Baked White Cheddar Mac and Cheese

bowl of white cheddar macaroni and cheese.

5 from 4 votes

Baked White Cheddar Mac and Cheese

Bake up the cheesiest white cheddar mac and cheese for the ultimate comfort food. This recipe is made with Gouda and white cheddar cheese, then topped with a pretzel crust.

Prep Time30

Cook Time35

Total Time1 5

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: people (9 x 13 pan)

Calories: 573kcal

Author: Jessica Mode

Equipment

Ingredients

1 pound fusilli pasta
6 tablespoons room temperature unsalted butter divided
¼ cup all purpose flour
3 ½ cups whole milk
16 ounces gouda cheese freshly grated
16 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese freshly grated
4 ½ ounces pretzels
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon onion powder

Instructions

Heat oven to 375°F.
Cook the fusilli pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain completely.
Meanwhile, in a large heavy bottom saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter over low heat. Once completely melted, whisk in flour and cook for 2-3 minutes. Turn the heat to medium, and add in the milk, while continuing to whisk. Allow the milk to heat, but not boil (about 7 minutes).
Once the milk is very hot (steaming, but not boiling), remove the saucepan from the heat. Slowly add in the shredded cheese one handful at a time, continuing to stir. Once all the cheese is melted, add in cooked fusilli and stir together.
Transfer macaroni and cheese to a greased 9" x 13" pan.
Pulse the pretzels, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and onion powder in a food processor until they are a fine powder. Add in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and pulse until well combined. Sprinkle on top of macaroni and cheese.
Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden and bubbly.

Video

Notes

Make Ahead: Store the macaroni and cheese in a 9x13 baking dish in the refrigerator after step six. Then, when you're ready to eat, finish baking the macaroni in the oven.

Don't overcook the pasta. It should cook to al dente (still slightly stiff in the middle). The pasta will finish cooking in the oven. Overdone pasta will turn mushy when it absorbs the cheese sauce, so don't over-boil the noodles.

In order to avoid gritty macaroni and cheese, you'll want to make sure you are adding cold milk to your hot roux (flour and butter mixture). Also equally as important, make sure you are continuously whisking the béchamel sauce throughout the whole cooking process.

Keep a careful eye on the milk to ensure it doesn't start to boil. Milk boils really quickly compared to other liquids. To avoid a burnt, overcooked flavor, keep an eye on the milk the whole time.

Remember to remove the saucepan from the heat before adding cheese. We want the cheese to melt nice and slow.

Nutrition