If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, review it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #inspiredtaste on Instagram. We love this Extra Easy Baked Ziti made entirely from scratch.Here’s one of our more popular vegetarian pastas, this Baked Ziti With Spinach and Artichokes is a fan favorite.Our meatless baked pasta will please vegetarians and meat lovers alike. This Easy Baked Pasta is loaded with vegetables, extra cheesy, and seriously irresistible.

For a fall-inspired spin, try this Easy Pumpkin Mac and Cheese.These Sausage Stuffed Shells with Spinach was one of our first pasta recipes shared on Inspired Taste and it’s still one of our most popular.To reheat, defrost overnight and bake or warm on the stove until heated through. You can also freeze stovetop or baked mac and cheese for up to two months.Cold macaroni and cheese may take a little longer than 30 minutes in the oven to be fully heated and cooked through.

Mac and cheese can be made ahead, spooned into a baking dish and stored, covered in the refrigerator, for two days.

Warm the sauce before mixing with cooked pasta.

The sauce can be made ahead and stored, covered in the refrigerator, for two days.

Like most baked pasta dishes, mac and cheese is perfect for making ahead of time. You can also take a look at this easy macaroni and cheese recipe made on the stovetop. This time gives the pasta a chance to absorb some of the sauce. For a stovetop mac and cheese, simply add the pasta to the cheese sauce and then let it sit, covered for a few minutes. I love the golden brown edges and top that baking the macaroni and cheese creates, but you don’t need to bake it if you don’t want to. The macaroni and cheese bakes for about 30 minutes. This makes sure that my sauce stays creamy while it bakes in the oven. As I mentioned above, I undercook my pasta by 2 minutes, drain, and then rinse it of excess starches. Step 5, Stir in slightly undercooked pasta, add to a baking dish, and bake. If you want to watch me do it, there’s a quick recipe video above that shows each step. I’m going to walk you through how I make mac and cheese in my own kitchen. For the milk, I prefer whole milk since it makes a creamier sauce, but I’ve used reduced fat milk plenty of times without complaint. The remaining ingredients are simple: butter and flour (which makes the sauce thicken), milk, spices, salt, and pepper. I wish that wasn’t true, but for now, to make the best mac and cheese, it’s best to shred the cheese yourself. 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.

My recipes mac and cheese