Classic Macaroni and Cheese

Why This Classic Macaroni and Cheese Works

During cooking, the macaroni is boiled only until just tender, so it still has a little bite. That way it can sit in the oven later without going mushy. While the pasta cooks, the butter and flour cook together in the pan. After a minute or two, the flour soaks up the melted butter and forms a smooth paste. This paste is what lets the milk thicken instead of staying thin and watery.

As the milk warms up with the butter and flour, it slowly thickens into a smooth, velvety sauce. Once the cheddar and Parmesan go in, the hot, thickened milk melts the cheese evenly, so it stays creamy instead of oily or clumpy. When the macaroni is stirred into this sauce, the starch on the pasta grabs onto the cheese mixture and holds it in a nice coating.

In the oven, the heat sets the sauce around the pasta and the top starts to brown. By the time it is golden and bubbling, the cheese sauce has tightened just enough to cling to every piece of macaroni while still staying soft and creamy inside.

Mistakes To Avoid

Boiling the macaroni until it’s very soft instead of just tender makes it fall apart once it bakes in the sauce. In the oven, the pasta keeps absorbing liquid, so overcooked macaroni turns mushy and the whole dish can feel gluey instead of slightly firm and creamy.

Letting the butter and flour sit on high heat too long can make the mixture brown and separate before the milk goes in. Once that happens, the sauce never really smooths out and the baked mac and cheese can end up with a grainy, oily layer instead of an even, velvety texture.

Pouring the milk in all at once instead of gradually often leads to stubborn lumps of flour in the sauce. Those lumps don’t fully break down, so the finished dish gets little pasty bits throughout instead of a smooth, even cheese coating on the pasta.

Adding the cheese while the milk mixture is boiling hot can cause the cheese to clump and turn slightly rubbery. In the oven, those clumps don’t melt back down, so the sauce bakes up stringy in spots and thin in others instead of evenly creamy.