Old-Fashioned Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Classic old-fashioned baked macaroni and cheese comes together with just a little patience and a lot of butter, milk and cheese. Let it bake until bubbly for the most comforting meal ever.
Ingredients
- 3 cupsuncooked elbow macaroni
- ¼ cupbutter, cubed
- ¼ cupall-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoonsalt
- ¾ teaspoonground mustard
- ½ teaspoonpepper
- few dashes hot pepper sauce
- 3 cupswhole milk
- 5 cupsshredded cheddar cheese, divided
- optional: crumbled cooked bacon and coarsely ground pepper
Directions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cook the macaroni noodles in boiling water until almost tender. Drain the noodles.
- 2
While the noodles cook, you'll begin making a roux. Melt the butter over medium heat in a Dutch oven. Stir the flour into the melted butter, then the salt, mustard, pepper and hot sauce. Whisk until smooth. Cook, stirring, until it begins bubbling, about one minute. Stir in the cooked macaroni, milk and 4 cups cheese.
- 3
Transfer the mac and cheese to an ungreased 13x9-inch baking dish. Cover and bake until bubbly, 45 to 50 minutes. Uncover, and sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup cheese. Let stand for five minutes before serving. If desired, top with bacon and pepper.