Southern style macaroni and cheese casserole, smothered in a homemade creamy cheese sauce, and layered with tons of cheese!
By now you know I am the queen of macaroni and cheese recipes. I’ve shared so many! I have a southern baked macaroni and cheese recipe, a slow cooker mac and cheese, stovetop macaroni and cheese, and even a soul food macaroni and cheese. I guess it’s safe to say that macaroni and cheese is definitely one of my favorite dishes. There’s just something about creamy cheesy macaroni and cheese that I can’t resist..
I always get asked which macaroni and cheese recipe I like best, but honestly – I love ALL my macaroni and cheese recipes! If you ask me they are all the bomb, like seriously. I know a lot of you LOVE my southern baked macaroni and cheese recipe, while others swear by my slow cooker macaroni, and cheese. And the soul food macaroni and cheese has been a holiday favorite since I dropped it. HOWEVER, I’m about to blow your minds with this right here southern baked macaroni and cheese casserole recipe!
This macaroni and cheese casserole is the creamiest, cheesiest, best ever macaroni and cheese recipe. (Drops the mic.. and walks away…) I’m not playing y’all!
And guess what?! I only use two different cheese in this recipe! Two EASY TO FIND cheeses!! No more searching for hard to find cheeses, I got you covered with this one.
I can go on, and on… but just watch the video below, and see how creamy and cheesy this macaroni and cheese is for yourself!
Don’t forget to share this mac and cheese casserole recipe on Facebook & Pinterest!
Check out my video tutorial on how to make this deliciously creamy southern baked macaroni and cheese casserole! Make sure you’re subscribed to my YouTube channel and never miss a recipe upload.
Southern Baked Macaroni and Cheese Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 cups uncooked elbow macaroi
- 6 tbsp salted butter
- 3 tbsp all purpose flour
- 3 1/2 cups half & half
- 2 tsp seasoning salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 16 oz sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1/2 cup Italian panko bread crumbs
Instructions
- to get started with this amazing southern baked macaroni and cheese casserole, you will have to bring some water to a boil, over high heat.
- Once the water is boiling, add in the 3 cups of uncooked elbow macaroni pasta, and cook until it's nice and firm, but not overly cooked.
- Next, toss 4 tbsp of salted butter into a large sauce pan, and melt over medium heat.
- Once the butter is melted, sprinkle in 3 tbsp of all purpose flour.
- Whisk the flour with the butter, and make sure that there aren't any lumps.
- Now pour the half & half into the sauce pan, and whisk until smooth.
- Let the flour, butter, and half & half mixture cook until it starts to thicken, then reduce the heat to low medium.
- Add in 8 oz of shredded sharp cheddar cheese, and mix until well incorporated.
- Sprinkle the seasoning salt & black pepper in the cheese sauce, and stir.
- Place the cooked & drained elbow macaroni pasta into a large bowl, then add in the cheese sauce.
- Fold the macaroni and cheese sauce until everything is well incorporated.
- Grab a 9x13 bake dish, and butter or lightly oil it.
- Combine the remaining shredded sharp cheddar cheese with the shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Add a layer of the macaroni and cheese at the bottom of the bake dish, then top with a heavy layer of cheese. Repeat
- Melt two tbsp of salted butter, and combine it with the Italian panko bread crumbs.
- Top the creamy macaroni and cheese casserole with the buttery panko bread crumbs.
- Bake in the oven, uncovered, on 350 F for about 25-30 minutes.
- Serve & enjoy the best ever southern baked macaroni and cheese casserole!!
I have to try this but my family ONLY wants your crock pot mac n cheese, I’ll tell them YOU gave me the recipe!
Definitely try it! LOL
I have never been able to make an edible macaroni and cheese. I screwed up the recipe, because I was reading it off my phone. It still turned out phenomenally. Such an awesome recipe.
OMG! I made this today for our friends, my wife and i and everyone loved it. I will definitely make this again.
Thanks for trying my recipe Tukie!
I love this soul food mac and cheese
Thank u so much
I love your recipes and this one is no exception! Wonderful!
I’m a mac & cheese fanatic. And I’ve made several of your recipes. Like u said, it’s the best. In my opinion the freshest yummiest cheese is in the deli. Thanks for sharing with us all. It’s greatly appreciated.
I’ve been making this recipe for a few years ! Requested every party we go to and share your recipes with everyone!! Thsnk you Rosie!
Hey Rosie,
The Mac & Cheese recipe sounds delicious and looks very simple to prepare. I’m going to try this one for my hubby’s Father’s Day dinner. Thanks again!
Thanks for coming by Grace!
Sounds yummy. I’ll be making this soon!!♥️
def will try making it this weekend, but will have to halve the recipe since I have a small family. they absolutely love the crock mac and cheese., so this will def be another hit in the fam!
Love this recipe but I add dry mustard and nutmeg to the sauce it gives it that little zip
Hello. I have made this has to be three times now and my family absolutely loves it. I was just wondering if this would freeze well? Thanks.
Yes, you can freeze it 🙂
I will be making this tomorrow! This looks delicious!
Soo I made this macaroni and cheese today.. & omg it was soo good!! Thank you soo much for this recipe!
