“World’s Best” Mac and Cheese
4.0
(1)
WE CAME UP WITH THIS RECIPE WHEN WE OPENED BEECHER’S. We wanted to show our customers that you can cook with and eat great cheese every day, and this killer mac and cheese uses two of our cheeses with a background hint of garlic powder and chipotle pepper. We’ve already won the vote for Seattle’s best Mac and Cheese, but the 17,234 people a year from all over the world who eat it in our store tell us it’s the world’s best. This recipe serves about four people as a side dish. It doesn’t look like a lot, but one bite of this creamy dish will show you why. If you double the recipe, bake it in a 9 × 13-inch pan for 30 minutes.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 4 as a side dish
Ingredients
Beecher’s Flagship Cheese Sauce
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Butter or oil an 8-inch baking dish.
Step 2
Cook the penne 2 minutes less than package directions. (It will finish cooking in the oven.) Rinse the pasta in cold water and set aside.
Step 3
Combine the cooked pasta and the sauce in a medium bowl and mix carefully but thoroughly. Scrape the pasta into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the top with the cheeses and then the chili powder.
Step 4
Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Let the mac and cheese sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Beecher’s Flagship Cheese Sauce
Step 5
Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Continue whisking and cooking for 2 minutes.
Step 6
Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly. Cook until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat.
Step 7
Add the cheeses, salt, chili powder, and garlic powder. Stir until the cheese is melted and all ingredients are incorporated, about 3 minutes. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Step 8
This sauce reheats nicely on the stove in a saucepan over low heat. Stir frequently so the sauce doesn’t scorch.
Make Ahead
Step 9
This recipe can be assembled before baking and frozen for up to 3 months—just be sure to use a freezer-to-oven pan and increase the baking time to 50 minutes.
notes
Step 10
One-half teaspoon of chipotle chili powder makes a spicy mac, so make sure your family and friends can handle it!
Step 11
The proportion of pasta to cheese sauce is crucial to the success of the dish. It will look like a lot of sauce for the pasta, but some of the liquid will be absorbed.
