Kelci's "Famous" Mac n' Cheese
This is the recipe for a batch of cheesy, buttery, and delicious baked mac n' cheese. It's a real crowd pleaser, so be sure to bring it to your next gathering post COVID. Or make it for yourself, because why not?
Servings: 10 servings
Calories: 548kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb shell noodles
- ½ c (1 stick) butter
- 32 oz shredded marble cheddar cheese, or similar
- 8 oz shredded cheddar, mild or sharp
- ½-¾ c milk
- ¼-½ tsp kosher salt and black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400ºF. In a pot of salted, boiling water, prepare the shell noodles according to package instructions. Drain and return to pot.
- Add the stick of butter to the pot of drained shells, and stir until the butter is melted and the noodles are coated. Add ¼c of milk and stir.
- Season with salt, pepper, and garlic, and stir until completely combined.
- Add the shredded marble cheddar in increments, stirring and allowing it to melt, before adding more. Add another ¼c milk, and continue stirring/adding cheese until you add all 32oz of marble cheddar.
- By this point, your cheese should be stretching like the pictures and videos above. If it's seeming dry or doesn't look creamy, add a splash more of milk. Add more salt/pepper/garlic if needed, and stir.
- Once the shells are completely coated in cheese, and all the cheese is melted and stretchy, pour the mixture into a greased 9"x13" casserole dish. Top with the 8oz bag of sharp or mild cheddar.
- Place mac n' cheese in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly. Once it's cooked, remove from the oven and let it sit for a few minutes. Enjoy!
Notes
I eyeball this recipe, and always have. It's not something you're gonna "break" if you don't find the exact cheese or if you over/under bake it. With the milk and seasonings, if you're confident in the kitchen and like to eyeball too-- go for it!
- Once the butter has melted, I usually add enough milk to coat the noodles. As I add cheese, if things are looking dry, I add another splash of milk. The goal is to get a creamy "cheese stretch" when you lift the spatula.
- With the salt, pepper, and garlic, I just add pinches here and there throughout the cooking process. As I add cheese, I throw in a pinch of the seasonings. It's worked well for the last decade, so feel free to do the same!
- The quantities of cheese/noodles/butter are all exact-- so don't stray from that portion of the recipe.
- In regards to time-- if your oven is faster or slower than mine, cooking times may vary. The goal is a nice, golden-brown layer of cheese on the top. This could take 20-40 minutes to achieve depending on your oven. In past apartments, it's taken me closer to 40 minutes, but I have a convection oven now. I baked it for 25 minutes most recently, and you can see in the pictures that it really browned... 20 would've been perfect.