Best Easy Baked Mac and Cheese
This is definitely the best Baked Mac and Cheese you will ever eat! Super creamy and cheesy, it's a gourmet take on the classic. The crispy topping puts it over the top!
Prep
: 10
Total
: 25 minutes
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 8 oz elbow macaroni
- 6 tablespoons butter divided
- 0.25 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 0.5 teaspoon onion powder
- 0.5 teaspoon salt
- 0.5 teaspoon black pepper
- 0.125 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 2.5 cups whole milk
- 0.5 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups freshly shredded Gruyère cheese
- 1 cup freshly shredded mozzarella
- 0.75 cup French fried onions or seasoned Panko breadcrumbs
Instructions
Preparation Steps
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray (or butter) a 9x13 inch casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Cook the noodles until just al dente, according to the package directions. Drain then add 2 tablespoons of butter and stir into the hot noodles.
- Melt 4 tablespoons of butter, then stir in the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook for one minute.
- Whisk in the milk and heavy cream and cook until the sauce has thickened.
- Stir in the shredded Gruyere and mozzarella cheese until melted and smooth. Pour the sauce over the noodles, then spread them into the prepared dish.
- Using a food processor or plastic zip top bag with a rolling pin, crush the French fried onions until they are very small crumbs. Evenly spread over the top of mac and cheese.
- Bake for 25 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Let stand for 5 minutes, then serve!