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Up your basic mac and cheese with these ridiculously cheesy and creamy Cheddar Gruyère Mac and Cheese. Super simple to prepare, can be enjoyed baked or stove top. This is a perfect dish to make a meal or add as a side for a holiday or special gathering!
Mac and cheese is the ultimate love language of comfort food and this simple cheddar gruyère mac and cheese is so perfectly flavorful and the perfect companion to any meal--a special holiday or a weeknight dinner.
Skip the Kraft mac tonight, and opt for something that makes everyone say WOW.
If you love mac and cheese as much as we do, try this protein packed version as well as Instant Pot Mac and Cheese!
Why you will love this Cheddar Gruyère Macaroni and Cheese:
- You can make it stove top or baked. If you love the creamy, delicious, straight from the stove version, have it that way. If you want a gooey, breadcrumb topped mac and cheese, have that way instead! Either is great!
- Cheesy and oh so creamy. Gruyere cheese is a really great melting cheese. It is often found in fondues. Adding it to this recipe not only gives it flavor, it adds a great creamy texture.
- Easy to vary. Lots of pasta shapes work well, and you can make the pasta gluten free if needed. While I use a combo of gruyere and cheddar in this recipe, you can vary the cheeses to make it your favorite.
- Great to meal prep. Mac and cheese is a great option for warmed up meals in the middle of the week. Make this once and eat off of it several days later! When reheating, add a bit of milk and stir it in if it seems a bit dry.
What is gruyère cheese?
Gruyère cheese is a type of smooth Swiss cheese named after the town it was originally made in. It is a great melting cheese and has a slightly nutty flavor. It adds a level of creaminess to recipes that call for any form of melted cheese and that is why it is so great in this Gruyère mac and cheese recipe!
Ingredients and Swaps:
- pasta: use a short pasta such as elbow macaroni, shells, rotini, cavatappi, or your favorite. The one thing to think about when making a good macaroni and cheese is how much cheese will the pasta hold--that is where the money is! Pasta like shells will hold extra cheese inside so you are going to get more cheese per bite with something like that!
- butter: unsalted butter, but if you have salted, decrease the amount of salt used in the sauce.
- flour: this is a necessary ingredient for making the roux that will thicken the gruyère cheddar cheese sauce. You should be able to sub corn starch or arrowroot powder for the flour for gluten free.
- cream: You can use heavy cream or even half and half here if you don't want the sauce to be too heavy. I find that cream can be a bit much when you want this dish for a meal.
- milk: whole is preferred for the best macaroni and cheese. Another milk would work but if you can, skip the skim milk as it tends to be much too thin.
- cheese: A combo of gruyère and sharp cheddar. For best results, freshly shred your cheese. Pre-shredded cheese does not melt as well as it is coated with cellulose. With the gruyere, a little does go a long way. Even though there is less of it than the cheddar, it will still have great flavor in this dish.
- seasoning: I use a combination of garlic, paprika and ground mustard. Keeping them slight so they don't overpower the flavor of the cheeses.
- breadcrumbs: the breadcrumbs are optional and only if you opt to bake the gruyère mac and cheese before serving. They add a touch of crunch to the dish. Topping the mac and cheese with more cheese is another option if skipping the breadcrumbs!
Step-byStep Instructions:
Cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Drain and return to the pot, tossing with two tablespoons of butter. This will keep the pasta from absorbing more liquid and getting too mushy or overcooked.
Make the cheese sauce:
- Melt the butter over medium heat in a sauce pan to make the roux.
- Add the flour into the pot.
- Whisk constantly for about one minute until the mixture is combined. Make sure not to burn. If your oven runs hot, you can do this over medium-low heat.
- Very slowly stir in about 2 cups of the milk, whisking while adding to keep it nice and smooth. Stir in the remaining milk and cream, garlic, mustard, paprika, salt and pepper. Heat for several minutes, whisking regularly to allow it thicken.
- When the sauce is nice and thick, remove from heat and stir in the cheese until melted.
- Adjust season to taste before adding to the pasta if necessary.
Once the cheese sauce is ready, pour it over the pasta and stir to combine and fully coat all of the pasta. If you want to serve it just like this, stir the past over medium low heat to warm everything up and you are all set. If you want to bake your gruyère mac and cheese, keep reading!
For a baked version of this mac and cheese, set the oven to 350°F and add the cheesy pasta to a greased casserole dish or baking pan.
