Baked Gouda Mac and Cheese

5 from 1 vote

Elbow macaroni in a béchamel sauce made with gouda and sharp cheddar, then baked under panko until the top browns. A spoonful of beef bouillon in the sauce deepens the cheese flavor without tasting like beef. About 50 minutes start to finish.

Prep Time15

Cook Time45

Total Time1

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: people

Calories: 804kcal

Author: Rose Sioson

Equipment

1 large pot for cooking pasta
1 skillet or sauce pan for cooking the sauce

Ingredients

1 pound Elbow Macaroni
½ cup butter
3 cloves garlic minced
½ cup All purpose flour
2 ½ cup whole milk
1 ½ cup Half and Half
3 cups cheddar cheese shredded
2 cups Smoked Gouda cheese shredded
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoon beef buillion
2 teaspoon white sugar
1 cup Panko bread crumbs/ coffee crackers

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Heat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9x13 baking dish. Shred the smoked gouda and cheddar now, before you start anything on the stove.
2 cups Smoked Gouda cheese, 3 cups cheddar cheese
Cook the pasta. Boil the macaroni in well-salted water, pulling it 1 to 2 minutes short of the package time. Drain and set aside.
1 pound Elbow Macaroni
Make the roux. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and keep whisking 1 to 2 minutes, until bubbly and pale gold.
½ cup butter, ½ cup All purpose flour
Add the dairy. Pour in the milk and half-and-half slowly, whisking constantly. Cook 3 to 5 minutes until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
2 ½ cup whole milk, 1 ½ cup Half and Half
Add the cheeses off the heat. Take the pan off the burner. Add the shredded gouda and cheddar one handful at a time, stirring until each melts before adding the next. Direct heat at this stage makes the sauce grainy.
2 cups Smoked Gouda cheese, 3 cups cheddar cheese
Season. Stir in the garlic, beef bouillon, sugar, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust now, before the pasta goes in.
3 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoon beef buillion, 2 teaspoon white sugar, ½ teaspoon black pepper
Combine. Fold in the drained macaroni until every piece is coated. The sauce should look looser than you think it needs to be. It tightens in the oven.
Top and bake. Transfer to the prepared dish and scatter the panko evenly over the top. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until golden and bubbling at the edges.
1 cup Panko bread crumbs/ coffee crackers
Rest 5 to 10 minutes before serving so the sauce sets.

Notes

Yield. Fills a 9x13 and serves 8 as a side, 6 as a main. For a smaller crowd, halve it into an 8x8 and cut the bake to about 18 minutes.

Buy block cheese, not pre-shredded. The anti-caking starch on bagged cheese doesn't dissolve into a sauce, it sits there as grit. This is the number one cause of grainy mac and cheese.

Take the rind off the smoked gouda before shredding. It won't melt.

Pull the pasta 1 to 2 minutes short of the package time. It keeps cooking in the oven, and fully cooked macaroni goes mushy after baking.

Add the cheese off the heat, not on low. The sauce holds enough residual warmth to melt it, and a burner underneath is what pushes it past the point where it breaks.

If the sauce goes grainy, pull it off the heat and whisk in warm milk a tablespoon at a time.

The sauce should look loose when you fold in the pasta. It tightens in the oven. Mac and cheese that looks right on the stove is already too dry.

Smoked gouda varies by brand. If yours tastes more like smoke than cheese, shift the ratio toward the cheddar next time.

Make ahead. Assemble through the panko step, refrigerate up to 2 days with plastic wrap pressed onto the surface, then bake from cold with about 10 extra minutes. Hold the panko back until baking day if you can.

Leftovers. 4 days in the fridge. Reheat covered at 325°F with a splash of milk stirred in, 15 to 20 minutes. The panko won't be crisp again unless you add a fresh handful and broil it for a minute.

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