Baked Macaroni & Cheese made with sour cream.
I've been wanting to post my Southern Style Baked Macaroni & Cheese forever but it's one of those recipes you don't actually have a recipe for. You just kind of eyeball everything and use what you have.
This, however, is not my usual Southern Style Baked Macaroni & Cheese. This is a hybrid of mine and one I've made before with sour cream. The way my family has always made it is to make a custard mixture of eggs and milk and pour it over layers of pasta and cheese (as opposed to the bechamel variety which is also popular).
I decided to make my macaroni & cheese yesterday and document the recipe. When I was grabbing what I needed from the fridge, I spotted a carton of sour cream and thought... meh, why not?
Combining the two recipes was a reallyreallyreallyreallyreally great idea! It still has everything I love about the custard preparation with a little added creaminess. Score!
Baked Macaroni & Cheese
8 ounces uncooked ziti*
1 egg, beaten
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup whole or evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups (12-oz. by weight) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
Cook pasta in liberally salted water per package instructions for al dente preparation. Drain pasta and set aside.
Meanwhile whisk egg, sour cream, milk, butter, salt, pepper and cayenne in a large bowl until well combined and smooth. Add pasta and 2 cups cheese then toss to coat.
Add mixture to a small baking dish (about 1.5 quart). Top mixture with remaining one cup of cheese. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees until browned and bubbly (about 35-40 minutes).
*I prefer the extra large elbow macaroni noodles but they're almost impossible to find these days so I use ziti. Any large, tubular pasta will work. You want a large pasta so that the custard and cheese has enough room to really get inside the pasta.
Serve as a side dish for 8 polite or 4 hungry people. Double this recipe if company's coming. Down here we don't serve this as a main course - only as a side dish. Along with six other sides if it's Sunday. We're pretty serious about side dishes, y'all. For reals.
PRINTABLE RECIPE
Speaking of serving it as a side dish only... once when we were visiting my in-laws in Canada, my sister-in-law, Steph whipped up a box of macaroni and cheese for the kiddos' lunch. Angel Baby asked what were were having and when I told her, she asked, "And what else??" Oh... the apple don't fall far from the tree...
Also, it's worth mentioning that most Canadians (at least my family) much prefer the blue box to homemade. Husband LOVES that stuff. I always thought it was funny that they called it "Kraft Dinner" instead of just "macaroni & cheese" until I saw the packaging. Check this out...
Who knew, right?
My son, now 21 years old, will only eat Kraft original mac-n-cheese, and he likes it slightly undercooked. From the time he was 12, if I wanted some too, I had to make 2 boxes. An entire box is his "snack". And the bugger is NOT fat.
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing like a homemade mac and cheese!
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about this macaroni and cheese since Monday night. Oh yes, it's happening today.
ReplyDeleteThe picture looked so amazing that I woke my half-asleep husband and made him look at it. He was as excited as I was, obviously. Good thing he loves me.
Thanks, Amanda! I hope you liked it!
Deletemy oldest loves the box stuff...yuck. lol....I make it from scratch, though...and I'm going to try your sour cream addition...yum!
ReplyDeleteDamn! Kraft Dinner? They would so not know what to do in my house. That's barely an appetizer here. I only feed it to toddlers. Homemade is the way to go, and yours looks delish!
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog... AWESOME! Real Ontarians would change the last two letters in Kraft to a P when discussing it. LOL :)
ReplyDeleteLol!
DeleteI made this mac and cheese for Thanksgiving on Thursday. It is the BEST I've ever had! My cousin asked me for the recipe because her boyfriend loved it so much. I will definitely add this to my list of favorites!
ReplyDeleteI made this mac & cheese today and my boys and I just loved it! My middle son said it was the best I ever made, that I out did myself, lol, My youngest who only eats the blue box actually said it was pretty good and ate it all up!!! Thank you so much for the recipe, I am definitely adding this to my rotation of recipes....The hubby might not even get to have any since the kids and I already ate so much....I added a tablespoon of dijon mustard because that is how I always make my own, and instead of milk used light cream....But otherwise you have a great recipe Mandy! Love you Blog by the way...
