Mac and Cheese

This recipe combines

Béchamel Cheese Sauce

This baked mac and cheese folds pasta into a rich béchamel-based cheese sauce, then bakes it until browned and bubbling on top. The cheese sauce is just a béchamel — milk thickened with a butter-and-flour roux — with a lot of cheese melted in off the heat, so this page walks you through both in one place. The formula is easy to remember: 1 lb dried pasta, 1 lb béchamel, 1 lb cheese. That's heavier than a general-purpose cheese sauce, but mac and cheese is not the place to be shy. The plain béchamel and the cheese sauce also stand on their own.

Serves 6

Ingredients

For the béchamel (about 1 lb)

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups milk, warmed
• Salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg

To assemble

• 1 lb elbow macaroni or similar short pasta
• 8 oz Swiss cheese, shredded or thinly sliced
• 8 oz sharp cheddar, shredded or thinly sliced
• Extra shredded cheese for topping (optional)

Shred the cheese yourself or use deli-sliced cheese rather than bagged pre-shredded — the anti-caking coating on bagged shreds can make the sauce grainy. If you're nervous about the sauce breaking, lean on Swiss and mild cheddar; the sharper the cheese, the more carefully you have to handle the heat.

Roasting & Baking

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Frying in the Oven→

Method

Cook the pasta and make the cheese sauce

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cook the pasta in well-salted water until just shy of al dente — it will finish cooking in the oven — then drain. Make the béchamel: Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, whisk in the flour, and cook, stirring constantly, for 1–2 minutes, until the raw flour smell cooks off — this is your roux. Slowly whisk in the warm milk, a little at a time at first, whisking out any lumps before adding more. Continue cooking, whisking often, until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, 5–7 minutes, then season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. Then, off the heat, stir in the Swiss and cheddar a handful at a time, letting each addition melt fully before adding more.

Combine and bake

Stir the cooked pasta into the cheese sauce until evenly coated, pour into a buttered baking dish, and scatter extra shredded cheese over the top if using. Bake 20–25 minutes, until bubbling at the edges and browned on top.