A previously shredded bagged cheese just doesn’t melt the same way as hand grated cheese. No matter which cheese you use for this, if you can, grate the cheese yourself. Okay, now this is where I get on my soapbox for a second. The cheddar turns creamy and smooth and the pecorino adds a pop of salty cheese flavor to the sauce. Cheddar, fontina, gruyere, parmesan, and pecorino are all excellent options, but the combination of cheeses I go back to over and over again is a hearty amount of extra sharp white cheddar (I like Tilamook) and a smaller, but potent amount of pecorino-romano cheese.

My Favorite Cheeses For Macaroni and Cheeseĭepending on your mood, the cheese you use in macaroni and cheese can vary. Then when my timer goes off, I drain and rinse the pasta before tossing it with the sauce, which stops the pasta from cooking and gets rid of extra starch that would make the cheese sauce thicker in the oven. (Check the package directions, then reduce it by 2 minutes).

I slightly undercook the macaroni by 2 minutes.

De Cecco works nicely and I love Rustichella D’ Abruzzo, but it is a bit pricier. When you’re making baked pastas, it’s hard to keep pasta from turning mushy. You probably already know that most cooks will tell you to cook your pasta to “al dente,” which just means that the pasta is tender with a little bite (instead of being mushy).

The ingredient list for our mac and cheese recipe isn’t a long one and as you can imagine the type of pasta and cheese you use makes a big difference.

The sauce should be well seasoned - not with lots of extra spices and ingredients, just simply with salt, pepper, and maybe a tiny bit of mustard to add a touch of tang.

No mushy pasta! We prevent this two ways (I’ve shared them below).

After baking there needs to still be enough sauce that’s not absorbed into the pasta so every bite is a creamy one.

The sauce to pasta ratio is important to get right.

That said, I do think there are a few key elements for the best mac and cheese. There are lots of recipes for macaroni and cheese in the world and to be completely honest, I’d probably love most of them.

Thick mac and cheese noodles