This Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese has FOUR kinds of real cheese, baked together until everything is nice & melty, and topped with a buttery cracker topping and bacon garnish. This is the ultimate comfort food perfect for as a side dish or as a hearty family-favorite dinner.
Mac and cheese is the stuff of legends. And the creamier and cheesier, the better. Mac and Cheese can play at any level of competition. It’s perfectly delicious in its most basic form – but you’ll also find it as a high-end restaurant entrée (lobster mac & cheese, anyone..?).
I admit that I’ve made my share of the boxed stuff. But once I discovered how easy it is to make homemade mac and cheese, I vowed to never go back to the box. Fresh ingredients and a few special custom touches create the best mac and cheese ever!
The key is the flavor blend. This easy homemade mac and cheese has four different cheeses, and each cheese serves a different role: The American cheese provides the base. The Havarti brings in the creaminess. The Sharp Cheddar adds some zest. And the Jalapeno Gouda adds a hint of heat.
What makes this recipe truly spectacular is the topping: baked buttery cracker crumble with crispy bits of bacon. It adds a light crunch of savory-salty goodness to each bite. If you grew up loving baked mac and cheese with bread crumbs, you’re gonna love this recipe!
INGREDIENTS – WHAT YOU NEED
This creamy baked mac and cheese is made with elbow macaroni, four different cheeses, all-purpose flour, milk, heavy cream, dry mustard, salt, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, Ritz crackers, cooked bacon, and parsley.
HOW TO MAKE CREAMY BAKED MAC AND CHEESE
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees (F). Bring water to a boil in a large pot, adding elbow pasta and cooking for 1 minute less than directed on the packaging. Drain the pasta and drizzle with olive oil to prevent sticking.
While waiting for the water to boil/the pasta to cook, grate all of the cheeses. Toss together to mix and then separate into 3 bowls.
Melt ½ cup of butter in the saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk to combine, cooking for about 1 minute.
Slowly pour in the milk and heavy whipping cream, whisking constantly.
Continue to whisk over medium until the mixture becomes thick.
Remove from heat and add one of the bowls of cheese mix, whisking to combine.
Mix the dry mustard, salt, ground black pepper, and cayenne pepper into the cheese sauce.
In a large bowl, combine the drained elbow pasta with the cheese sauce, stirring to combine.
Pour half of the pasta in a greased 9×13 baking dish. Top with the second bowl of mixed cheeses.
Pour the remaining pasta on top of cheese and top with the final bowl of cheeses.
Melt 3 tablespoons of butter and mix with the crushed Ritz crackers.
Top with the Ritz cracker mixture and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the cheeses are bubbling. Garnish with parsley and/or bacon, if desired.
Can You Freeze Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese?
Yes, absolutely! Once you’ve added the topping, let the everything cool off. After your mac and cheese cools, wrap the casserole dish tightly with Saran Wrap, and then aluminum foil. Label it with a sharpie and freeze for up to 2 months.
To thaw and cook, move the mac and cheese to your fridge for 24 hours. Remove the foil and plastic wrap. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 325 (F), until the cheeses are bubbling.
How do I Store Creamy Baked Macaroni and Cheese?
You can store any leftover macaroni and cheese in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-7 days.
Some other great pasta recipes include Pesto Pasta Salad and Garlic Chicken Pasta.
Can I Make This Ahead of Time?
Yes! Make the macaroni and cheese as directed, but do not bake. Cool completely and cover the baking dish with plastic wrap, store in the fridge up to 1-2 days ahead of time. Allow the macaroni and cheese to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking as directed.
What’s the Best Kind of Cheese To Use?
I’ve discovered that the best cheese is a blend of cheeses. I love the ones in this recipe, but feel free to substitute your favorite cheeses. The key is select cheeses in the same styles. For example, instead of sharp cheddar, use Irish cheddar, Edam, or Emmental Swiss. Instead of Havarti, you could use Muenster or Butterkase. Instead of Jalapeno Gouda, try Pepper Jack or Habanero Cheddar. Instead of American cheese, substitute Colby or Mozzarella.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
Stir in some sliced, grilled chicken just before baking to make this a protein-packed main course.
If you plan to freeze your homemade creamy mac and cheese, skip the part about the butter/crushed cracker topping. Instead, complete that step just before you bake it. Your topping with be fresher, crispier, and tastier!
Before you freeze your mac and cheese, consider how you might like to serve it – as one big casserole for the family? As individual portions that your family can grab from the freezer as needed? This determines whether you’ll want to portion-out the food before freezing.
Small ramekins are great as single-serving containers that go from the freezer to the fridge to the oven to the table. Smaller portions tend to cook faster, so change your cooking time to 10-15 minutes.
What Other Pasta Dishes Can You Make?
- Make this amazing Baked Chicken Pesto Alfredo
- Create this tasty Slow Cooker Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Over Pasta
- Bake these yummy Stuffed Shells
- Bring in some island flavor with this Easy Homemade Lasagna
- Prepare this Creamy Hazelnut Chicken Penne Pasta
The next time you make this creamy macaroni and cheese recipe, I would love to see it! Snap a picture and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #happymoneysaver and tagging me @happymoneysaver!
Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 pound elbow pasta
- ½ cup 1 stick + 3 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 2 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- 12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese grated
- 8 ounces jalapeno gouda cheese grated
- 8 ounces American cheese grated
- 8 ounces Havarti cheese grated
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup 1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed
- Bacon for garnish
- Parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Bring water to a boil in a large pot, adding elbow pasta and cooking for 1 minute less than directed on the packaging. Drain the pasta and drizzle with olive oil to prevent sticking.
- While waiting for the water to boil/the pasta to cook, grate all of the cheeses. Toss together to mix and then separate into 3 bowls.
- Melt ½ cup of butter in the saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the flour and whisk to combine, cooking for about 1 minute.
- Slowly pour in the milk and heavy whipping cream, whisking constantly.
- Continue to whisk over medium until the mixture becomes thick.
- Remove from heat and add one of the bowls of cheese mix, whisking to combine.
- Mix the dry mustard, salt, ground black pepper, and cayenne pepper into the cheese sauce.
- In a large bowl, combine the drained elbow pasta with the cheese sauce, stirring to combine.
- Pour half of the pasta in a greased 9×13 baking dish. Top with the second bowl of mixed cheeses. Pour the remaining pasta on top of cheese and top with the final bowl of cheeses.
- Melt 3 tablespoons of butter and mix with the crushed Ritz crackers.
- Top with the Ritz cracker mixture and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the cheeses are bubbling. Garnish with parsley and/or bacon, if desired. Enjoy!
I’m confused about the ritz crackers. 1 cup 1 sleeve?
Is 1 sleeve equal to 1 cup? So only 1 cup is needed?
Or does that mean 1 sleeve PLUS 1 cup?
Thx
Oh sorry, that is confusing! 1 sleeve crushed-up ritz crackers is one cup. But if you are like me and never have a full sleeve yet, you can just crush up one cup. 🙂