a very good macaroni and cheese
This mac is creamy, slippery and luxurious, and it’s designed to stay that way even after it has been baked with a crumb topping or reheated in the microwave. You can swap out the cheddar for another cheese if you like, but the Velveeta is a non-negotiable. This is a generous, family-sized batch but you could totally halve the recipe or freeze half for later..
yield 8 servings
riffing
add thawed frozen peas or sauteed hotdog rounds
mix some grated parm in with your breadcrumb topping
add some cayenne for a little heat
1 lb elbow macaroni
5 cups whole milk
4 T butter
1/4 cup flour
3/4 ts onion powder
3/4 ts garlic powder
3/4 ts mustard powder
3/4 lb Velveeta, cubed
4 oz cream cheese
3/4 lb cheddar, shredded (dealer's choice on cheddar strength!)
toasted panko or crushed ritz crackers/cheez-its/goldfish/club crackers for baking
recipe prep
In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, cook pasta in generously salted boiling water according to box directions, undercooking by 2 1/2 minutes so it can finish in the sauce. Drain pasta and set pot aside.
Warm milk in a saucepan until it barely starts to simmer; reduce heat and keep warm (or like, heat it in the microwave, see if I care!). In the pot from the macaroni, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add flour, onion powder, garlic powder and mustard powder and whisk until smooth and slightly darkened, about 1 minute. While whisking, add milk a little at a time (don’t worry if it seizes up a little at first). Bring to a boil, whisking often, and reduce heat to medium. Cook (still whisking!) until the mixture bubbles and thickens just slightly, about 5 minutes.
Reduce heat to low and add Velveeta, cream cheese and cheddar; whisk until smooth. Remove from heat and add cooked macaroni. Stir to evenly combine and taste. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Add salt, if needed, to taste.
If serving stovetop-style, let macaroni rest an additional 10-20 minutes to set (don’t worry, it will thicken!) and then gently rewarm over medium-low heat, stirring often.
If baking, preheat oven to 350F. Transfer macaroni to a heatproof dish and cover with foil. Bake until pasta is warmed through, 10-15 minutes. Turn on broiler or increase oven temp to 500F. Remove foil and sprinkle evenly with bread crumbs/crackers. Bake for 3-5 minutes or until crust is golden and pasta is burbly.
do it ahead Once you’ve added the macaroni to the sauce, the pasta can be refrigerated for up to a week (or frozen for up to a month). Bake covered for 20-30* minutes for until pasta is heated through. Halfway through cooking, stir in up to a cup of additional milk (if needed!) to thin out the sauce a little. Then, obviously, add your crumb topping.
*Macaroni will take up to 40-50 minutes to cook from frozen
