# Baked Mac & Cheese

This is the perfect baked mac & cheese recipe that you’ll need for your Thanksgiving table.

- Total time: 35 min
- Cuisine: Italian
- Category: Dinner
- Language: en

## Ingredients

- 1 lb corkscrew or shell pasta
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp flour
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup half and half
- 12 oz evaporated milk
- 1.5 cups heavy cream
- 3 heaping spoonful cream cheese, softened
- 0.5 lb smoked Gouda or Gruyere, freshly shredded, divided
- 0.5 lb Monterey Jack or Colby Jack, freshly shredded, divided
- 16 oz mozzarella, freshly shredded, divided
- 7 oz sharp white cheddar, freshly shredded, divided
- 2 tsp chicken bouillon powder
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 0.5 tbsp dijon mustard
- Salt
- pepper

## Instructions

1. Preheat your oven.
2. Mix all of your spices together in a small bowl and set it aside.
3. Grate all of your cheeses by hand.
4. In a large pot, melt the butter.
5. Add in half of the seasonings.
6. Add in the garlic and cook for about a minute until fragrant.
7. Make a roux by mixing in the flour a little bit at a time. This will be the thickening agent in this recipe.
8. Slowly add in the evaporated milk and the heavy cream to the pot and continue to cook until it's thick like this.
9. Add in the remaining seasonings, salt, ground pepper, and the Dijon mustard.
10. Stir in the cream cheese and only half of the freshly grated cheeses.
11. Keep stirring everything together until the cheeses are melted.
12. Add in your cooked al dente noodles into the cheese sauce and mix everything together.
13. Pour half of the pasta into your casserole dish.
14. Layer in the remaining cheeses.
15. Top it off with the rest of the pasta and sprinkle the rest of the cheeses right on top.
16. Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes and then broil for the last 5 minutes to get a golden crust.

## Equipment

- small bowl
- grater
- large pot
- whisk
- spatula
- casserole dish
- oven

## Tips

- Grate cheeses fresh for best results.
- Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, then broil for 5 minutes for a golden crust.

## Source

- Original video: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTrHoHLSF/
- Recipe page: https://www.cliprecipe.com/recipe/9cce1b30-11a9-4c67-8e0a-759a98a4ecf5
- Extracted: 2025-12-08

Extracted from the video by Clip Recipe (https://www.cliprecipe.com). Quantities and steps are as stated or shown in the video. Site guide for agents: https://www.cliprecipe.com/llms.txt