Chef John's Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

Lordy, all anyone wanted was the crust. New rule, take what's UNDER the crust, too. This was the closest to my mom's, and all kidding aside, a terrific success.

Oh boy! I finally found the best macaroni and cheese I have ever had. I followed the recipe exactly, except I used only 12 oz. of macaroni, to make it more cheesy. It was a perfect ratio. I used 2% milk, and it worked great - creamy and satisfying. I don't know which I liked better, the crust or the filling, they were both delicious. You have to try this recipe! Thanks, Chef John!

I made this for the boys before I went to work last night. I did not try this myself but based on the message I got at my break--they absolutely loved it. To be honest, there were no leftovers for me! They thought the crust was the best part. Note to self: double the crust ingredients next time.

Really good but the flavor was slightly off. Next time I won’t add the thyme at all and perhaps sub with garlic powder. The consistency was perfect. Video says to use 12oz for cheesier Mac. I increased the cheese sauce ingredients and stuck with 16oz. Use a large casserole so there is more room for the topping. I doubled the breadcrumb topping.

I cooked a small grated onion in the butter before adding the flour. I add a little extra butter and flour and then add .5 cup of chicken broth as it's simmering. No Worcester or Dijon add .5 tbsp of dry mustard with the spices. Go easy on the thyme, a little goes a long way.

I loved the flavor of the cheese sauce, but I would definitely cut down the pasta to at least 12 oz (8 oz is probably best). The 16 ounces turned out really dry.

Yes I love this recipe however I do use different cheeses. One of them is vintage Irish cheddar 7 ozs, 7ozs of sharp white, 8 ozs gruyere cheese, and 2 ozs smoked white cheddar cheese. Simply delightful and so easy to make.

Awesome! I did change a few things due to what I had on hand. Used 1c milk, 2c 1/2&1/2. 1c Gruyère, 2c cheddar. Didn’t have Dijon, did have sweet hot mustard. Used cheap shells ($.39/7oz x2), over salted the water just a bit, so didn’t add salt to sauce, shells added great flavor to wonderful sauce. Also doubled the panko. Cannot say enough how creamy it is and the shells added great texture with the perfect crunch on top!

Chef John recipes are a favorite in our family, and this one didn't disappoint. " good" is the highest rating at our house, and this earned it. Followed the recipe but cut back on pasta a bit and added onion powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. I think a fine, aged cheddar freshly shredded helps. The nutmeg was great! I didn't have milk, so I subbed half heavy cream and half almond milk. Added a small bag of frozen broccoli at the last two minutes of boiling pasta, and added a large can (drained) of chicken breast while mixing it all together. Next time, I'll up the broccoli and chicken.

I live in Georgia, so mac cheese is a big thing down here. One person said theirs was very dry. To prevent this, I would recommend putting the mac cheese under the broiler until it's golden brown on top, instead of baking it for 20 minutes. This should take less than 10 minutes and will allow the mac cheese to remain creamy, as it should be. I also suggest mixing up the cheese because straight cheddar is greasy. I usually use a mixture of 3 or 4 different kinds.

This is delicious. Used 14 ounces of rotini minus 1cup cooked, since that’s what I had on hand. Omitted spices, but used 1.5 cups sharp chedddar, 1.25 cups jack cheese and .25 cups of grated Parmesan. Really nice flavor with this blend. Used crushed saltines instead of panko on top and it worked well.

This is the bomb of Mac and cheese! I never would have thought to add nutmeg or Dijon mustard to Mac and cheese but it’s amazing. I have learned though to not make and bake later. Definitely make it and bake it right away!

I love this recipe, God bless chef John!

Excellent flavor

I switched out 1 one the cups of milk for a cup of Half & Half. I used 12oz of macaroni so it would be creamer. Otherwise, I followed the recipe as written. Delicious!

I read the reviews about it being dry, so I added extra of everything liquid! Ug, I grated my own cheeses and wasted so much time on everything for it to turn out to be a total flop. So disappointed!

Very easy to prepare and delicious

I didn’t change a thing and it was perfect.

It's very good: make sure to add plenty of black pepper if you don't have white pepper. It's well worth the effort and it definitely makes more than 6 servings.

I found i need to use an extra cup of the milk. Otherwise, perfect. Use all of the time.