I made this today & it was sooooo good!
Hi Rosie! My question is, can I make this the night before and cook the next day? Sooo excited to try this!
You sure can 😉
I will be making this for my thanksgiving dinner. its mainly for my grandson, who is a very picky eater.
thanks for the recipe.
Thanks for using my recipe! 🙂
My sister in law makes the best mac-cheese but this is so amazing thanks my family will enjoy this
Hi instead of mozzarella can I use Colby and will it be just as delicious?
Hi instead of mozzarella can I use Colby and will it be just as delicious? Planning on making it today.
Absolutely! 🙂
Hi Rosie, I’m 23yrs old and I’m married to a man who is used to having home cooked meals. I never really became too familiar with the kitchen growing up, mainly ate salads and tacos lol Your recipes have been helping me out TREMENDOUSLY, when it come to gainingmore confidence in the kitchen. I have made this particular baked mac n cheese a few times now, and will be using it again, for one of my Thanksgiving dishes this year. My family loves it! Thank you so much for your blog. God bless you and I hope you have a great holiday!!
Hi Tia! Thank YOU for trying my recipes!
How many people does this serve?
It really depends on the people. LOL
I want to make in 16×12 pan but unsure if I need to double recipe ingredients.
Yes, you will need to double.
Wow!!! This is the best recipe ever! My kids Love Whole Foods Mac & cheese with breadcrumbs. This is a true match! I doubled this recipe for Super Bowl Sunday; baked in a 9×13 pan. I had to bake it on a cookie sheet so it didn’t over flow in my oven. I only used 8oz of mozzarella & 16oz of sharp cheddar for shredded cheese layers.
I’ve been making your Southern Baked Mac & Cheese at the request of my family. For pretty much every holiday. Today I switched it up a little and tried this casserole– they loved it even more. For the sake of time I used the bag shredded cheese… next time I’ll grate the block cheese.
Thanks for sharing your gift!
Hi there. I’m going to make this tonight but I want to know, can I use whole milk instead of half and half? Thanks!
For best results follow the recipe listed 🙂
Hi , any recommendations on seasoning salt ? They all vary on taste just don’t want to mess up recipe. Thanks in advance.
Lawrys or Johnnys 🙂
This recipe is delicious!! I used ritz crackers instead of Panko and I used some Parmesan in place of some of the mozzarella because it is what I had on hand!! It is so so good!! My picky eater boyfriend devoured it!
You suggest block cheese but to save time is it ok to use the already shredded?
Sure thing 🙂
I just found you on line while looking for a simple macaroni casserole. I just finished making this for my 6 year old niece at her request! I was sampling it the whole time…it’s gonna be awesome! Thanks so much for an easy recipe and I’m looking forward to checking out your other recipes.
Made this recipe without the bread crumbs! Delicious
I love this recipe it’s so easy to make and really delicious
I’m going to cook this tonight and was wondering if I should cook the noodles a little less since it’s going in the oven? Like 6 min instead of 10? Thanks for the recipe (:
The written recipe is right on hun. Happy Holidays!
I made this tonight for my family. All I can say is WOW!! This is the best baked macaroni and cheese i’ve ever made! I even had to use milk instead of half and half and it was still delicious. I will definitely be printing to save and make again, thank you!
Thanks so much for trying my recipe! Happy Holidays!
Made this today and it was absolutely delicious. I lightly browned the panko bread crumbs with the butter before topping the mac n cheese. Super simple and absolutely delicious!!!
Well…since I, and everyone else in my family LOVED your slow cooker mac and cheese, I’ll be making this recipe for our day after Thanksgiving dinner (thought it would go well with hot turkey sandwiches) and I’ll be making your candied yams with Marshmallow for our Thanksgiving dinner. So glad I found you!!!! I have a feeling these recipes will be a hit too!!!! Happy Holidays!
Hi there! I’m glad that you found me as well!! Happy holidays luv!!
I came online to *try* to find a recipe like my mother’s but with no success so used yours. The only thing I ‘tweaked’ was the butter; I used some bacon drippings instead of all butter because I was short on one and had some of the other. For the crumbs, I used a combination of gluten-free Italian spiced in 50/50 combo with fine crumbs from homemade white bread that was going to go stale, so I toasted and crumbed the slices. I’m SO anxious to see if it turns out well. I used 2 1# boxes of pasta and enough white sauce to fill the dish well, had to use deli-sliced sharp Cheddar and Monterey-Jack. I forgot to put any salt in the white sauce but with the bacon grease and cheese, suspect it will be adequately salted. Also added a modest amount of cracked black pepper to the white sauce. What can I say…I just cannot ever leave a good recipe alone. Oh, wow! It’s great; glad I omitted the salt (I did salt the water that I cooked the pasta in) in the white sauce. Any more would have been too much. Thank you for sharing your Great recipe!
This recipe was amazing even though I messed it up! I think the milk/flour mixture was a little bit too hot for the cheese and it curdled 🙁 bummer but it was still so so good. I’ll have to make it again
For Thanksgiving I made this recipe and it was the best. My family loved it. I just have to say that I’m not a cook but because I had follow your directions, my family thought I was the best cook. Than you, thank you from the bottom of my heart I thank you. My whole Thanksgiving meal came from your recipes.
