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Growing up, there were a few meals my mom made that felt like an incredibly special treat. Her meatball recipe, passed down from my dad’s mother, remains my preferred meatball to this day. Her chicken pot pie was the dish I requested every year for my birthday. And her mac and cheese was always a totally unexpected and fully welcome weekend treat.
I ate a lot of boxed mac and cheese growing up, and I’m the first to admit I love it. But homemade mac and cheese just feels like a totally different meal. It’s hearty, the noodles have a bit more bite to them with nooks and crannies for the cheese to cling to, and there’s usually a breadcrumb or cracker topping that adds a whole new textural element.
When I got married at the Grafton Inn in Grafton, Vermont a few years ago. I was delighted that they had a baked mac and cheese available on their menu that we could serve at our welcome party. The mac and cheese was a hit, so naturally, when thinking about who to ask about the best cheese to use in mac and cheese, I thought of Executive Chef Cal Hingston, who creates the menus for the restaurants and all events at the Grafton Inn.
Read More: I Asked 3 Chefs To Name the Best Boxed Mac and Cheese—They All Said the Same Thing
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The Best Cheese for Mac and Cheese
According to Hingston, the key to a great mac and cheese is to use three different cheeses. A blend of cheeses will allow you to get a more complex cheese flavor without sacrificing a creamy, melty texture. He specifically recommends a mix of fontina, Gouda, and aged cheddar.
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Fontina is great because it melts beautifully. It also has a rich, buttery, nutty flavor. Gouda performs a similar lift, which is why you may often find them paired together in a mac and cheese. Gouda is also known for its superior meltability and has a nutty, mild flavor. (If you’re looking to amp up the flavor more, you can also think about using a smoked Gouda, which has a smoky, savory taste.)
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Aged cheddar might not have the melting prowess of the other two cheeses, but it does add depth of flavor. Cheddar is known for its sharp, tangy flavor, and the intensity of it usually increases with its age. Grafton, Vermont is also home to a cheesemaking company that specializes in cheddar, and Hingston specifically uses a cave-aged cheddar, a traditional cheese-making process that intensifies its flavor. “The earthy complexity of the cave-aged adds so much flavor and richness,” says Hingston.
How To Make the Best Mac and Cheese
To make the best mac and cheese, Hingston shared a few more tips:
Choose the right pasta: Be sure to use a short, lined pasta shape such as penne rigate or rigatoni. Essentially, look for your favorite pasta with little ridges or grooves; it will hold on to the cheese sauce better. When you cook your pasta, be sure to cook it to just al dente so you don’t end up with a mushy mac.
Season your breadcrumbs: When it comes to your topping, Hingston has two notes. First, make sure it’s seasoned. It can be super simple, with just bread crumbs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Second, use plenty of it. He recommends making enough seasoned breadcrumbs cover the entire dish with a one-quarter-inch thick layer of breadcrumbs. You can certainly use less if you don’t love a crunchy breadcrumb topping, but a heartier amount will ensure each bite of mac and cheese gets a little topping on it.
Make a silky cheese sauce: As highlighted above, use a mixture of cheeses that will give a mix of great flavor and meltability, such as fontina, Gouda, and aged cheddar. And, make sure they’re high quality. When you make the cheese sauce, don’t try to make it ahead of time. Make it just before combining it with the pasta. If you try to make it ahead of time, it will congeal instead of forming a smooth, luscious coating.
Go low and slow: You may be tempted to crank up the heat, but Hingston recommends the opposite: “[A] lower temp gives a golden crust and will not dry out the pasta.” He says you should bake at 325°F for about 30 minutes.
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