This Macaroni and Cheese uses an old trick for the secret ingredient to give you the perfect, full flavor classic cheddar mac and cheese.
Mmmmm Mac and cheese! This is one of our favorite comfort foods, and it is both adult and kid friendly, especially when you step away from the boxed stuff with powdered cheese. What even is in that?! This recipe uses only whole ingredients, and real cheddar cheese. Making your own Mac and cheese from scratch might seem time consuming, but it is quicker and easier than you think! Once you’ve had homemade, you’ll never go back to the Blue Box.
The secret ingredient in this macaroni and cheese is hot sauce, specifically Frank’s Red Hot. Adding hot sauce to a recipe involving cheese is an old chef’s trick that enhances the flavor of the cheese. You can use any hot sauce you’d like, but each one may require a different amount. Julia Child’s, for example, was a tabasco sauce user and would add a dash or two of tabasco sauce to her macaroni and cheese and other melted cheese dishes. This recipe is specifically written for Frank’s Red Hot.
-
How can I get a thick cheese sauce?
The flour in the recipe acts as a thickening agent. If you just added flour to milk you’d end up with a clumpy mess. By combining the flour with a fat source (in this recipe it is melted butter), you will be able to distribute the thickening agent throughout the sauce without leaving clumps behind. This same principle can be applied to any sauce or soup that needs to be thickened. A roux is equal parts flour to fat. Cornstarch is a stronger thickening agent that I use (with butter) in things like puddings and cream pies.
-
What kind of cheese should I use to make macaroni and cheese?
Classic American macaroni and cheese is made with cheddar cheese. We prefer to use a sharp cheddar cheese. This recipe can also be made with other similar cheeses that melt well, or a combination of cheeses. Use the same amount and experiment! Gouda, white cheddar, provolone, brie, fontina, and provolone are some of our favorites.
-
Is this recipe spicy?
No! This recipe is not spicy when made as written. We have personally served this recipe to over 1,000 different people, many of them children, and no one complains that it is too spicy. If you DO want to add a little heat, you can try doubling or tripling the amount of hot sauce in the recipe. We find that 1/4 cup of Frank’s Red Hot gives a good mild heat.
If you like this recipe, you may also be interested in these other cheesy recipes:
Watch the video below where we will walk you through every step of the recipe with a video demonstration.
it was ok, but for me and my family, the hot sauce was a little too much. I will try it again sometime without it and with a little more cheese. 🙂
This came together fairly quick, only 10 min in the oven! Halved the recipe and still was plenty for 2 peeps with leftovers. Used a bit of spicy mustard instead of powdered and some other hot sauce I had. Plus a bit of Worcestershire, topped with Panko crumbs, pancetta and some diced jalapeño for color. Usually sprinkle with smoky paprika, but forgot. Super delish! You could even add some shredded rotisserie chicken or diced tomato to make a main meal. Can’t go wrong with Rachel’s recipes, I use them weekly.
It looks scrumptious! And your little guy is adorable!
Absolutely amazing addition to add the hot sauce. I have a little bit of a different recipe I follow because I don’t care for mustard in Mac n cheese so I just used my own and added the hot sauce and it was insane how great it made it. I will definitely make this the norm going forward. Not spicy at all, just a great flavor.
Made this and it’s absolutely yummy. Thank you for always making it possible to make me a good cook. Love your recipes.
Love this – so creamy!
Just made this and it’s fantastic! I even ran around looking for Frank’s Hot Sauce. My husband said “We have tabasco sauce” but I googled both and saw they weren’t the same. People- fnd the Frank’s and use it as directed in the recipe. DELICIOUS as all your recipes are.
Rachel, I see breadcrumbs in the pictures and video. Can you please tell us if you regularly use them and if so, do you mix with melted butter? The mac and cheese is great as is us- just curious for next time! Thank you.
Was it spicy?
Dexter! What a great job helping and narrating the recipient. !
Very good
This was the best video yet ! Oh yea…the mac and cheese looks good too !