I made this for my mom, husband, and son on Christmas Day, and we all loved it! It’s the first time I’ve made homemade macaroni and cheese, and it was so delicious. Everyone raved about it! Thanks so much for the recipe!
I am 67 years old & have searched for a superior macaroni & cheese recipe for years. This dish is absolutely DELICIOUS and it’s the only recipe I use now. Creamy, crunchy, slightly chewy, and 100% mouthwatering.
Thank you for sharing.
Oh. My.
Made this today with leftover mac and cheese that had been in the refrigerator. For the cheese sauce, I used some homeade soft chevre and whole goat milk.
Delish! Ommited the breadcrumbs. I’ve been looking for an easy mac and cheese cassrole and I have found it! Thank you, Ms. Rosie! If my 13 year old self can make it, anyone can!
Thank you I tried the recipe today and it was amazing!! This is a keeper the best Mac and cheese I have ever made!! Awesome recipe!
It’s just me and my husband so I cut amounts in half and used 6 oz of ziti pasta. My husband is not a huge mac and cheese fan, but he loved it! Very high praise indeed. This was the perfect complement to smoked chicken wings. Thank you for the recipe!
I finally made your Mac n cheese yesterday and GIRL!!!!!!! My husband TORE IT THE HELL UP!!!! So good! ‼️
My family and I loved it… We love our casseroles! Thank you for the amazing recipe
Oh. My. Goodness. SO good! I made this for my dad for Fathers Day and was nervous because it was the first time I was trying this recipe…. man was it delicious! Whole family loved it and my dad insisted I send it to him. This is coming from a man who is brutally honest. Wouldn’t change a thing!
Should I double this recipe for thanksgiving for around 15 people?
Yes.
Thank you! I was going to ask the same question. Love this Mac N Cheese Recipe I tried it out last year at Thanksgiving and it was a big hit. I am making it again tomorrow HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!
This looks amazing! The only issue I had was I thought I needed to add more salt on top of the seasoning salt. That’s because I read it incorrectly. I hope it’s not too salty! I made this for my daughter’s Friendsgiving so I hope everyone likes it. Thank you for this recipe!
I made this delectable side dish and it was a knockout according to my boyfriend and my 11-yr-old son. I mixed 4 ozs. each colby-jack and mild cheddar instead of mozzarella. I couldn’t find my ground pepper for some reason, so I went without it and it still was a winner! You were spot on with this recipe! It really is a crowd-pleaser. I’m making it again per request. Loved making it because it was so simple and loved it even more eating it
I have made this macaroni for the last few years, it’s always a winner during the holidays, I have tried others but none compare to this one!
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but will come thanksgiving!
This is my go to Mac and cheese. I gave it a trail run over the summer and it was a hit!!!
Definitely using this for Thanksgiving this year!
Love this ONE because there isn’t any eggs in the recipe. My mother said REAL Mac & Cheese do NOT have any Eggs in it. Whatever I just love this one
Thanksgiving ain’t Thanksgiving without the macaroni and cheese got to have it thanks for sharing cousin
I always wondered how my mom made everything taste so amazing. I never could cook like her and when she passed away, I was sad because I didn’t learn all I could from her. Your recipes taste just like my mom’s and just how I remember. Thank you for giving me this!
Thank you! Happy holidays!
This is the only recipe I will make for any special occasion or holiday and dinner so for everything lol. My husband and kids love it. This will forever be the o my recipe I use to make mac and cheese bake.
I’m looking for the mac and cheese with the cream cheese and other cheeses from the video I just watched but can’t find it on the website. Can someone send me that recipe or where to find it.
Its here.
Tried this tonight, and oh my goodness it was amazing! Definitely have it saved to favorites and will be making again for sure, Thank you for this amazing recipe.
This recipe is on point. My only change is I use more cheese on top rather than breadcrumb topping. Im from Mississippi but my mom was an alcoholic so I never had anyone teach me. I use alot of your recipes but this one and your chicken and gravy recipe are my top faves. Thank you for teaching me what no one else did. What you do for others is appreciated more than you know ♡
Just made this for my wife. Plain panko crumbs, but I added bacon crumbles to the middle layer. It just had to have them to be southern. Lol. Or ham. Ham would be good too. Delicious with or without.
Best Macaroni and cheese ever. The block cheese is a must. always used the bag cheese. Never again. Followed the recipe exactly but decided to add a half pound of thinly sliced kielbasa in the cheese sauce mix. with or without the kielbasa the Macaroni and Cheese was to die for. SOOOO cheesy. This is the recipe I’ve been searching for for years. Definingly will be my only Macaroni and Cheese recipe I’ll ever use again. Thank You for sharing.
Delicious
This is the ONLY homemade mac n cheese recipe I make these days. I brought this to a birthday party just yesterday and everyone raved about it! I do tend to add a bit more seasonings-in addition to seasoned salt/pepper I add garlic powder and paprika to give it a bit more of a kick. Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Glad that you like my recipe Sara! Thanks for leaving a comment! XOXO