The Only Cheese Combination I Ever Use for the Creamiest Mac and Cheese (2024)

FAQs

What is a good creamy cheese? ›

Provolone. This Italian cheese has a creamy, well-rounded flavor. Slices are ideal for melting.

Milk: Keeps our cheese sauce super creamy. I use whole milk or reduced-fat milk. Mustard and spices: A combination of Dijon mustard, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt makes this macaroni and cheese extra delicious.

Fontina. Fontina is an Italian cow's milk cheese that also comes from the Alpine region. It has a similar richness and creaminess to Gruyère.

Cheeses with more moisture and lower melting points make for mouthwatering, creamy cheese sauces. Cheddar is one of the most popular choices, but Swiss and Gruyère are also terrific options.

Brie has a chokehold on the creamy cheese market, and rightfully so. It's perfectly spreadable, a little funky, and uniquely its own thing.

Sodium citrate is a common processed cheese additive, a near-magical ingredient that can turn any cheese, no matter how hard or sharp, into a creamy sauce that won't grease out or turn grainy.

The #1 secret to creamy reheated mac and cheese

"Stir in about 2 Tbs. of milk per 1 cup of mac and cheese and reheat," he says. The milk loosens up the pasta and helps create the creamy sauce as it's reheating. Heavy cream works well in this case too and adds an extra touch of richness to the mac and cheese.

Why didn't my mac and cheese creamy? ›

Pro Tip: Don't use pre-shredded cheese. Many store-bought shredded cheese brands coat their cheese with an anti-caking agent than can make sauces grainy and less creamy. While it requires a bit of an arm workout, grating your own yields the best texture.

Update your mac and cheese recipes to something more mature with Gruyere. It's a hard cheese that melts to a smooth and velvety texture, making it the best melting cheese for fondue — but it's just as delicious mixed with pasta.

With a fairly low melting point, cheddar keeps things smooth. It's also got the classic taste you're looking for and expecting with mac and cheese. Sharp cheddar is ideal because its flavor is strongest, but the most important to thing to remember is to always buy cheddar in a block and grate your own!

Technically, a knockoff of Alpine Emmentaler, American Swiss is made with pasteurized cow's milk and has smaller “eyes” and milder flavor. For a low price and convenience, it's a sturdy Gruyere alternative. In a real bind, other mild, semi-firm cheeses like Wensleydale or Edam could stand in for Gruyere.

While the cream cheese adds an important lusciousness, it doesn't do the macaroni and cheese any favors when it comes to its flavor, so it's important to use the sharpest, tangiest Cheddar you can get your hands on. For perfectly coated noodles, make sure to cook the pasta in the sauce for a minute or two.

all-purpose flour– The flour in the recipe is used to prepare the roux. 2% milk– You want to use a higher fat milk when making mac and cheese. 2% or higher is preferred.

This one-dish wonder super-charges the cheesy flavor, taking ordinary mac and cheese from comfort food to "wow!" food. Follow three easy steps to get this dinner on the table in 30 minutes.