From-Scratch Cast-Iron Mac ‘n Cheese

Whether you are an adult or a child, I believe this from-scratch cast-iron mac ‘n cheese should be on your menu at least once or twice a month. It’s filled with wholesome ingredients and if you are using the boxed stuff, you’ll never go back to it, I promise.

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Ingredients

Pasta

• 16 oz elbow macaroni or cavatappi (my favorite pasta)
• 2 teaspoons salt, for pasta water

Creamy cheese sauce

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 1/2 tablespoons flour (if using all-purpose flour, use 3 tbsp)
• 2 cups whole milk (room temperature)
• 1 cup heavy cream (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon Dijon or ground mustard
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced (or you can use 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
• 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg (use powder or grind part of the whole nut)
• Salt & pepper, to taste

Cheese — freshly shredded

• 8 oz sharp yellow cheddar
• 8 oz white cheddar

For the topping (optional)

• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 4 tablespoons melted butter or olive oil
• 1 cup breadcrumbs

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Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil, add the salt and then drop the pasta into the pan. Cook according to the directions on the package but just 1–2 minutes shy of al dente. Drain—don’t rinse.
2. Make the roux: Melt the butter in your 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1–2 minutes. It should be pasty.
3. Add the dairy: Slowly whisk in the milk and cream. Cook, whisking frequently, for 5–7 minutes, until slightly thickened. It will be creamy.
4. Add the Dijon/mustard, garlic, nutmeg, pepper and salt.
5. Turn off the heat and gradually stir in the cheeses until completely melted and smooth.
6. Now, stir in the cooked pasta.
7. Top with additional Parmesan cheese. If using breadcrumbs, toss them with melted butter and sprinkle over the top.
8. Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes, until bubbling and golden.
9. For a more deeply browned top, turn the oven to the broil setting for 1–2 minutes at the end.

Tips

• Use whatever cheese you have on hand. You want ones that melt really creamy like Cheddar, Gruyère, Pepper Jack or Fontina cheese. Grate the cheese with a box grater. Bagged cheese has caking agents in them and for one, they are not good for us and for two, they won’t melt as well. Sometimes, your cheese sauce can become grainy as a result of bagged cheese.
• If using all-purpose flour, back the flour for the roux down to 3 tablespoons.
• Try making your own bread crumbs. You can buy store bought but the homemade are so much better.

What is a Roux?

A roux is one of the simplest and most useful cooking techniques—especially for macaroni and cheese. It’s simply fat + flour cooked together to create a thickening base.

The basic roux

The ratio for this recipe:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 1/2 tablespoons or fresh-milled flour (3 tbps if using all-purpose flour)

This makes enough roux to thicken roughly 2 cups of liquid.

How to make it:

1. Melt the butter
   Put the butter in a saucepan over medium-low to medium heat.
2. Add the flour
   Sprinkle the flour into the melted butter.
3. Whisk together
   Whisk constantly until the flour is completely incorporated and you have a smooth, paste-like mixture.
4. Cook it
   Cook for about 1–2 minutes, whisking. This removes the raw flour taste. For a white or cream sauce, you don’t want the roux to brown.
5. Add your liquid slowly
   Gradually whisk in the milk and cream. Add a little at a time at first, whisking until smooth before adding more.
6. Let it thicken
   Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer while whisking. It will gradually become creamy and thick.

That’s it. Such a simple way to make a nice creamy cheese sauce.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This from-scratch cast iron mac ‘n cheese is perfect just in a bowl or as a side to one of your favorite meals. With a blend of the right cheeses and wholesome milk, it makes the creamiest mac ‘n cheese I’ve ever had. The added fresh-milled flour sourdough breadcrumbs just puts a little crunchy bonus on the top. It’s even goo the 2nd and 3rd day.

Make Homemade Bread Crumbs

Homemade breadcrumbs are so much better than store-bought, especially if you have homemade or fresh-milled bread. They had a wonderful nutty like crunch to the top of this from-scratch cast iron mac ‘n cheese.

What you’ll need:

• Homemade bread — any kind, though sourdough or sandwich bread works beautifully
• Olive oil or melted butter
• Optional seasonings: salt, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, parsley, Parmesan. For this recipe, I’m using Parmesan cheese and butter.

1. Cut the bread into cubes. (I used a 1/2 loaf of fresh-milled flour sourdough bread that I had in the freezer.)

    Use about 4–6 slices of bread.

1. Dry the bread
   • Put the bread into a food processor and pulse until you reach the texture you like. It should resemble bread crumbs like you buy in the store.
   • Toss them in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of olive oil or butter, add a pinch of salt and mix thoroughly.
   • Spread on a parchment lined baking sheet.
   • Bake at 325°F for 15 minutes.
   • You want them completely dry and crisp, but not deeply browned.
2. Cool completely.

• Fine: sauces, meatballs, breading
• Medium: casseroles and meatloaf
• Coarse: crunchy toppings

How to Store Leftovers

Mac ‘n Cheese will store well in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. I don’t usually have leftovers but if I do, I just place the amount I’m needing in an oven proof dish. Add 1-2 tablespoons of heavy cream – pour on top of the pasta. Heat in the oven at 350°F for 10 minutes. It will come out nice and bubbly with that crunchy topping. Feel free to add more cheese for extra goodness.

Tools Used in This Recipe

Stainless Steel Baking Sheet

Parchment Paper

Cast Iron Skillet – super light weight ( and how cute is the wagon on the back of the skillet!)

Cavatappi Pasta

Food Processor – very compact (comes with a glass and stainless steel bowl)

I hope you enjoy making this recipe for you and your family all year long.  Please share this post over on Pinterest and tag me on Instagram.

Wendy Lea Walker, NTP

Nutritional Therapy Practitioner

I’m Wendy. A wife, empty-nester mama, homemaker, homebaker, gardener and small-time farmer. I love sharing wisdom and knowledge I’ve learned along the way. Anyone can garden or homestead, no matter where you live. It’s a mindset. You just have to start somewhere. I believe food is medicine. Feed the body real whole foods and healing will begin. I’m an advocate for eating real food and enjoy sharing all my fresh-milled flour recipes. I’ve learned to slow down over the years from all the noise that came with life and enjoy creating a simple cottage home.