ReplyDeleteI don't know why its say amp;amp; I didnt write that,lol
DeleteGlad y'all liked it! Those pesky internet bugs throw the "amps" in there when you use the "and" symbol sometimes. Thanks for your comment - you made my day!
DeleteHave you ever wondered how Kraft Macaroni & Cheese gets its electric orange-yellow glow? Let us introduce you to Yellow Dye #5 and Yellow Dye #6, two potentially harmful chemicals used in the North American versions of Kraft’s macaroni products.
ReplyDeleteAlso known as Tartrazine and Sunset Yellow respectively, both yellow dyes are man-made chemicals derived from petroleum, a crude oil. These yellow dyes already been banned in countries like Norway and Austria and are linked to a host of disturbing side-effects like asthma, eczema and migraines, in addition to hyperactivity and learning impairments in children. The Center for Science in the Public Interest reports that both dyes are also “contaminated with known carcinogens.”
heard this on my radio station last week...SO glad I only make the homemade kind -- and can't WAIT to try this one!
DeleteNo wonder my daughter likes box mac and cheese, shes not supposed to have food with those dye's.
DeleteMy kids love the box stuff as well. However, I now 'cream' the noodles by slightly overmilking it and letting the milk slowly simmer longer to 'thicken' a bit and they seem to like it even more. At least I do. But I've noticed now that my daughter has kids of her own she loves it when I make the homemade stuff once in awhile. But she says to her it's like two completely different sides.
ReplyDeleteHi, I made this mac and cheese today and it was delicious but I have a question. Do you measure your cheese by the actual cup or do you go by ounces. I've seen before that 4 oz. will yield 1 cup but my 8 oz. block of cheese yielded a loose 3 cups. I doubled the recipe so I ended up using 3 8oz blocks in the casserole and another 8oz on top. Like I said, it was delicious but didn't know how creamy it was supposed to be. Am I using too much cheese?
ReplyDeleteThis recipe is by actual cups but I manage to get 4 cups out of 16 ounces of cheese that I shred. I posted the recipe this way because SO many people don't shred their own cheese and I didn't want to confuse anyone but... seems like I managed to do that anyway! Ha! I'm so glad you asked, though, because I should make a note about ounces here, which I think I'll go do now :)
DeleteThank you so much. I'm about to make this for Easter dinner, I know my family will love it. Happy Easter!
DeleteI always use Velveeta but will try this. We put hamburger and sometimes pepperoni in ours and sometimes biscuits on top like a casserole. It is like left over night and I put everything in. I never made it plain for myself. Will have to try it.
DeleteI don't think "too much cheese" exists. :-)
Delete🧀 🧀 🧀 chefs and cooks don't need to stint on this wonderful ingredient, yum!
DeleteSO delicious! Made this tonight and I loved the ease of the custard instead of a béchamel sauce….(béchamel and I are not always friends!)
ReplyDeleteI always add a topping to mine that I find is a nice touch….four slices of bacon, chopped, then cooked crispy…drain off most of the bacon grease...add a finely chopped onion to pan...and a few minced garlic cloves…a couple of tablespoons of fresh thyme….let the flavours blend a bit…sprinkle onto bubbling mac and cheese when it is fresh out of the oven.
Thank you for a great recipe!!!!
OMG I AM SO happy to find this!! This is what Mac and Cheese is supposed to look like!!! Thank you for posting this I can't wait to make it!!!This looks like my MOM'S
ReplyDeleteOh my! So Good. My search is over!! I took some Panko bread crumbs and some melted butter and tossed it with the cheese for the top......Crispy/Cheesy YUMMMM!
ReplyDeleteLove the sound of this and will definitely be trying it. Always make mine with a cheese béchamel and had no idea you could make it like you do. I often put layers of shredded ham in it and serve it as an easy lunch or with a salad for a bit more of a meal.
