Four Cheese Mac & Cheese
This Four Cheese Mac & Cheese is the perfect comfort food! This’ll be an irresistible side dish at your dinner table or get together.
Growing up Kraft macaroni and cheese was my absolute favorite food. It also got me through college and will always have a nostalgic place in my heart. Some people think Macaroni and cheese is for kids and I don’t associate with those people! I’m just kidding…mostly.
Homemade macaroni and cheese was a rare thing, growing up poor, my mother didn’t have the time or money to cook this dish. As a kid I didn’t even know you could make it from scratch, I thought all mac and cheese came in a box! Of course as an adult the first time I tried it, I was hooked. When I started expanding my cooking, I was determined to find the perfect cheese blend and pasta, to make the best version of this recipe.
Customize your Mac and Cheese
You can easily alter this recipe with other ingredients. You can add bacon, seafood, buffalo chicken etc. The sauce is so good that it’ll hold up with anything you want to try.
I have mine with a buttery crust, because that’s my favorite crunchy contrast to the creamy mac, but you can omit it easily. If you omit the crust you can also omit baking it in the oven and serve it directly from the pan.
The Cheese You’ll Need:
Sharp Cheddar – The most popular cheese for mac and cheese. I find this cheese to have a smooth texture with a slightly acidic taste.
Havarti – Havarti has a buttery aroma and can be somewhat sharp in the stronger varieties, much like Swiss-type cheeses.
Mozzarella (low moisture) – It has a denser texture and a tangier, saltier flavor than mild, milky fresh mozzarella.
Parmesan – has a hard, gritty texture and is fruity and nutty in taste.
What to serve with Four Cheese Mac & Cheese:
Obviously this mac and cheese can be enjoyed by itself but it’s also a great side dish. I serve this at bbq’s and family dinners as well as thanksgiving dinner. It’s always a winner! A few other recipes I recommend this with are:
Four Cheese Mac & Cheese Step by Step:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Bring water to a boil in a large pan, making sure to salt it generously. Once boiling, add in pasta and cook until Al dente, according to the box instructions. My favorite pasta is the cavatappi, but you can use whatever you like as long as it’s the same amount.
While the pasta is cooking, add the butter to a medium saucepan. Once the butter has melted, add in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Whisk in flour and until it is completely absorbed and their are no lumps. Slowly whisk in the heavy cream, until smooth.
Add in the nutmeg, paprika, salt and pepper and allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Whisk in all the cheeses a little at a time until completely melted, continue to simmer for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the dijon mustard and additional salt and pepper to taste. If the cheese sauce is too thick, thin it out with a little more heavy whipping cream.
Once pasta has finished cooking, strain it and put it back in the pan. Then pour the cheese sauce over it, stir until incorporated. Or if you made your cheese sauce in a wide flat pan like me, you can just add the pasta to it.
Transfer the mac n cheese to a greased, medium-sized casserole dish.
Add both breadcrumbs and 2 tablespoons of butter to a medium skillet and toast until breadcrumbs are golden brown. Remove from heat and add the Parmesan cheese and salt.
Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top of the mac and cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes and serve immediately.
Four Cheese Mac and Cheese
Equipment
- 9 x 9" square baking pan
Ingredients
Pasta:
- 16 ounces Cavatappi pasta, or your favorite pasta
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup Havarti cheese, grated
- 1 cup sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, low moisture, grated
- 1/4 cup parmesan, grated
Crunchy Topping:
- 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup panko
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup parmesan, grated
- 1 tsp salt
- fresh parsley, chopped to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bring water to a boil in a large pan, making sure to salt it generously. Once boiling, add in pasta and cook until Al dente, according to the box instructions.
- While the pasta is cooking, add the butter to a medium saucepan. Once the butter has melted, add in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk in flour and until it is completely absorbed. Slowly whisk in the heavy cream, until smooth. Add in the nutmeg, paprika, salt and pepper and allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Whisk in all the cheeses a little at a time until completely melted, continue to simmer for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the Dijon mustard and additional salt and pepper to taste. If the cheese sauce is too thick, thin it out with a little more heavy whipping cream.
- Once pasta has finished cooking, strain it and put it back in the pan. Then pour the cheese sauce over it, stir until incorporated. Transfer the mac n cheese to a greased, medium-sized casserole dish.
- Add both breadcrumbs and 2 tablespoons of butter to a medium skillet and toast until breadcrumbs are golden brown. Remove from heat and add the Parmesan cheese and salt. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top of the mac and cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes and serve immediately, garnish with the fresh parsley.