Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese
This uses cream cheese and three different cheeses to make it ridiculously creamy - way better than the boxed stuff. I always grate the cheese by hand since pre-shredded has that coating that doesn't melt right.
Ingredients
Ingredients (~6-8 servings)
- 12 oz elbow pasta
- 6 oz gruyere, grated by hand
- 6 oz sharp cheddar, grated by hand
- 3 oz fontina, grated by hand
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 1/4 cups half and half
- 6 oz full-fat cream cheese, brick-style
- 1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp paprika
- 3/4 tsp garlic powder
- kosher salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F and butter a 9x13 baking dish.
- Boil pasta 2-3 minutes less than package directions, drain, and rinse with cold water.
- Grate all cheeses by hand, reserving 1 cup for topping.
- Melt butter, sauté onions until soft, add spices and mustard.
- Add half and half, warm until steaming.
- Blend hot mixture with cream cheese until smooth.
- Season sauce with salt and pepper.
- Mix pasta with most cheese, pour sauce over, and stir.
- Top with reserved cheese.
- Bake 15-18 minutes until bubbly and golden.
- Optional: Broil 2-3 minutes for extra browning.
Notes
Use freshly grated cheese for best melting results.