Cover with last cup of cheese if desired and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Again, as mentioned above the breadcrumbs are optional. If you want them to soften slightly more while baking, you can toss them with a few tablespoons of melted butter before adding them on top of the mac and cheese.
Give the mixture a stir to redistribute the cheese sauce after putting into the baking dish. Pour any remaining cheese over top. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are golden and the cheese begins to bubble slightly.
Tips for the best mac and cheese:
- Don't overcook the pasta. Overcooking the pasta will likely result in mushy noodles, especially if you end up baking this macaroni and cheese.
- Stir the sauce consistently to avoid burning. You don't want to overcook the roux or any part of the sauce. Burned milk will come through in the flavor.
- Don't skimp on fats. When it comes to a really good mac and cheese, its all about the real stuff. For all the flavor, use things like whole milk, full fat cheese, and cream, etc.
- Shred your cheeses! I know this is an extra step, but skip the pre-shredded as it doesn't melt nearly as well. Bonus--cheese blocks are cheaper than pre-shredded cheese so you save some cash!
What can I sub for Gruyère cheese?
Gruyere is a touch on the pricy side and can be a bit more challenging to find in comparison to cheddar and other popular cheeses. A few cheeses that could substitute well in this recipe are: Dubliner cheese, Fontina, Emmental (also known as Swiss cheese), Jarlsberg or Raclette cheese.
If you are still having a hard time finding any of these, use a combination of your favorite melting cheeses!
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Gruyère Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 lb short pasta macaroni, cavatappi, shells, etc.
- 6 T butter divided
- ¼ c flour
- 3 c whole milk
- 1 c heavy cream
- 2 garlic cloves or ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground mustard
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 3 c cheddar freshly shredded
- 2 c gruyere freshly shredded
- 1 c breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Prepare the Pasta: Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare the pasta al dente according to package. Drain and toss with 2 tablespoons butter and set aside.
- Prepare the Cheese Sauce: Combine all the shredded cheese and toss. Set aside one cup for later. In a saucepan, melt remaining 4 tablespoons of butter over medium. Add the flour and whisk consistently to combine for about 1 minute to create a roux.
- Slowly pour in two cups of the milk, whisking constantly to make sure no clumping occurs. Once mixture is smooth, add in remaining milk and cream and stir until the mixture begins to thicken and very slightly bubble. Stir in the paprika, garlic, mustard, salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- Remove the pot from heat and stir in 2 cups of the cheddar gruyere mixture and stir to melt. Add in remaining 2 cups and melt. You can serve like this or continue to next step for baking.
- Bake the Mac and Cheese: Grease a 9x13 inch pan or casserole dish. Pour the mac and cheese in and toss to make sure cheese is evenly distributed. Pour any remaining cheese sauce over top. Sprinkle with remaining cup of shredded cheese and breadcrumbs.
- Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted and browning and the breadcrumbs are golden. Cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Store leftovers in an air tight container in the refrigerator for about 4 days.
Notes
- Don't overcook the pasta. Overcooking the pasta will likely result in mushy noodles, especially if you end up baking this macaroni and cheese.
- Stir the sauce consistently to avoid burning. You don't want to overcook the roux or any part of the sauce. Burned milk will come through in the flavor.
- Don't skimp on fats. When it comes to a really good mac and cheese, its all about the real stuff. For all the flavor, use things like whole milk, full fat cheese, and cream, etc.
- Shred your cheeses! I know this is an extra step, but skip the pre-shredded as it doesn't melt nearly as well. Bonus--cheese blocks are cheaper than pre-shredded cheese so you save some cash!
Nutrition
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Carolina Gal says
Happy 20221 I made this for our New Years Day dinner to accompany baked ham and collard greens. I don't like mac and cheese but I loved this! Typically mac and cheese is too sharp for my liking but this blend was mild and it came out smooth as silk inside. I premade the night before keeping my elbow macaroni extra al dente so they wouldn't be a soggy mess. It wasn't I baked then broiled to get perfect crispy edges and some browning on top. I didn't have bread crumbs but had left over bacon from my collard greens that I dotted over the top and my only addition was I added freshly grated nutmeg to the béchamel.
Lorie says
Carolina--so glad this was a perfect compliment to your New Year's Day Dinner. I am now very much in need of making this asap because I need to add bacon to mine as well. So I have you to thank for that genius idea! Happy 2022!