Gruyere and White Cheddar Mac and Cheese

​This is such an easy homemade mac and cheese recipe, you will love this recipe. I love making this gruyere and white cheddar mac and cheese, it is the ultimate comfort food! 

You'll love this white cheddar mac and cheese

It's easy to make. This is such an easy recipe to make whenever you are craving something super cozy. The creamy cheese sauce is so flavorful and comes together in no time.

It's flavorful. I love making white cheddar mac n cheese, and adding gruyere just makes it so flavorful without having to add a bunch of different ingredients. 

It's the best comfort food. Mac and cheese is one of my favorite foods, whether you want to pair it with chili, or serve it as the perfect side dish at your Thanksgiving celebrations. 

Ingredients

Pasta. I like using cavatappi pasta for traditional mac and cheese. You can also use macaroni noodles, elbow pasta, or shell nodles! 

White Cheddar. I always prefer to shred my cheese versus using pre-shredded cheese. Pre-shredded cheese has this powder coating on it that gives a slightly weird texture. 

Gruyere. I absolutely love gruyere cheese, but it could be a divisive cheese! I've included some other cheese options below if you want something else. 

Whole Milk. I prefer using whole milk to make the most creamy mac. It's not as thick as heavy cream, so it makes the cheese sauce a little thinner so your pasta can finish cooking in the sauce. 

All Purpose Flour. This is part of the base of the white cheddar sauce. You'll combine the butter with the flour to make a creamy texture! 
Butter. You'll need melted butter to combine with the flour to create the base of your sauce. I use salted butter, but you can use unsalted butter if you prefer. If you use unsalted, you may have to add additional salt in the end, depending on how salty you like things. 

Garlic Powder. There are a handful of different seasonings you can include in this stovetop mac and cheese recipe, I like to keep things simple and just use garlic powder. I've included some other option for you below if you want to play around with seasonings! 

Pepper. I use black pepper, because that's what I have in my kitchen, but white pepper would also be a great way to add some extra flavor. 

How to make white cheddar mac and cheese

1. Bring 1 pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Cook 1lb of pasta (1 box) for 5 minutes, you want to make sure you cook the pasta al dente because it'll cook more in the white cheddar sauce.
3. Strain and rinse with cold water so the noodles don't stick to each other
4. In the same large pot, melt 1 stick of butter over low heat. 
5. Once melted, slowly whisk in ½ cup of flour over low heat.
6. Once the flour and the butter are combined into a thick roux, slowly add in 2 cups of whole milk over low heat.
7. Once smooth, fold in 2 cups of cheese, I used 1 cup of cheddar cheese and 1 cup of grueyere cheese.
8. Stir the cheese over medium heat until smooth and melted.
9. Add back in your cooked pasta and stir.
10. Let your pasta cook in the cheese sauce over low heat for an additional 2-3 minutes.
11. Serve immediately and enjoy your creamy white cheddar mac and cheese!

Tip:​ there are so many ways you can grate your own cheese, I use the traditional box grater, but you can add a shredding disc to your food processor, or buy a standing cheese grater from Amazon. 

Substitutions and variations

Cheeses. If you don't love white cheddar or gruyere, you can use yellow cheddar (a yellow sharp cheddar is always great), white American cheese, or gouda cheese.

Veggies. If you want to add some veggies like carrots, peas, onions, or spinach, that's a great way to add some extra nutrition! 

Bake it. If you want to bake this, I recommend using 4 cups of cheese. 2 for the sauce and 2 for the top. Don't let the pasta cook in the sauce for the additional 2-3 minutes. Instead, broil on low for 2-4 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown. 

Storing and reheating leftovers

Store any leftover mac and cheese in an airtight container. To reheat, add some to a frying pan with a splash of milk or water, cover and let it cook over medium-low heat for 3-5 minutes. 

FAQs

How to spice up white cheddar mac?

There are so many different ways to spice up homemade mac and cheese is by adding dry mustard powder, onion powder, hot sauce, or old bay seasoning. 

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Want more comfort food recipes?

• Gnocchi alla Vodka
• Sausage and Rice One Pot Meal
• Homemade Dutch Oven Chicken Noodle Soup