I came up with this recipe for a biscuit and hash brown breakfast casserole since I had everything I needed to make a fantastic meal but didn’t want to cook it all separately. They ended up in a casserole dish after I threw them in. This is by far my favorite breakfast dish ever. It’s fantastic to eat “breakfast for dinner.”
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce) package elbow macaroni
- ½ cup butter
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ground black pepper to taste
- 2 cups milk
- 1 ½ cups shredded white Cheddar cheese
- 4 slices day-old bread, torn into small pieces
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain and reserve.
- In a large sauce pan, melt 4 tablespoons butter or margarine over medium heat. Add flour and some ground black pepper to taste; stirring until paste-like consistency. Add milk to mixture and stir continually until mixture starts to thicken; slowly stir in cheese 1 cup at a time until all cheese is melted.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Pour cheese mixture over macaroni. Mix well and pour into a lightly greased 9×13 inch baking dish. Place bread pieces on top of macaroni mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste. Melt 4 tablespoons butter or margarine and pour over bread. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 655 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 72 g |
| Cholesterol | 83 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 23 g |
| Saturated Fat | 18 g |
| Sodium | 474 mg |
| Sugars | 7 g |
| Fat | 30 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I took others advice and I added more cheese probably 2 1/2 cups, I also used Italian seasoned bread crumbs and poured the melted butter over that. This was tasty! Hubby loved it!
So good. It’s rare that every one in the family agrees on a dish but this recipe is a winner!
This is really good! Only suggestion is to poke down bread cubits with finger after removing from oven. Let rest for 10 mins.
I made it initially by following the recipe to the letter. VERY bland. I made it last night for the second time & ramped it up considerably – threw in 1/2 cup chopped onion, dash of Tabasco, cayenne pepper, garlic pepper, leftover ham & topped it with crushed Caesar croutons & paprika. A definite improvement!
First time I ever made mac and cheese. It was very good as a treat. I won’t make it too often. This is a comfort food and is nice for a treat once in a while.
Only change was tha I doubled the cheese. My husband and I loved it! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I made it exactly to the recipe, grating tbe sharp cheddar cheese myself. This was the second time I’ve made it. I would prefer it a bit more creamy but it’s still yummy! The toasted bread on top is a nice touch.
I had to add an additional 2T of flour to make the roux even slightly thick. This is tasty, but dry. The crumbs with melted butter made the topping deliciously crispy without being hard. I’ll probably make this again, but double the sauce and/or cover the pan for the majority of baking time.
Used this recipe turned really good. I did use bacon in mine turned out really good!
Great recipe. I especially appreciate that there’s no “processed cheese food” in it. I did end up using about 8oz of fresh grated muenster (came to about 1 maybe 1 1/2 cups) and another 3 oz of fresh grated sharp white cheddar. So maybe a total of about 2 cups of cheese. It tasted great and the cheese melted really well. I do wish I’d taken one of the other reviewers advice and cooked the roux w/ milk a little longer because I do think it was a touch floury but it was very subtle.
I liked this recipe & it has become my ‘base’ recipe. I’ve added whole grain mustard to taste, dry sherry, & 1 lb of grated cheese….to satisfy my teen’s “I want more cheesey taste.” Thank-you Tim!
This was so easy to prepare and a big hit with the family. I did tweak it a bit after reading reviews. I used mozzarella cheese instead of cheddar, added parmesan cheese, and used ritz cracker crumb topping in place of bread. Will definitely be making this again.
This went together quickly and tasted good. Be sure to cook the butter/flour mixture (roux) for at least one minute to cook away the floury taste. A whisk works better here, and when adding the milk and cheese, than a spoon. I used at least twice as much cheese as called for, and used extra sharp cheese for a great cheesy taste. To compensate for the extra cheese, I should have added 1/2 cup more milk to make the final dish creamier. On top, I mixed some more grated cheddar with the buttered crumbs and this was probably the best part of the dish. Thanks!
I added 3x the cheese as well and also added some garlic power because I found it too powdery and like the box mac n’ cheese. I also added dry Italian flavored bread crumbs for more pizazz! This recipe turned out quite nice after I made those alterations.
Wow. This is amazing. I followed a reviewer’s tip and used Ritz crackers as the topping and it came out delightfully.
Followed recipe exactly, (except for crushed Ritz crackers as topping). I’ve been looking for ‘the best’ recipe for mac & cheese and finally found it – this one is the best! The only negative thing is IT IS RICH!! – watch out how much you eat..
I took the advice and doubled the cheese. THe mac n chz is missing something tho. I would recommend using some brocolli or tuna next time.
yum! what a crowd pleaser. my kids loved this mac and cheese dish. perhaps next time I’ll use whole wheat pasta.
This was really good. I made it in a ramekin for one and it turned out excellent. I’m sure I’ll make it again, probably still in ramekins for individual servings. I did double the cheese as recommended by others and didn’t have any day old bread so I used the coarse homemade sourdough breadcrumbs I already had in the pantry.
i followed the recipe as is. My daughter didn’t like it. she said it tates like butter and there is no cheese. i had to add some salt to improve the flavor and will definitely change it next time for a stonger flavor cheese and less butter. all the suggestions about using cream and more cheese also make it more fatening and unhelathy.
my 1st attempt at mac & cheese and this was a great recipe. I used a bit more cheese than called for based on others’ suggestions. Maybe I’ll try adding some broccoli next time. Used torn baguette pieces for topping but the ritz crackers sounds like a good idea for another time. Thank you for the nice simple (and tasty) recipe! It’s a keeper!