Best-ever macaroni cheese

Best-ever macaroni cheese

Use up the remnants of a French stick to make a crunchy topping for this family favourite

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 mins

Cook time

Cook 40 mins

Vegetarian Freezable

Vegetarian

Method

  1. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Spread the chunks of bread over a baking sheet, drizzle with the melted butter and season. Bake for 6 mins until crisp, then set aside.
  2. Boil the pasta for 2 mins less than stated on the pack. Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a saucepan. Add the garlic and mustard, cook for 1 min, then stir in the flour. Cook for 1 min more, then gradually whisk in the milk until you have a lump-free sauce. Simmer for 5 mins, whisking constantly until thickened. Take off the heat, then stir in all the cheddar and half the Parmesan.
  3. Stir the pasta and some seasoning into the cheesy sauce, then tip into a large ovenproof dish, or 4 individual dishes. Scatter over the bread and remaining Parmesan, then bake for 20 mins until crisp and golden. Can be frozen before baking - defrost thoroughly before cooking.
Try

USE UP BLUE CHEESE

Crumble 50g Stilton, Dolcelatte or Roquefort into the sauce, instead of the Parmesan. Spoon the pasta into the dish, then top with 4 trimmed field mushrooms, gills facing upwards, instead of the crumbs. Drizzle with a little oil, season, then top with a little more blue cheese. Bake as before.

PER SERVING

860 kcalories, protein 38g, carbohydrate 88g, fat 42 g, saturated fat 25g, fibre 0g, sugar 9g, salt 1.92 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, January 2009.

Try 3 issues of Good Food magazine for £3 - subscribe now!

Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • 2008-12-17 07:57:31.142041

    MrsC rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Delicious.....! Would feed 4 nicely with some crusty bread and salad. Yummy!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 2008-12-17 14:01:12.368551

    queenie commented on this recipe

    Can you freeze just the sauce?

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 2009-01-15 22:59:57.731654

    Family Meals commented on this recipe

    Really yummy, both my boys (aged 3 and 13 months) loved this as much as we did! A mealtime in peace!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 2009-01-19 12:46:18.646988

    Frantic Flapjack rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I have cooked this a couple of times now. Really good. Didn't have any baguette, so used some stale wholemeal bread instead for the breadcrumbs which was fine. I used some mustard cheddar left over from Christmas which added extra flavour.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 2009-02-03 14:32:43.457725

    Summer rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Really delish, sits well on your stomach and is very comforting - the perfect meal on a snowy day in February! I didn't have mustard powder so heaped in some Coleman's mustard and didn't have quite enough cheddar so added in 200g cheddar and an extra 50g of parmesan, but it all worked out beatifully. I certainly have no complaints and neither did my family. Would make again!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 2009-02-03 15:11:27.388109

    HelloKnitty commented on this recipe

    Filled all the little gaps in my stomach with cheesy satisfying goodness! Perfect comfort food. Added some chopped fried bacon, a few finely chopped pickled cornichons, and a couple of chopped Peppadews.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 2009-02-04 11:57:18.269309

    mrsvandicamp rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    The best macaroni I have EVER eaten was dee-licious didnt have mustard powder so used a tsp of wholegrain mustard and I left out the parmesan again, cause it was not in the fridge, also I used the end off my own homemade bread and the end product was amazing will defo be making. Made it for my parents & husband last night and we all thought the same x

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 2009-02-09 19:44:29.046811

    FlemishMinx rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Best-ever ? Don't know about that, but certainly very, very good.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 2009-02-18 11:22:23.785344

    Fab Recipes commented on this recipe

    Does it really cook in 20 mins if you chill it before baking?

