Kitchen Tip: The key to a good baked mac & cheese is using lots of sauce, so it absorbs into and thickens the noodles, and choosing 2- to 3-year-old cheddar for the best flavour. This macaroni and cheese recipe has both.
Classic macaroni and cheese
By Chatelaine82
PREP TIME
15 min
TOTAL TIME
55 min
Serves
8 to 10

Photo, Roberto Caruso.

There's nothing Canadians love more than a classic macaroni and cheese recipe. The secret to this savoury wonder is in choosing 2- to 3-year-old cheese.
Ingredients
- 3 cups macaroni pasta
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1 small onion , diced
- 3 sprigs of thyme
- 2 cloves of garlic , minced
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups milk
- 2 1/2 cups shredded old cheddar , divided
- 1 cup shredded gruyère
- 1 cup grated parmesan
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
Instructions
- PREHEAT oven to 425F.
- COOK pasta following package directions less 2 min, until just tender. Drain and set aside.
- MELT butter in a large pot over medium. Add onion and cook until softened, 3 min. Add thyme, garlic and salt and cook for 1 min. Stir in flour with a wooden spoon until golden, 1 min. Gradually add milk, 1/2 cup at a time, over 2 min, stirring constantly. Increase heat to medium-high and continue to stir until mixture has just come to a boil and is slightly thickened, 4 to 5 min. Remove from heat.
- STIR in 1 1/2 cups of the cheddar and the gruyère, parmesan and Dijon until smooth. Stir in pasta, then scrape into a 9 × 13-in. casserole dish and top with remaining 1 cup cheddar.
- PLACE on a baking sheet and bake until sauce is bubbly and topping is golden, 15 min. Let macaroni and cheese stand 10 min before serving.
Chatelaine Quickies: French Onion Macaroni and Cheese
[bc_video video_id=”4837791355001″ account_id=”10190175001″ player_id=”r1zRQqV3″]
Nutrition (per serving)
- Calories
- 438,
- Protein
- 22 g,
- Carbohydrates
- 33 g,
- Fat
- 24 g,
- Fibre
- 1 g,
- Sodium
- 634 mg.
- Excellent source of
- vitamin B12
FILED UNDER: bake comfort food Instagram Pasta stovetop Vegetarian winter