Best ever macaroni cheese recipe

This perfect macaroni cheese recipe comes with a creamy cheese sauce, a hint of mustard and uses leftover French stick for its crunchy topping

  • Prep:10 mins
    Cook:40 mins
  • Serves 4
  • Easy

Nutrition per serving

  • kcal 860
  • fat 42g
  • saturates 25g
  • carbs 88g
  • sugars 9g
  • fibre 0g
  • protein 38g
  • salt 1.92g

Ingredients

  • 50g baguette, cut into small chunks
  • 2 tbsp butter, plus 1 tbsp melted
  • 350g spiral or other short pasta
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp English mustard powder
  • 3 tbsp plain flour
  • 500ml whole milk
  • 250g mature cheddar, grated
  • 50g parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), grated

Tip

Use up blue cheese
Crumble 50g Stilton, Dolcelatte or Roquefort into the sauce, instead of the Parmesan. Spoon the pasta into the dish, then top with 4 trimmed field mushrooms, gills facing upwards, instead of the crumbs. Drizzle with a little oil, season, then top with a little more blue cheese. Bake as before.Next level macaroni cheese recipe

If you enjoyed this, now check out our next level mac 'n' cheese with Marmite recipe.

Method

  1. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Spread the chunks of bread over a baking sheet, drizzle with the melted butter and season. Bake for 6 mins until crisp, then set aside.

  2. Boil the pasta for 2 mins less than stated on the pack. Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a saucepan. Add the garlic and mustard, cook for 1 min, then stir in the flour. Cook for 1 min more, then gradually whisk in the milk until you have a lump-free sauce. Simmer for 5 mins, whisking constantly until thickened. Take off the heat, then stir in all the cheddar and half the Parmesan.

  3. Stir the pasta and some seasoning into the cheesy sauce, then tip into a large ovenproof dish, or 4 individual dishes. Scatter over the bread and remaining Parmesan, then bake for 20 mins until crisp and golden. Can be frozen before baking – defrost thoroughly before cooking.

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