9/25/2019 Best Cheese For Creamy Mac And Cheese
Super Creamy Macaroni and Cheese with no processed cheese in sight, this stovetop version is the perfect homemade creamy macaroni and cheese of your dreams and a perfect holiday side dish! Super Creamy Macaroni and Cheese has always been a battle when it comes to working without processed/American cheese and this dish finally gets it right without compromising the creaminess.
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As a private chef you get clients who will say things to you like “I want this to taste like a box mix or boxed mac and cheese but I want it all organic” and you’re left scratching your head wondering how to turn all those foods into the perfect food memory without the actual ingredients used. This Super Creamy Macaroni and Cheese is the brainchild of one of my client’s requests. I started with a search for creamy macaroni and cheese that didn’t use any Velveeta or American cheese and started experimenting.
The Best Creamy Crockpot Mac and Cheese fits the new trend perfectly. It’s a bowl full of warm, creamy comfort: soft, chewy noodles swimming in a rich, cheesy sauce loaded up with sour cream, butter, and just a hint of garlic and mustard for zing. Cream cheese: The mac and cheese would be excellent with just cheddar cheese added, but to make it ultra creamy, we’ll stir in some cream cheese. It adds a lovely silky texture, and since it has a little zinginess, it brightens up the flavor a bit.
The original calls for baking which totally lowers the creamy texture (but it does add an awesome crust) so I altered a bunch of things over the course of many cooking trials until I found something that looked like the creaminess you’d expect but without the use of the easy melting processed cheese products. The important thing to keep a note of when it comes to keeping this recipe creamy is FAT. I know how much you would love it if I could tell you all that this recipe is a healthier creamy option. I can’t because science won’t allow me to keep the creaminess with natural products unless fat comes into play. So no low-fat products here, if you use them it will alter the texture.
If you are sodium sensitive feel free to halve or omit the salt, I am going for rich, indulgent Super Creamy Macaroni and Cheese and that means a full bodied flavor. I have had clients who were averse to salt have me make this for them and the natural sodium in the dairy was plenty for them. If the idea of a slightly less creamy, but amazing crust option sounds good to you, add it all to a baking dish, cover with an additional half cup of cheddar cheese and bake for 15-18 minutes. The original recipe calls for uncooked pasta baked for 30 minutes, but in my trials I lost most of the creaminess doing that. Tools Used in this Super Creamy Macaroni and Cheese Recipe:: This is the blender I use for everything (I bought it reconditioned but it only had 4 cycles before me) and it is a total workhorse.
Everything is creamy coming out of it. If you have a blender that gives you super creamy smoothies then skip this, if you have one that leaves things a bit grainy, then let the blender keep working longer until you get your ingredients as creamy as possible.
I try to shy away from a ton of single use products, but this strainer makes life so much easier. Instead of washing a colander and then returning the pasta to the pan or using a pasta pot, I add this to the side and strain in the pot. It’s small and super easy to wash and I use it for all things I need to drain except very small shaped pastas/grains.
I just finished making this for the second time to improve on the first time.FIRST TIME: I prepared per instructions up until the “On a very low heat simmer the pasta a few minutes (I would say no more than 5) until it is as thick and creamy as you like, then serve immediately.”First, very low simmer did not work for me at all – had heat to Medium to get a simmer.Very deceiving to gauge thickness. Simmered at least 10 minutes to get consistency I wanted, then with noodles in so long, they became too soft. I’ve been searching high and low for a creamy mac ‘n cheese I can make in bulk and in advance. That’s predominantly how this first attempt was consumed – reheated in microwave and topped with some grated parmesan cheese. Perfect for packed lunch or quick snack.Note on recipe: 1) does not specifically say to shred cheese 2) the “pinches” of cayenne and nutmeg I first used were too small to even taste (I prefer measurements)SECOND TIME: I doubled the recipe (again primarily for reheating). I increased the size of my “pinches” – probably about 1/4 teaspoon and used 3 pinches instead of 2. If I make again as double batch I would use 3x cayenne and 2x nutmegSIGNIFICANT CHANGE TO PREP to try to manage thickness and not overcook pasta:I DID NOT add pasta to cheese mixture initially.
Still did cheese sauce in two steps (melting butter, cheese, milk) then added cottage cheese mixture. Simmered on Medium for about 10 minutes.
Turned off heat (gas stove) then folded in cooked macaroni. Much better outcome to serve as warm than first attempt (still like adding the grated parmesan for texture and taste). Confident it will reheat well, too, as the last batch did.My one negative on the recipe is the amount of clean up with various tools needed for prep (also why I doubled the batch – too much effort/clean-up for one batch).Worth the effort for a make-ahead bulk comfort food, side dish or quick hunger-satisfying snack. I just made this tonight for a family our family of 5. As others mentioned, mine came out soupy. I stirred in the milk very slowly and simmered for 5 minutes. I really liked the flavor and the soupy thing wasnt a big deal and something I think I can fix next time by adding less milk.
The thing that bothered me was that it still tasted grainy. I have an awesome blender and the cottage cheese mixture was completely smooth so I think the graininess came from the cheese mixture. I hand grated the cheese, it wasnt pre grated. With that being said, it was still really good and I appreciate the recipe!
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