Cottage cheese, sour cream and Velveeta come together to make the richest, creamy macaroni and cheese. You’ll love the cheddar cheese and crispy bread crumb topping!
Baked Macaroni and Cheese OK, friends. Today I’m sharing with you a recipe that has been a family favorite since we’ve been married.
We love trying out new recipes and creating our own, and so many meals that were really good get lost in the shuffle. But a few are so good that they stand the test of time. This Rich and Creamy Macaroni and Cheese is one of those recipes. I can remember finding this recipe when we were first married. We’d make a pan of this and it would feed us for almost a whole work week. Cooking one meal and having it last 4 or 5 meals?
May 1, 2018 - It's easy, cheesy, creamy, and perfect for potlucks or bbqs or the holidays. This recipe can. What are the best cheeses for Mac and Cheese? What's the best cheese combination to use? What kind of breadcrumbs? Which serves as a creamy vehicle for all that cheese. Dreamiest, Cheesiest Mac and Cheese Ever ” on Pinterest.
Those were the days. Then little kids came into the picture. At first, they didn’t like this homemade mac ‘n cheese. They preferred the boxed variety. Then the kids grew up and suddenly they think homemade macaroni and cheese is pretty great. And this big batch of cheesy goodness lasts us two meals at best. My favorite part of this is the combination of the rich, creamy cheese sauce covering the macaroni, paired with the crunchy topping of bread crumbs and cheddar cheese.
It’s simply fantastic. The kids today prefer the creamy bottom layer to the crunchy topping, so I gladly take their topping and add it to mine. Macaroni and Cheese with Three Cheeses What makes this casserole so creamy? It has Velveeta, cottage cheese and sour cream. Don’t worry, though. If you don’t like sour cream or cottage cheese, you won’t taste it in there.
If you’re worried about the texture of cottage cheese, you can run it through the food processor to make it smooth, but it is definitely not necessary. It all bakes together nicely. The combination of those three ingredients make this the richest and creamiest macaroni and cheese ever! Thanks so much for the great recipe. It’s absolutely THE best mac & cheese recipe ever. I made it a couple weeks ago but I didn’t have Velveeta on hand (substituted a bag of colby jack cheddar blend) and it came out perfect. I need to make something to take to a potluck dinner tomorrow & thought I bookmarked your website but didn’t.
I almost had an anxiety attack trying to find it. THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE!!!! I’m going to try it with the Velveeta this time, but I have to agree with DeniseI’m not a fan.,that being said, I think the Velveeta will add to the texture & I’m going to trust you on this one. I’ll keep you posted & let you know if I still love it. Thanks again, Lizzy T for all your great work!
Perfect Macaroni and Cheese How-To You can easily divide this recipe in half; use a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish if you do. Serves 12 6 slices good-quality white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for dish 5 1/2 cups milk 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 4 1/2 cups (about 18 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar 2 cups (about 8 ounces) grated Gruyere or 1 1/4 cups (about 5 ounces) grated pecorino Romano 1 pound elbow macaroni 1.
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place bread pieces in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour butter into the bowl with bread, and toss. Set the breadcrumbs aside. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk.
Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute. Slowly pour hot milk into flour-butter mixture while whisking. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyere or 1 cup pecorino Romano.
Set cheese sauce aside. Fill a large saucepan with water. Bring to a boil.
Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 fewer minutes than manufacturer's directions, until outside of pasta is cooked and inside is underdone. (Different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) Transfer the macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar and 1/2 cup Gruyere or 1/4 cup pecorino Romano; scatter breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes; serve.
A Little Back Story Did you know that Thomas Jefferson, purportedly a great lover of both cheese and Italian food, served his baked macaroni and cheese at dinner parties all the time? During the age of European colonization, seafaring men would transport dried macarone - one of the few staples that could survive a year aboard ship - from Italy to Britain and to the American colonies. American colonists did not have the selection of fresh produce and other ingredients that the Italians had; their meals were improvised from a larder of fresh or sour milk, stale bread, and pork drippings. So the imported pasta would often be served with a simple white sauce - milk thickened with flour and butter. Sometimes, it was baked in a casserole with buttered breadcrumbs on top. A recipe for a casserole of macaroni, white sauce, and grated yellow cheese was first recorded in the 'Boston Cooking School Cookbook' in 1896. Kraft introduced its macaroni-and-cheese dinner in 1937 as a way to market processed American cheese and Tenderoni macaroni.
It swept the nation. Recipes for homemade macaroni and cheese began to appear frequently in cookbooks. Nowadays, making delicious homemade macaroni and cheese has become a mission for some people: They are always trying to make it more comforting, cheesier. It's a completely worthwhile way to spend your time. A Few Basic Rules if You Want to Experiment To begin, you still need to make a white sauce. A generous amount of butter is melted in a large saucepan, and then flour is stirred into it to make a loose paste. After the flour has cooked in the hot butter, hot milk is whisked in.
The starch from the cooked flour expands in the milk, creating a thick, creamy sauce. The starch binds the sauce, so that when the cheese is stirred in, the result is creamy and smooth, not stringy and curdled. It is important to use pungent cheeses, such as sharp cheddar, mixed with a little Gruyere or pecorino Romano for extra bite, since the white sauce and pasta will absorb a lot of flavor.
The type of cheese used will also affect the sauce's texture: Sharp white cheddar produces the smoothest result; yellow and extra sharp cheddars can become grainy. A good Italian brand of dried elbow macaroni will have the best consistency. Undercook your pasta so that it is the slightest bit crunchy (very al dente) in the center, then rinse it under cold water. This stops the cooking and washes off the excess starch. You might think that starch would be useful in further thickening the casserole, but it isn't; as it bakes, that extra starch merely expands and lends a mealy texture to your sauce. The pasta will finish cooking as it bakes.
The sauce will bubble, seeping into the hollows of your macaroni. When the smell of butter and browning cheese makes your stomach growl, you'll know the dish is ready to eat. Recipes to Try.