
** If you have a 15” cast iron skillet or ovenproof braiser, you can follow steps 3-7 and make this a one pot dish. Bake in the oven until the macaroni and cheese is golden and bubbling, about 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining cheese and panko on top of the noodles. In a small saucepan, melt the remaining 1/2 cup butter (this can also be done in the microwave) and toss with the panko in a small bowl. If you are not working in an ovenproof braiser or Dutch oven, transfer the sauce and noodles to a 9 x 13 baking dish that has been greased with cooking spray. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, mustard powder to the sauce, stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is thickened. Stir in all but 1 ½ cups of the cheese (reserve that for the topping). The slower you add the milk the quicker the sauce will thicken. If your milk is very cold straight out of the fridge take this step very slowly. Stir until a thick paste is formed, about 1-2 minutes.
#Brand names of the best cheese for mac and cheese mac#
(And if youre health conscious, we included nutrition information for you, too.) Of course, none of these can compare to homemade mac and cheese, but. In a large braiser, or any large ovenproof pot set over medium heat, melt 1/2 cup of the butter until it is beginning to bubble. We rounded up 10 popular brands of frozen mac and cheese and conducted a double-blind taste test, judging for qualities such as firmness of pasta, authenticity of cheese flavor, and consistency. Heat oven to 400° F with a rack placed in the middle of the oven.Ĭook the pasta according to the package directions until it is 1 minute shy of “al dente”.

Slowly, slowly add some whole milk to your roux, whisking as you go.Make a two-ingredient roux! Butter and flour is all you’ll need for this step to make a simple roux-aka, the base of your homemade cheesy cream sauce.

The pasta will continue to cook in the oven, so this keeps it from becoming mushy.
