. It was perfection. Deb, you NEVER let me down.

Samantha Bourne

Can this recipe be doubled with success?

Sarah P.

This is just not good. I’m so disappointed. Maybe it’s my cheese, I shredded my own cheddar. It’s not creamy at all. It’s like chewy cheese and looks slightly curdled. My milk is fresh. Back the store on Christmas Eve. 😞

Noelle

I made this for Christmas dinner and it was perfect! I used sour cream, whole milk and extra sharp cheddar and followed the recipe to the T. Cooking the dry pasta in the dairy mixture feels like magic. I was afraid it would be too much for a standard 9″ cake pan, but it worked perfectly and came out just like the pictures – I probably baked for an extra 5 minutes to brown the cheese on top. Excellent paired with roasted carrots with rosemary.

Erika Cantwell

We love this easy delicious recipe! We have only used the ricotta version. It has become a holiday and potluck staple for our family!! Thank you!!

Cristen

I’ve made this a few times now and it is my new go to for baked Mac and cheese. I sub gluten free pasta (jovial) and lactose free dairy and it turns out amazing every time. The only down side is there are never leftovers.

Mary

Made this tonight with high hopes (and expectations because we love SK recipes). It was pretty awful, not sure where we went wrong? Used sour cream and followed all directions as written, even down to the Cabot sharp cheddar. It came out grainy (not at all creamy) and had a bitter flavor, weirdly bland flavor. Wasn’t cheesy at all. Kids refused it after the first bite. Bummed about the waste of time and food. This is the first time I’ve ever experienced a Smitten Kitchen fail!

LNCinDC

Nancy C

Just pulled this out of the oven for dinner tonight and it looks and smells amazing!! I subbed ricotta for cottage cheese because I had some left after making the veggie lasagna a few weeks ago(another winner!!). The only thing I did differently was to sprinkle the top with a little bit of Parmesan and a small amount of panko breadcrumbs. Can’t wait to dig in!! Thank you Deb!!

emma c.

What did I do wrong? Followed exactly, used sour cream not cottage cheese and the cheddar didn’t melt. It looked like pasta with scrambled eggs when it was done. The taste was good but the texture was not good. The kids refused to eat it! I would like to try again.

Jen Tambellini

My husband just said that this is the best Mac and cheese recipe I’ve ever made! Thank you!

My go-to easiest…I use full fat milk and full fat sour cream and *gasp* shredded YELLOW AMERICAN cheese! Sometimes half cheddar but often just American. I buy cheese ends at the deli counter shred um up and store them in freezer. I do add the nutmeg. Could probably skip the salt. I also (intentionally) forget to stir halfway because I prefer it that way for the crispy edges. Remember to move your oven rack to the top third, it matters. Never curdles on me and reheats (gently) well. Definitely a keeper on steady rotation especially for group events. Thanks for sharing.

Michele

Could you please clarify if you boil the pasta first or put it in the sauce mixture uncooked? One comment states they they had concerns using uncooked pasta and the reply says it should be cooked. Directions say uncooked. Please clarify- thank you!

Kiersten

Made it with sour cream and sharp cheddar and like others, it came out curdled. TBD if the toddler will eat it. I would not make this again.