# Baked Mac & Cheese

This is the perfect baked mac & cheese recipe 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
- 0.5 lb Monterey Jack or Colby Jack, freshly shredded
- 16 oz mozzarella, freshly shredded
- 7 oz sharp white cheddar, freshly shredded
- 2 tsp chicken bouillon powder
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 0.5 tbsp Dijon mustard
- to taste salt
- to taste ground 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.
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.
8. Slowly add in the evaporated milk and the heavy cream to the pot and continue to cook until it is thick.
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 cheese has 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 cheese.
15. Top it off with the rest of the pasta and sprinkle the rest of the cheeses on top.
16. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes.
17. Broil for the last 5 minutes to get a golden crust.

## Equipment

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

## Tips

- freshly grated cheese is better

## Source

- Original video: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTr9LbCHf/
- Recipe page: https://www.cliprecipe.com/recipe/a54b6971-828a-4629-9272-87152231097d
- 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