This recipe is the best Mac & Cheese you'll ever have. It is literally one of 3 meals everyone in my family will eat. The smoked gouda gives this dish its smoky rich flavor. It's a gourmet grown-up version of the kiddie classic. Take any leftovers and cut into bite-sized squares, bread, and deep fry for a yummy snack.
Ingredients
- elbow macaroni: 1 pack (16 ounce pack)
- butter: 6 Tbsp
- all-purpose flour: 0.5 cup
- ½ cups milk: 5 piece (divided)
- ½ cups shredded smoked Gouda cheese: 2 piece
- ½ cups shredded Cheddar cheese: 1 piece
- ½ cups shredded Swiss cheese: 1 piece
- Parmesan cheese: 1 cup (grated)
- Parmesan cheese: 0.5 cup (grated)
- dry bread crumbs: 0.5 cup
- ground cayenne pepper: 1 tsp
- olive oil:
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
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Fill a pot with lightly-salted water and bring to a boil. Stir the macaroni into the water and return to a boil. Cook and occasionally stir until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes; drain.
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Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the flour to the melted butter and whisk continually for 1 to 2 minutes to make a roux. Whisk 2 cups of the milk into the roux until smooth and then add the remaining milk. Raise the heat to medium-high and continue cooking and stirring until thickened, but not boiling. Stir the Gouda, Cheddar, Swiss, and 1 cup Parmesan cheese into the mixture; once the cheeses have melted completely, fold the drained macaroni into the mixture to coat. Pour the macaroni mixture into a 9x13-inch baking dish.
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Stir 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, and cayenne pepper together in a small bowl; sprinkle over the macaroni. Drizzle the olive oil over the bread crumbs.
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Bake in the preheated oven until golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Allow to rest 10 minutes before cutting.