Macaroni cheese

[TheCutter]

I'm making macaroni cheese tonight for dinner and wondered if you put your Mac and cheese in the oven to bake or just do it all in the frying pan?

Thanks everyone

I put crunched up doritos on mine, then extra cheese sprinkled on top, then in the oven about 15 minutes. I'm going to add broccoli next time, thanks for that tip!

In the oven is a must in this house to get the lovely crispy bits on top. We also put bacon in ours and have it with sweet corn and bbq sauce . (Wanders off to see if has the ingredients for Mac and cheese for dinner tonight)

Make sauce in a saucepan and bake in the oven. Grated cheese and breadcrumbs on the top to make it crispy.

I make mine with sweetcorn (used to add bacon but DD1 went veggie)

Boil the pasta and sweetcorn in one pan, make the sauce in and other

If eating right away I grill the very cheesy top, if not I bake it

I put peas and carrots (chopped into little cubes) in mine when I make it for the toddler! I just chuck them in with the pasta - carrots at the same time as pasta, and peas 5 mins before the end. Also she's usually too hungry so it doesn't go in the oven!

if I make it for me however... mushrooms, bacon, garlic, and blue cheese! and brown it in the oven... mmmm

YES. Yes there absolutely is.

Worcestershire sauce ✅

Like others, frying pan? One pot to boil the pasta, one for the sauce, stir together and put in oven. That said, I usually just by McIntosh.

Boil macaroni, sieve . Add tomato purée and cheese and bake in oven for 20 odd minutes… yum 😋

For even more carbs have with bread and butter and tomato sauce… mmmhhh

Whyyyyy have you posted this. All I want tonight now is macaroni!

If you aren't veggie, you could fry up some bacon bits and stir that into the macaroni cheese mix before putting in the oven.
I add mustard and smoked paprika to the cheese sauce as well and also top the whole lot with breadcrumbs and cheese before putting in the oven.

Mmmm love a good macaroni cheese. We don’t have it often enough!

Ours is always baked. Make the cheese sauce whilst pasta is cooking. We add various things depending on mood and how basic, or not, we want it to be:

Nutmeg
White pepper
Mustard
Mushrooms
Garlic
Bacon
Chorizo
Leeks
Jalapeños
Gherkins
Breadcrumbs
Crispy onions (just sautéed until they caramelise and keep going until they crispen up)

Always plenty of extra cheese on top!

If I want a true one-pan meal I’ll add cauliflower/broccoli or fried cabbage/Brussels sprouts, but usually we have a veg side of some sort.

Oh yes, Worcestershire sauce too! Or Kimchi. Or any blue cheese that happens to be hanging around waiting to be used.

🤣@stuntbubbles , I get your point but if @TheCutter masters it she can make various variations
I do cauliflower mac cheese
With sausages
With leeks and mushrooms
Bacon and leeks
With smoked haddock and chives
All topped with cherry tomatoes and a mega amount of cheese

Not much to add as you have had so many tips already (I make the cheese sauce in the microwave! Google Mumsnet cheese sauce 😂)…
wednesday is Mac n cheese tea night in our house without fail - one of the few meals everyone enjoys!

Make the cheese sauce slightly runnier that normal and undercook the pasta, then bake in the oven. The pasta absorbs the cheesy sauce and you won’t end up with soggy overcooked pasta.

I make my cheese sauce in a frying pan, boil pasta in a saucepan, then mix, pour into dish and sprinkle breadcrumbs and more cheese on top and put in oven for 20 mins til crispy and brown on top, salad and garlic bread, one of my favourite meals. It’s great your learning to cook rather than buying ready meals. I was lucky to be taught by my mum and gran but also in the times when cookery was taught properly at school. Keep going.

@TheCutter once you’ve mastered the cheese sauce you can use it for so many things! A few ideas below:

Smoked mackerel and broccoli gratin with potatoes instead of pasta
Cauliflower cheese
Tuna, sweetcorn and pasta

Make less of the sauce but extra cheesy and do tortilla chips layered with leftover chilli plus your cheese sauce, with avocado or salad on the side and some salsa or dips

I totally cheat:
Boil pasta & drain
Add a tub of creme fraiche, as much cheese as you can manage and a touch of mustard- stir
Pop in a baking dish, top with bacon bits and shove in the oven for 20/25mins.

I like a nice crispy browned cheese topping on mine so will often bung it in the oven. The trick is to undercook the pasta and not make the sauce too thick.

I love it with a few spoonfuls of beef chilli on top. Seems to make it taste even cheesier

Cheese and breadcrumbs under the grill in this house.

This!

I do mine in my pressure cooker (instant pot) and can just eat it straight from there but often add extras (fried bacon bits, toasted pine nuts, fried leeks or cooked broccoli) and tip it into a baking dish for finishing off in the oven.

I really fancy macaroni cheese now