Rustic Honey

Homemade Country Living: Rustic Recipes, Farmhouse Decor, Styling & DIY

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White Cheddar Mac & Cheese

Happy Friday!!!

TGIF! What a gorgeous day to start off the weekend! The sun is shining, flowers are blooming, windows are open, birds are chirping, butterflies are frolicking… okay, you get my point… it’s amazing!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend and to get you started, I thought I’d share a yummy mac & cheese recipe I developed a few months ago. This recipe is not your typical mac. When you see a white sauce you typically think of alfredo, with cream and nutty parmesan. Don’t get me wrong, that is a favorite, but sometimes I crave something stronger in flavor. I crave white cheddar mac & cheese!

I first tried white cheddar mac & cheese at a restaurant and forever I will remember how decadent and special it was. This mac & cheese “restaurant redo” is rich and decadent. I paired it with grilled steak and veggies and it was still the star of the show!

This is so easy, yet so (for lack of a better word) fancy!

Here is a recipe perfect for entertaining! See the handy-dandy printable below the step-by-step photos.

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Gather your ingredients.

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Shred that glorious cheese.

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Boil the noodles. (This recipe makes 8 servings – cut the recipe in half if necessary. Fresh is so much better than left-overs when it comes to mac)

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Create a roux.

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Whisk in the milk and half & half.

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Add the cheese and seasonings.

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Mmm… cheese sauce!

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Toss in your drained pasta.

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Coat every shell! I love using shell pasta because it really holds in the little bites of cheese sauce!

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Creamy… oh, so creamy!!!

Print this out! Give it a try! I hope you love it as much as I do!

White Cheddar Mac & Cheese
Recipe Type: Side Dish
Author: Rustic Honey
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
A rich and flavorful side dish perfect with grilled steak! Toss in grilled chicken or steak & veggies for a main dish!
Ingredients
  • 8 oz Sharp White Cheddar Cheese, shredded (I used extra sharp because it was all I could find at our local grocery store)
  • 1/8 tsp. Cayenne
  • 1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 1/4 c. (Half a stick) Butter
  • 2 Tbsp. Flour
  • 1/2 c. Half & Half
  • 1 – 1 1/2 c. Milk
  • 1 lb Small Pasta Shells (I used “Pipe Rigate”)
Instructions
  1. Boil the pasta according to package directions.
  2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt the butter and add the flour. Whisk to create a roux. Allow roux to cook a minute or two (to cook out the “flour taste”).
  3. Whisk the half & half and milk into the roux and simmer until slightly thickened and lumps disappear. Add more milk if the sauce is getting too thick.
  4. Add the cheese and seasonings to the sauce. Stir to melt and combine.
  5. Add the cooked pasta to the cheese sauce. Spoon in some reserved cooking water (from the pasta) if the sauce needs to be thinned out. Serve fresh and warm!

 

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Comments

  1. janie says

    yum! thanks for this 🙂 i actually have been wanting a new mac & cheese recipe to try