If you are a fan of Panera Mac and Cheese, you can now do it at home with this easy recipe. It offers creamy and cheesy pasta that taste the restaurant version.
Make sure you check my macaroni recipe with proven and true cheese!
Why you will love this macaroon recipe
If you have never tried it, you may be wondering: “Panera Mac and Cheese is good?” And I’m here to answer that for you! Yes, it’s really good. It is super creamy, cheesy and tasty. This is one of the articles with persistent leaves and persistent leaves on their menu that I cannot imagine that they never stop!
- Easy to do! Making this dish at home is simple and easy. You control the ingredients, save money and jump the trip to the restaurant.
- Made in about 20 minutes! Everything is done very easily on the stove. It is a great recipe for beginners cooks.
- Delicious flavor! This recipe will easily become a favorite from the family.
What you will need
The list of bread ingredients Panera Mac and Cheese is super simple. You might even have everything in your kitchen right now! Make sure you scroll through the recipe card at the bottom list of ingredients and instructions!
- Pasta. Panera uses a pipette rigging, which you can easily find, but I still have shells on hand, so I use them too. All short and cut pasta will work! Just cook it al dente so that it holds a small bite because it is in the cheese sauce and continues to cook a little.
- Butter. I specify the use of salted butter in this recipe because that’s what I prefer. You can also use non -salty butter. The only salt added in this recipe is what you use for salt for salty pasta water as well as salt that exists in cheese.
- Flour. Regular regular flour is what you need for this recipe.
- Pepper. The ground black pepper is the only additional seasoning in the recipe for that and cheese. I like a lot of black pepper, but do not hesitate to use as much or as little as you prefer.
- Milk. You can use 2% of milk or whole milk in this recipe. I do not recommend milk to 1%, skim milk or almond milk for the most creamy results.
- Cheddar cheese. To make it a real copycat panera recipe, I use a cheese with a soft white cheddar. You can certainly use the yellow cheddar if that’s what you have! The result will be the same, just the flavor differs slightly.
- Parmesan cheese. The addition of parmesan enhances the cheddar without making the sauce too “sharp”. Panera Mac and Cheese has a sweet flavor, so you don’t want too much Parmesan.
- American cheese. It is “the secret ingredient” to really get the most creamy cheese sauce. Do not jump for the addition of blown white cheese!
Advice on how to make panera mac and cheese
- Prepare all the ingredients before starting. This recipe gathers very quickly, so you want to have everything on your hand and ready when you need it!
- Use high quality white cheddar: This gives cheese macaroni its signature taste. You don’t need to use an older cheddar or anything super sharp, but a nice and creamy white cheddar will make the sauce very delicious.
- Cook pasta: I like to start water to boil for my pasta at the same time as I melt the butter for the sauce, in this way, everything is done at the same time. But you can easily make the pasta before hand and simply drain and keep it covered and warm to add at the end. The pasta can stay a little together, but it will be ok once it is mixed in the cheese sauce.
What makes Panera Mac and special cheese
The great thing about this recipe is that it is made in a few minutes, it has a big flavor, can be appreciated as a dinner or a quick flat lunch, or even a perfect dish of flat to your cook or in barbecue.
Can you use another type of cheese?
There is just a creamy and a texture that cannot be explained, due to the 3 cheeses I used. I worked hard to create this copy recipe which is both easy and delicious, with a creamy mixture of cheeses. Is it correct? I can’t say with certainty, but it’s damn close!
You can certainly submarine in the yellow cheddar and American yellow for white cheddar and it will work perfectly. You can also use a different cheese mixture if you prefer and use this recipe as a basis to really make yours!
Ideas for complement to cheese macaroni
Of course, the Panera Mac and Cheese is perfect as it is, there are tons of things that you can add to make a full meal or a flavor amp!
- Spicy sauce. My husband always adds spicy sauce to his cheese macaroni. It doesn’t matter whether homemade or from a box. He likes the heat and the flavor given by the spicy sauce.
- Chicken. Really, any type of protein would work well in cheese macaroni, but the cooked cooked chicken is a simple way to make it a full meal. And if you really want to take it there, try mixed chicken chips … so good!
- Chile. If you have leftover chili, adding a scoop on this cheese macaroni creates the most delicious Chili Mac!
How to store Panera Mac and Cheese
I will be honest, this recipe is preferable the same day as you do, appreciated warm. Macaroni and cheese tend to lose its creamy, the more it is for a long time. This is how it works when you use real cheese. Although it loses a little creamy texture, you can absolutely store this and enjoy it the day as left. Just cover it in an airtight container and when you warm up, add a touch or 2 milk while you cook it!
More Mac and cheese recipes to try
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Description
This is a tired copy version of Panera Mac and Cheese. It’s super easy to do and takes less than 20 minutes from start to finish. Everyone loves this one!
- 3 1/2 cups Average shell pasta
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/4 cup All use flour
- 1/4 teaspoon Fresh black pepper
- 2 1/2 cups 2% or whole milk
- 2 cups Fresh grated white cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup Fresh grated parmesan cheese
- 4 Slices of white aerial style charcuterie style, torn apart
- Wear a large pot (5 to 6 liters) of water to a boil. Add salt and stir. Add the pasta and cook according to the package instructions. Drain and reserve.
- During the cooking of the pasta, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Once the butter is melted, embody the flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth. Add the black pepper then slowly add the milk, whisking constantly.
- Bring the milk mixture to a boil, stirring frequently so that the milk escapes. Once it has boiled, stir constantly for 2 minutes until thickening.
- Immediately turn the heat to low and add the cheddar, parmesan and American cheese, stirring until smooth consistency. Add the cooked pasta and stir until coating.
- Season with more pepper if you wish and serve immediately.
Notes
This type of cheese macaroni is always better when appreciated on the same day. You can still store airtight in the refrigerator and warm in the microwave with a touch of milk!
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