

If you’re asking yourself, can you make baked mac and cheese with shells pasta? The answer is yes! Personally, I like the classic elbow pasta associated with mac-n-cheese, but you can substitute shells and follow the same instructions above. These Italian soft cheeses are a great addition to this easy southern baked mac and cheese recipe.

You can also use mozzarella, swiss cheese, or Edam.

For the mild cheese try Monterey jack, mild cheddar, gouda, fontina, or provolone.If you are looking for more sharp cheddar cheese options check my taste test of cheddar cheeses, the majority of my favorites were more sharp varieties of cheddar. I’d replace half of the sharp cheddar with parmesan and the other half with American cheese. But you could also use Colby cheese or even parmesan cheese. For the extra sharp cheese, my favorite and classic option here is extra-sharp white cheddar cheese.Here’s a list of the best cheese for southern baked mac and cheese: A good homemade southern baked mac and cheese has a combination of 3 different types of cheeses – extra sharp, mild, and creamy.Extra sharp white cheddar cheese is pretty salty, and cream cheese, as well as creole seasoning, also have added salt. Don’t add more than 1 teaspoon of salt before you taste the cheese mixture.This will also help to create an extra creamy sauce. If you don’t mind overcooked pasta, you can even cook the macaroni for 2 minutes longer than the package instructions.It also prevents the macaroni from sticking to each other while you’re prepping the cheese mixture. This ensures you’ll have a creamy custardy cheese sauce. Buttering the macaroni before adding them to the milk/cheese mixture creates a layer so that the pasta won’t absorb any of the liquid from the sauce. Store-bought pre-shredded cheese is coated in preservatives that interfere with the texture of the cheese and don’t allow it to melt the same. The number one rule to making beautifully cheesy baked macaroni in cheese is shredding the cheese yourself.Buy Ingredients With Instacart ➥ Notes & Tips
