This baked macaroni and cheese recipe is the ultimate easy comfort food for difficult times. A creamy cheese sauce that uses pantry ingredients and some basic cheddar cheese make this pasta easy to make and a favourite affordable dinner for everyone. All ingredients are from Aldi, because in these times, more than ever, we need one-stop-shopping.
This mac and cheese is the perfect dinner to have on any night. Cooking can get tricky these days with limited access to food shops and even possibly more limited access to food on the shelves. For the foreseeable future, Savvy Bites will be making even more of an effort to bring you easy, affordable recipes that are pantry friendly using everything that I can find in my local Aldi.
Macaroni and Cheese Recipe
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Ingredients needed
- macaroni or conchiglie or (let's be honest) anything you can find on the shelves right now!
- cheddar (you can use white or orange cheddar)
- flour
- butter
- milk
- mixed spice (trust me)
- thyme (fresh if you can find it, dried if you can't)
- garlic granules
- Grana Padano (completely and totally optional)
Step by step directions- making the sauce
We're keeping this recipe sooo easy and starting with a simple bechamel sauce and essentially adding cheese, but there are a few tricks to make sure you get the smoothest and silkiest cheese sauce.
- First, melt the butter. This can be salted or unsalted. I prefer to keep only one type of butter and use salted.
- Add in the flour while you whisk to avoid getting lumps of flour. The secret trick to not getting lumps is to remove the pan from the heat while you whisk, then place the pan back on the heat once the flour and butter are smooth.
- Place the pan back on the heat and whisk for about 2 minutes to cook out the flour.
- Slowly and gently pour in the milk, whisking well the whole time.
- Once you have a smooth sauce consisting of just butter, flour and milk, add in the garlic powder, thyme and the mixed spice. I know the mixed spice may seem like a strange addition, but trust me, it pulls the whole thing together with just the smallest amount added. Whisk the herbs and spices into the sauce along with salt and pepper and give everything a taste.
Step by step directions- making the smoothest cheese sauce
- You should love the taste of the sauce before you add the cheese. Sometimes, it's easy to think that the cheese will make a mediocre sauce better, but that's just not the case. So taste and adjust according to what you think the sauce needs more of.
- Now add the cheese to the sauce. You can do this off the heat. The sauce is hot enough that the cheese will melt quickly and you don't run the risk of having the cheese catch on the bottom of the pan.
- Add in the cooked pasta and stir well. Adjust the seasoning and serve your super easy and amazingly delicious stovetop macaroni and cheese!
Baking the macaroni and cheese (how long and how)
This macaroni and cheese didn't stop at the stovetop though. Nope. We went right on over to baked macaroni and cheese.
To bake this mac and cheese is really easy.
- Place the macaroni and cheese into an oven-safe dish.
- Scatter on some bread crumbs and extra cheese. This is the place to use some parmesan if you have it.
- Place in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes, until the bread crumbs are browned and all the cheese is melted.
More variations-
- Add in some chicken or turkey
- Mix in a tin of tomatoes
Freezing tips
Yes! You can freeze macaroni and cheese. This can be done one of 2 ways
Freezing method 1- Make the recipe up to and including stirring the cooked pasta into the cheese sauce. Let the pasta cool completely and store in a freezer-safe container labelled with the date.
Freezin method 2- Make the recipe up to the point where you would normally place the macaroni and cheese into the oven with the breadcrumbs on top. But instead of placing in the oven, let the dish cool completely before wrapping in a layer of foil and placing in the freezer.
Reheating tips (oven and microwave)
Oven method-
(Reheat from frozen) To reheat this macaroni and cheese preheat the oven to 180ºC. Leave the foil on the dish and place the macaroni and cheese in the oven for about 45 minutes. Lift and corner of the foil and check if the macaroni and cheese is hot by inserting a knife into the centre of the dish and checking to see if it's hot. If not, place the mac and cheese back in the oven for another 15 minutes and check again.
(Reheat from defrosted) Scatter the breadcrumbs over the top of the macaroni and cheese and place in the preheated oven without a cover. Heat for 20-30 minutes until the macaroni is hot all the way through.
Once the pasta is hot all the way through, remove the foil and place back in the oven for 10 minutes to brown up the bread crumbs. Scoop giant spoonfuls of baked mac and cheese into bowls and devour!
Microwave method-
Reheat in a microwave-safe dish in 1-minute bursts making sure to stir well between each heating to ensure that the pasta reheats evenly. This should take about 5 minutes. *Special note on this method. The breadcrumbs will not add the crunchy texture that the oven method does, as they will go a little on the soft side, but they will still be delicious.
My goal with Savvy Bites has always been and always will be bringing you recipes that you will love and that will be easy to make. Recipes that will fit into your life and budget without effort.
And this dear friend, I'm confident is one of those recipes!
Baked MAC & CHEESE forever!
More easy Pasta recipes from Savvy Bites
Easy Baked Macaroni And Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 350 g (3 ⅐ cups) macaroni or other short pasta
- 75 g (⅓ cups) butter
- 55 g (⅖ cups) flour
- 350 ml (1 ⅖ cups) milk
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) garlic granules
- ¼ teaspoon (¼ teaspoon) mixed spice
- ½ tablespoon (½ tablespoon) dried thyme
- 150 g (1 ¼ cups) extra mature cheddar
- 10 g (⅓ oz) parmesan, optional
- 75 g (2 ⅔ oz) bread crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC and cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside while you make the cheese sauce.
- In a medium sauce pan over a medium heat melt the butter.* See note 1.
- Once the butter has melted completely add in the flour while you whisk to avoid getting lumps of flour. *See note 2
- Place the pan back on the heat and whisk for about 2 minutes to cook out the flour.
- Slowly and gently pour in the milk, whisking well the whole time.
- Once you have a smooth sauce consisting of just butter, flour and milk, add in the garlic powder, thyme and the mixed spice. I know the mixed spice may seem like a strange addition, but trust me, it pulls the whole thing together with just the smallest amount added. Whisk the herbs and spices into the sauce along with salt and pepper and give everything a taste.
- You should love the taste of the sauce before you add the cheese. Sometimes, it's easy to think that the cheese will make a mediocre sauce better, but that's just not the case. So taste and adjust according to what you think the sauce needs more of.
- Now add the cheese to the sauce. You can do this off the heat. The sauce is hot enough that the cheese will melt quickly and you don't run the risk of having the cheese catch on the bottom of the pan.
- Add in the cooked pasta and stir well. Adjust the seasoning.
- Place the macaroni and cheese into an oven safe dish and top with the breadcrumbs and the parmesan if using.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are golden and crunchy and the cheese sauce is bubbling.
Notes
- This can be salted or unsalted. I prefer to keep only one type of butter and use salted.
- The secret trick to not getting lumps is to remove the pan from the heat while you whisk, then place the pan back on the heat once the flour and butter are smooth.
Nutrition
THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING AND COOKING ALONG WITH ME! IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR HAVE A QUESTION, I’D LOVE IT IF YOU LEFT A COMMENT AND A RATING. YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW ALONG ON PINTEREST, FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM TO SEE WHAT WE’RE EATING, PINNING AND A LITTLE BEHIND THE SCENES TOO!
Katherine
Yum. I added bacon, peas and sweetcorn. It needed more liquid to make the sauce but it was tasty all eaten at great speed. Thank you for the recipe!
Deborah Rainford
So happy that you loved this! And those additions sound amazing!