

The most crucial element of this casserole is the basic white sauce (aka béchamel), which serves as a creamy vehicle for all that cheese. Secret #2: Add Cream to Make a Super-Rich Sauce That bagged stuff at the grocery store usually has stabilizers, a drier texture, and less flavor than a hunk of cheddar does. Add we recommend you shred your own cheese. We chose extra-sharp cheddar to stand out in our béchamel sauce (more on that below). The parm brought a nuttiness that rounded out the cheddar flavor rather than distracting from it. We tried a few of these other cheeses in a blend with cheddar but the only one that still tasted iconic was this macaroni and cheese, which called for a combination of cheddar and parmesan. But we wanted our ultimate recipe to deliver classic mac and cheese flavor-meaning we wanted it to taste like cheddar. Many recipes call for cheesy additions of gruyère, fontina, brie, gouda, and even blue cheese. I plan to follow her recipe again, but I would cut back on the nutmeg and top the finished product with fresh herbs to help balance out all of the creamy, gooey cheese.Ĭlick to check out the other celebrity-chef recipes we've put head-to-head so far.Photo by Gieves Anderson, food styling by Anna Hampton Secret #1: Classic Cheddar is Better


Plus, the dish was really cheap to make and its bubbly, gooey topping is hard to beat. Overall, following Ray's recipe resulted in some delicious macaroni and cheese, and I loved that it was so simple. His dish inspired me to start topping my own macaroni and cheese with Goldfish crackers, but I won't be trying to follow his vague roux recipe ever again.
#Best types of mac and cheese cracker
The macaroni and cheese I made using Irvine's recipe was very cheesy, and the cracker topping really elevated the whole dish for me. It also took the longest to make and required the most ingredients, so I probably wouldn't make it again. The dish I made with Fieri's recipe was very rich and creamy, but the heavy cream dominated the dish, drowning out the flavors of garlic, shallot, and the most important ingredient: cheese. Rachael Ray's recipe was just so simple to follow. I cooked everything in the oven for another 30 minutes. Then, I finished off the macaroni and cheeses with a topping that consisted of melted butter, panko breadcrumbs, parsley, and bacon. I cooked the sauce and pasta simultaneously, although it took a while to reduce the sauce since it had so much heavy cream.Īfter the penne was done cooking, I mixed it with my cheese sauce and then split the mixture into two separate baking dishes. I wish I could've just caramelized everything on the stovetop, which would've been just as flavorful and a lot easier. Truthfully, roasting the shallots and garlic seemed like a waste of 25 minutes and it made it especially hard to chop them. Next, I had to roast shallots and garlic, chop them, sauté them in bacon fat (I used butter), and then use it to make a roux (a floury mixture that helps thicken sauces). I later divided the recipe into two versions - one with real bacon and one with a plant-based option. I don't eat meat, so I had my partner cook it. For starters, the recipe calls for dicing and cooking bacon.
