Southern Baked Mac And Cheese
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Who doesn’t love a good serving of soul food Southern baked mac and cheese (mac ‘n cheese)? I think we might all take it for granted.
Our Southern moms and grandmas have been producing this outstanding comfort food dish for years at family gatherings, holidays, and good old soul food Sundays.
It might have been overlooked how impactful this recipe is to the Southern soul food community.
The superb combination of macaroni and cheese is a favorite Southern entree in many households from North to South, East, and West, especially when it’s taken from the pot and baked to golden perfection!
What is Southern mac and cheese?
A delightful combination of two perfect comfort foods – macaroni and cheese can be found throughout the Southern states. Southern baked mac and cheese differs slightly from my Black folks’ baked mac and cheese recipe.
This recipe doesn’t require the soul food roux made with flour and heavy cream. However, it’s still made with various flavorful soul food seasonings and spices mixed in with the main ingredients, macaroni and sharp cheddar cheese.
Southern macaroni and cheese ingredients
With this recipe, you don’t need to use egg, flour, or heavy cream to make Southern mac and cheese from scratch. The recipe skips the step of making a thickening roux. Instead, you boil elbow noodles in milk and then season them with a combination of soul food seasonings, such as salt, pepper, garlic, onion, ground mustard, and paprika, to give them a delicious flavor. After that, the central ingredient, a mix of sharp cheddar cheese is added to the mixture before baking.
Measurements for the recipe can be found in the printable recipe card below.
- Macaroni noodles – The main ingredient to make macaroni and cheese.
- Sharp cheddar cheese and Colby-Jack cheese – The cheesy star of the dish that blends for richness, sharp cheddar for the intense flavor and Colby-Jack to introduce a depth of flavor.
- Southern soul food seasonings – The combination of these soul food seasonings builds a complex yet comforting taste: salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, ground mustard powder, and paprika.
- Water and milk – Create the perfect silky liquid for boiling the macaroni.
- Unsalted butter – Contributes to the richness and creaminess of the dish and the golden brown edges when baked.
How to make Southern mac and cheese
This dish is prepared with abundant milk, cheese, and soul food seasonings for Southern-style hospitality and unforgettable flavor. Then, it’s baked until the rich cheese sauce turns golden brown on top and around the edges.
Step-by-step instructions can be found in the printable recipe card below.
- Fill a large pot with milk, water, and butter to boil over medium-high heat.
- Add the macaroni once the liquid begins to boil.
- Drain the cooked macaroni in a colander and set it aside.
- Melt the butter.
- Then, stir in the milk, seasonings, and cheese to create the cheese sauce.
- Cook the cheese sauce on low for a few minutes until it’s smooth and blended.
- Add the cooked macaroni pasta to the cheese sauce in the pot, stirring the mixture to blend evenly.
- Transfer the macaroni and cheese to a cast iron skillet or baking pan.
- Bake until golden and bubbly, then serve right away, and enjoy!
Pro tip: For a faster version of this dish, check out my Instant Pot mac and cheese recipe.
Should you cover mac and cheese when baking in the oven?
Don’t cover Southern baked mac and cheese in the oven because the goal is to achieve the yummy golden-brown crispy edges!
What to serve with baked mac and cheese
Baked macaroni and cheese can be eaten as a side dish or main course, depending on how hungry you are! But the following Southern soul food side dishes and main entrées are often served with Southern mac and cheese:
Southern fried chicken, Southern soul food cabbage, soul food collard greens, soul food candied yams, Southern sweet tea, and homemade cornbread.
How to store and reheat leftovers
Remember to refrigerate the mac and cheese recipe as it contains perishable ingredients like milk and cheese. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days or frozen for up to three months. When reheating, you can use the oven or microwave for individual servings.
Equipment
- Large pot
- Colander
- 8" cast iron skillet or baking dish
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter divided – 1 tablespoon & 3 tablespoons
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese (pre-shredded cheese or grated cheese)
- 1 cup Colby-jack cheese (pre-shredded cheese or grated cheese)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ tablespoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 3 cups water
- 4 ¼ cups milk divided – 1 ¼ cups & 3 cups
- 8 oz. macaroni noodles uncooked
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with 3 cups of milk, 3 cups of water, and 1 tablespoon of butter, and set the pot on the stove to boil over medium-high heat.
- Once the liquid begins to boil, add the macaroni and cook according to the package directions, stirring occasionally to ensure the macaroni does not clump and stick.
- Once the noodles are done, remove the pot from the stove, turn the stove off, drain the macaroni in a colander, and set it aside.
- Add the 3 tablespoons of butter to the empty pot and set it back on the stovetop over medium-low heat.
- When the butter has melted and coated in the pot, stir in the 1 ¼ cups of milk, seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, dried mustard, and paprika), and shredded cheese to create the cheese sauce, and stir until smooth.
- Allow the ingredients to simmer for about 2-3 minutes until the mixture thickens slightly.
- Add the cooked pasta to the pot, stirring the mixture to blend evenly.
- Turn off the stove, remove the pot, and transfer the macaroni and cheese to a cast iron skillet or baking pan.
- Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until the mac and cheese is golden and bubbly.
- Serve this Southern baked mac and cheese recipe right away, and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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