oven baked macaroni and cheese with bread crumbs

OVEN BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE WITH BREAD CRUMBS HOW TO
OVEN BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE WITH BREAD CRUMBS FOR MAC

Boil the pasta in plenty of salted water exactly 6 minutes, or about half the time that your pasta box directions call for.

The sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated a day ahead.

As soon as the sauce looks like a thick smoothie in texture, take the pan off the heat and stir in heavy cream and some grated Parmesan cheese.

Keep stirring until the sauce starts to thicken - this happens in just a few minutes so be sure to keep your eye on it.

Cook over medium-high heat until you see small bubbles forming on the outside of the pan.

At this point, you gradually add the milk, whisking at the same time to prevent clumps from forming.

After melting butter in a saucepan, stir in an equal amount of flour and cook until it swells and “blooms” in the butter.

I recommend using whole milk because it makes a richer, thicker sauce than lower fat milk. The first step to making the creamy base for baked macaroni and cheese is to make a basic white sauce - a bechamel - with butter, flour and milk.

OVEN BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE WITH BREAD CRUMBS HOW TO

How to make white sauce baked mac and cheese It’s so good!īut I have to admit, next to the white, cheesy, creamy sauce coating the pasta, it’s the crunchy breadcrumb topping that could be my favorite part of this recipe.

OVEN BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE WITH BREAD CRUMBS FOR MAC

I grabbed my favorite pasta shape and a few key ingredients and created a mac and cheese that’s sure to become a delicious tradition in your family too! The best pasta for Mac and CheeseĬavatappi resembles elbow pasta noodles, only they’re a bit longer and have an extra curl or two.īecause of its curly shape, cavatappi is one of the BEST pasta shapes to use for making baked mac and cheese.Īnd with the ridges on surface, the little cups captures the cheesy sauce on the outside as well as the inside. Whether it’s coated in red sauce and served with classic Italian meatballs, tossed with a rich portobello mushroom ragu or simply with lemon and Parmesan cheese, my pasta recipes are crowd pleasers.Īs a kid, I grew up eating pasta at every holiday meal and Thanksgiving was no exception.Ĭan imagine how excited I am to create a holiday-worthy mac and cheese recipe using pasta? Growing up in an Italian-American family, one of my first solid foods was pastina (a type of teeny-tiny pasta shaped like little stars) that my mother mixed with milk, butter and a little bit of sugar.ĭoesn’t that sound good?! No wonder I grew up to crave pasta as my ultimate soul food. My love for pasta started when I was just a baby. (You’ll still sprinkle ¾ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano over the macaroni and cheese before broiling.That’s because pasta in any form is our ultimate comfort food. For the breadcrumbs, add 2 teaspoons smoked paprika (pimentón) and substitute 1½ cups finely chopped and cooked bacon for ¾ cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Increase the hot pepper sauce to 2 teaspoons and whisk 1 tablespoon (or more to taste) chopped chipotle chiles in adobo sauce into the milk and cheese mixture. VariationsĪdd 1 cup of your favorite crumbled blue cheese and as many shaved truffles or as much truffle oil as you like to the milk and cheese mixture. Remove the dish from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Broil until the top is golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining ¾ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano over the top and set the oven to BROIL/HI.

Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over the top and continue to bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes longer. Remove the baking dish from the oven, discard the foil, and stir the macaroni and cheese. (If steam escapes, the pasta won’t cook through.) Bake for 30 minutes.

Cover with a double layer of foil, tightly crimping it around the edges so steam doesn’t escape during cooking. Pour the macaroni mixture into the baking dish. Stir in the cheddar and fontina cheeses, then mix in the macaroni. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, mustard powder, hot pepper sauce (if using), salt, and pepper. In a medium bowl, stir together the melted butter, panko, ¾ cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano, and the parsley and set aside. Lightly grease a baking dish with the softened butter. Adjust the oven rack to the lowest position and preheat the oven to CONVECTION/BAKE 375☏.

Oven baked macaroni and cheese with bread crumbs