ReplyDeleteNiki. Looking in from New Zealand. :)
I think you could put sour cream on a flip flop and it would taste good. I LOVE it! And I can't WAIT to put it in your macaroni recipe I'm making tomorrow! I may not want to share... :-)
ReplyDeleteFor the record, NOT all of us Canadians will eat (much less prefer!) Kraft Dinner and in fact I can't recall the last box I ever bought. Homemade takes 15 minutes to prep, 45 to bake, and no one will mind if an extra handful (or 2...*ahem*) of extra-old cheddar makes its way into that delish concoction! Your recipe looks absolutely scrumptious...I will try it next time in lieu of the traditional bechamel. :)
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to try this. Been looking for a good mac n cheese recipe that does not use dry mustard powder. I absolutely hate the taste of that stuff.
ReplyDeleteThe intro to this recipe said it had Cottage Cheese in it.. but the recipe doesn't say anything about cottage cheese. Whats up with that.. is there or isn't there any in the recipe. I can't wait to try this so hope someone gets back to me soon.
ReplyDeleteNope, it doesn't say that.
DeleteI see what you are referring to. Allfreecasserolerecipes' intro does say cottage cheese and then links to South Your Mouth's actual recipe page. Very confusing. http://www.allfreecasserolerecipes.com/Side-Dish-Casserole-Recipes/Sinfully-Sinful-Baked-Macaroni-and-Cheese/
DeleteSo I haven't tried making homemade Mac N Cheese in 11 years. After my first try ( living on my own for the first time about to be married) Failed. 11 years later and my poor family as only ever got the box. Well I came across your site today, and I just popped the Mac N Cheese into the oven to go with the country fried steak my son has been begging me for since I had my baby. Wish me luck!!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy that so many liked it, but it wasn't for me. While I frequently use sour cream in casseroles, it seemed to overwhelm the m&c, rather than complement it. Sorry!
ReplyDeleteHmmm, looks like my first comment disappeared...I've been trying to find the giant elbow macaroni that your referred to, like they have on the whole foods hot bar. Have you been able to find the product anywhere?
ReplyDeletedo you have to use evaporated milk? can you use regular milk
ReplyDeleteHi Terry, the recipe calls for whole or evaporated milk :)
DeleteWhat kind of cheese do you use?
ReplyDeleteLike what brand? I don't have a favorite. I just ALWAYS buy a whole block and shred it myself.
DeleteOh no, I meant like sharp cheddar or mild cheddar or a blend of different cheeses? Also, if I half the recipe would that change the cooking time?
DeleteAlso, should the butter be salted or unsalted?
DeleteOh! I use mild cheddar usually. I'd bake about 10 minutes less... You just want to cook until bubbly and slightly browned.
DeleteI only cook with salted butter ;)
DeleteI made this on Easter 2019 and OMG it is the best Homemade Mac & Cheese, Ever! ;) The only thing I changed was I added the Kraft Cheddar& gouda. Yummy!!! :)
ReplyDeleteThis was amazing. I should have doubled the recipe as 1 cup of pasta did not make enough!!!!
ReplyDeleteI have made this recipe several times and love it every time! Thank you, awesome recipe, family favorite!!
ReplyDeleteWe are in LOVE with this recipe, it's in the regular rotation for us, always with a side of collard greens, cabbage or green beans with bacon, and some fried okra. I ended up cutting out the salts (the salted pasta and the cheese added enough salt for our taste) and changed the ingredient measurements to increase protein & reduce fat, so an extra egg, half the butter & sour cream (we often sub cottage cheese instead for more cheesiness!), 3x the milk, and only 8 oz cheddar, but still just as good! I'll even bake it at 400 to reduce cooking time to 20-25 min and get extra crispy edges - it's just crazy flexible and adaptable to what you have on hand/what you're baking alongside it. Can't recommend this recipe highly enough!
ReplyDeleteI usually use unflavored greek yogurt in place of sour cream. Do you think it would work in this recipe? Gonna try this! Thanks!
ReplyDelete