Southern Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Creamy baked southern-style macaroni and cheese, a cheesy baked casserole and soul food classic.
I've lived in St. Louis for some time now, and as I've said before, it's very "southern" here in terms of cooking. One of our favorite soul food restaurants had the best mac and cheese, and that would be Sweetie Pie's. Miss Robie's recipe is easily found on the web and the local paper has published a paired down recipe for the home cook.
I'm pretty sure the location we went to in The Grove neighborhood has closed and I don't understand all the drama surrounding the closing. It was the subject of a reality TV show at one point. I just know we went often and always, always had her macaroni and cheese.
What is southern macaroni and cheese?
It's basically a custard-style baked macaroni and cheese with eggs and evaporated milk. This version uses three kinds of cheese and butter and a little sour cream. It bakes up creamy but firm, hearty and filling and absolutely delicious.
How to make this soul food classic
It's really easy, here's how:
- Cook and drain elbow macaroni and place in baking dish or pan.
- Make the custard mixture by whisking together milk, evaporated milk and eggs and some seasoning, pour mixture over macaroni.
- Add the butter, sour cream and three cheeses and stir to combine well.
- Top with more grated cheese and bake until bubbly and top is browned.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- People swear by Velveeta in this recipe, do not use a substitute. Miss Robie herself uses only Velveeta.
- While pre-packaged shredded cheese works fine, grating your own is the better option. It just melts better.
- It's going to be oily on top after baking, that's how it is with real cheeses and butter. If you think it's excessive, blot some up with a paper towel while it rests. I do sometimes.
- Reheats are great, just pop in the microwave.
- This is filling and hearty enough to serve as the main dish but most often it is a side dish. It's unbelievably good alongside collard greens and fried chicken!
Delicious soulful macaroni and cheese, doesn't get any better than this. A real treat and labor of love for Sunday supper and the holiday table. Trust me on this one! Kelly🍴🐦
Try these collard greens in the Instant Pot for some more traditional soul food.
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Southern Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 8 to 10 ounces elbow macaroni
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1½ teaspoons white pepper
- 1½ teaspoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, cut into small pieces
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- ½ pound Velveeta, cut into small chunks
- 8 ounces shredded Colby-Jack cheese or 4 ounces Colby and 4 ounces Monterey Jack
- 4 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º. Bring large pot of water to boil and then salt generously. Cook macaroni just shy of package directions, al dente. Drain well and place in 9" by 13" baking dish or pan.
- In same pasta pot, whisk together whole milk, evaporated milk, eggs, salt, pepper and sugar until combined. Pour mixture over cooked macaroni in pan.
- Add butter, sour cream, Velveeta, Colby-Jack and sharp cheddar cheeses. Stir to combine well and top evenly with shredded mild cheddar.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned on top. Let rest 10 minutes or so before serving. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- People swear by Velveeta in this recipe, do not use a substitute. Miss Robie herself uses only Velveeta.
- While pre-packaged shredded cheese works fine, grating your own is the better option. It just melts better.
- It’s going to be oily on top after baking, that’s how it is with real cheeses and butter. If you think it’s excessive, blot some up with a paper towel while it rests. I do sometimes.
- Reheats are great, just pop in the microwave.
- This is filling and hearty enough to serve as the main dish but most often it is a side dish. It’s unbelievably good alongside collard greens and fried chicken!
Nutrition
*Inspired by Sweetie Pie's, St. Louis and adapted from STL Post-Dispatch.
Are there any substitutes for white pepper? Thank you!
You could just use black pepper or even ground ginger or dry mustard. And I would use less if substituting, maybe just a teaspoon.
Why is there no temperature listed on the named mac and cheese. Just says place in the oven for 35-40 minutes
350° as stated in step 1 of the recipe instructions.
it would be 10 times better if there was a video showing how to do it.
I want to make this tonight and reheat tomorrow. How do the leftovers reheat?
Reheats are good!!
Hi im making this tomorrow i never used white pepper before should I do only 1/2 instead of 1 1/2 you call for I dont wanna ruin it though so please let me know and in definitely gonna melt the velveeta in with the two milks is yhat okay as well so its not chunks ?! help pleasee.
You can definitely add less white pepper if you’re not sure you’ll like it. I’ve never melted the Velveeta with the milk so I’m not sure how that would work.
Can you prep this the night before and cook it in the AM?
I wouldn't because the macaroni might absorb too much of the liquid. You could shred the cheese the night before and then it's really just boiling the noodles and assembling the casserole.
Really tasty! So easy & quick to throw together and delicious
This mac and cheese recipe is on point! My kids loved it!
Can you double this recipe and put it in a deeper pan?
I'm sure you can, they make it in huge pans in the restaurant.
@Kelly, thabk you for this recipe! if you double the ingredients, what do you think the new bake time would be?
I think 40 to 50 minutes, look for bubbly and brown.
Can this be assembled and cooked the next day or will the custard separate? Should the casserole be baked half-way and then cooked the rest of the way the next day? I need to make it the night before a funeral. My church serves a bereavement meal to the family before the funeral. Thanks.
I've never assembled it ahead of time, so I'm not sure. You could cook the macaroni and prep the other ingredients and store it all separately in the refrigerator. Should be quick to assemble in the morning and then bake.
@Kelly,
Good call. I'm planning on making this for tomorrow and was going to get it all together tonight, then bake in the morning. I'm going to do what you suggested to get it all prepped separately. I bet the noodles would get soggy if mixed together and not baked right away
@Ruth,
Did you try to make a day ahead? Did it turn out? I’m thinking about prepping the night before and cooking next day....
@Meri, hi, I made it the day before for thanksgiving and put the whole thing back in the oven for 20-30min the day of the reheat. It was great!
@Kelly, I assembled everything yesterday and cooked today. Everything was perfect. I cooked the noodles so they were still not quite al dente.
@JASON M HINMAN, hi there, I’m making this for tomorrow. So you cooked the noodles til they were not quite Al dente and mixed all the other ingredients in with the noodles the day before you cooked it?
Hi Jason. I don't make it the day before but other readers have and it's been fine. So, yes, you would assemble it through step 3 and then bake it the next day per instructions.
So light, fluffy and delicious. Very easy to make.
I'm so glad you liked it!
Everyone loved this!! The only thing I might change is the white pepper, gives it a hint of smokiness, maybe just a little less butter, I also had to bake a little longer but that’s because I used my Pyrex which was deeper and shorter, very filling and very delicious!!! I will definitely make this again 😉
It was delicious. My son didn't like biting into the Velveeta, so I plan to melt it and down into the 2 types of milk next time.
@Melissa Angus, oh that’s a perfect idea
@Melissa Angus, it should have melted and blended when baking… I don’t understand how there were “pieces” of velveta
Delicious! My family are all mac and cheese snobs. It’s definitely heavy bit sooo good!
Thanks for letting me know your mac and cheese experts liked it! It's a special indulgence around here, rich but so good!
Nuthin' better than homemade mac and cheese!