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 2009-04-13 10:03:59.448816

    JuicyJoycie commented on this recipe

    Never made mac cheese before and this was a revelation - was sooo tasty! Other half loved it too. A regular addition to the monthly menu plan.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 2009-05-14 10:36:55.33423

    gwendoline commented on this recipe

    Good basic recipe. I prefer to use homemade brown breadcrumbs and put slices of tomato on top of the pasta, then sprinkle on the parmesan and breadcrumbs together. Gives a nice extra tang.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 2009-06-17 21:23:41.990112

    Lucy commented on this recipe

    Gorgeous recipe - I added some smoked bacon too, and instead of English mustard I used Dijon and I blitzed a couple of slices of normal white bread for the topping. Worked just fine. My 3 year old thought it was pretty scrummy too!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 2009-07-12 12:30:28.782067

    Karen P rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Delicious! The whole family loved it. And used the rest of the baguette to acompany it with some salad.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 2009-07-22 17:01:58.238606

    misshully commented on this recipe

    yummy

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 2009-09-30 16:42:14.571393

    Bulbie rated and commented on this recipe

    2 stars

    Made this as per the recipe - as close to it as I could. had to use cheezly as I can't tolerate normal cheese, cooked with this cheese before and it's always been fantastic. But this recipe, though I followed it to the letter, the sauce came out too thick. And if left for more than a minute or so the sauce turned into an almost breadcrumb like consistency. Very unpleasant when I was really looking forward to the gooey, cheesy goodness this recipe promised!

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 2009-10-21 19:35:23.961777

    jeanettemp commented on this recipe

    Gwendoline's right, put some sliced tomato on the top. My mother used to make this using a bit less cheese in the sauce, and more of it on the top. She would put some sliced mushrooms, some sliced green pepper, and a bit of tuna into the mix as well.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 2009-10-22 19:23:06.990239

    littlenoble rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I really enjoyed this meal but I do recommend using the full amount of cheese stated as I didn't and I feel it is lacking something. I also added anchovies to the butter before adding the flour and milk and that has given it a really rich flavour, I would also recommend using a little more garlic.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 2009-10-25 09:21:45.122413

    MrsO commented on this recipe

    thought this was great - didnt tear the french stick but blitzed it in blender - gave a really fine topping.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 2009-10-25 17:00:47.127917

    dragonma5306 rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    This was really tasty. The addition of garlic and mustard gave it a really nice flavour, and I also added some pancetta cubes (which I quickly fried ) which were very tasty. It could perhaps have done with a little more sauce but on the whole it was delicious and I will definitely be making again.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

  • 2009-11-08 15:22:53.867827

    honeybee rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Good and tasty. Like others, I used wholemeal bread cubed. I found the sauce a bit too thick, so would use 2 tbsps of flour next time.

    Flag as inappropriate

    Please let us know your name and the reason you find the above comment inappropriate.

Leave a comment or suggestion

You must sign in or register to leave a comment.

Sign in / Register

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 10 mins

Cook time

Cook 40 mins

Vegetarian Freezable

Vegetarian

Ingredients

  • 50g baguette , cut into small chunks
  • 2 tbsp butter , plus 1 tbsp melted
  • 350g spiral or other short pasta
  • 1 garlic clove , finely chopped
  • 1 tsp English mustard powder
  • 3 tbsp plain flour
  • 500ml whole milk
  • 250g mature cheddar , grated
  • 50g Parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), grated
Print this recipe
Add to your binder

PER SERVING

860 kcalories, protein 38g, carbohydrate 88g, fat 42 g, saturated fat 25g, fibre 0g, sugar 9g, salt 1.92 g

Advertisement

Your binder

Here are three other great reasons why to sign up:

  • You get an online binder, where you can store all your favourite recipes and create menus.

Follow Good Food

Advertisement

All about Good Food

Magazine

Good Food Magazine

Subscribe to Good Food magazine - enjoy 100+ triple-tested recipes delivered to your door, every month.

Order today, and receive your first 3 issues for just £3

On TV

Foodie TV

See your favourite chefs on Sky Channel 247, Virgin TV 260 and find their recipes at goodfoodchannel.co.uk.

Good Food Apps

Good Food Apps

For Good Food on the go, download our apps to your phone or portable device.
Find out more here

Buy ingredients

With just one click, the full list of recipe ingredients will be put into a basket at your choice of provider. Choose from:

mySupermarket Compare prices and choose a retailer you wish to buy them from.

Ocado Let Ocado deliver all you need for this recipe, right to your door

Tesco Buy all the ingredients from our recipes through your Tesco online shop.

new

Asda Shop with Asda? You can now buy ingredients for our recipes via your Asda online shop.

In association with the above providers. Terms and conditions apply.

Close