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.
My box of macaroni is 16 ounces. The recipe calls for only 8-10. Can I use my box or will it be too much?
Hi Debra. I would either use half the box and follow the recipe, or use all 16 ounces and double the recipe, just one more egg though. Hope that helps.
I am making this for approximately 15 people. I was going to use two of the 16 ounce boxes Of elbow noodles, does that sound like too many and if so, do I double it if I use two boxes of 16 ounce noodles or do I need to double it just by using one box of 16 ounce noodles☺️
Hi Selina. For each 16 ounce box, double the recipe but only use one more egg. I would then make each in two pans and it may need to bake a little longer. Hope that helps.
Does it matter if the butter is salted?
Hi Lisa, not really, that's up to you and how salty your butter is. I've used salted butter before with no issues.
@Lisa, yes , because if you use salted butter, salted boiling water for pasta , and any extra seasonings , it can be really salty!
Do you melt the cheese before mixing into the pasta ? Or just shred and mix
No, just shred and mix in.
@Laurisa Raimondo, You can just mix it in or you can heat it on the stove top with the evaporated milk and flour to make a cheese roux as well as putting shredded cheese in
Can I prepare it the night before and bake the day of? Or will the noodles be too soggy?
You can make it the night before and then bake the next day. The noodles will absorb some of the liquid though but I don't think they'll be soggy.
Do you shredd all of the cheese excpet velveeta? The picture looks like all 3 cheeses are cubed.
Yes, all the cheese is shredded except the Velveeta (and the butter, which is what you see in the photo).
Mine turned out a little dry, I'm sure something I did wrong. If I wanted to increase the milk somewhat, how much more would you recommend? Other than that it was amazing!!!
I’m making this with 2 boxes of 16 oz macaroni do I quadruple everything?
That's a lot! Are you making two big pans? I would double the recipe for each 16 oz package but just add one more egg. You may need to bake a little longer, 10 minutes or so.
Does it make a difference if I do not use sour cream? Someone in my family doesn’t eat/like sour cream. Can I just omit it without messing up the dish?
I haven't ever omitted the sour cream, I'm not sure how big of a difference it would make.
@AJ, you don’t taste the sour cream at all
@AJ, the sour cream is for texture really, its not too much i proimise they wouldn't know . I am the same with mustard but i always squeeze a drop or 2 in my mac and cheese
Do you rinse the starch from the macaroni while draining the water it cooked in as well?
Nope, just drain well and do not rinse.
Looks amazing! You said use 8 oz of macaroni, so half a box?
Hi Stacey. Yep, about half a box, I usually use closer to 10 ounces.
@Kelly Wildenhaus, Thanks! So if I want to use a 16oz box I just double everything? 🙂
Yes, but just one more egg.
@Stacey, I was wondering the exact same thing.
@Stacey, I double everything except only use 3 eggs
What is Velveeta? Is there any substitute that comes close to it?
Hi Diane. It is a processed cheese that comes in a block and is not refrigerated in the stores (shelf stable). You can use yellow American cheese instead, that would be the best substitute for Velveeta. I recommend you get it from the grocery deli and cube it up or tear it into pieces yourself.
Use half gouda and half havarti to get the similar consistency of Velveeta. I can't bring myself to eat american cheese either so had to find a natural non processed substitute so if you want a healthy non chemical based alternative that works for me and the tare is amazing. That is the only substitute I use in this recipe though everything else and measurements are the same
The best Mac and cheese recipe I have found
Can’t wait to dig in!! I used the cheese I had on hand: truffle cheddar, smoked cheddar and Gruyère which I hand grated and I topped it with 1lb of Colby jack pre shredded in a bag. The top looks amazing… it melted and browned nicely.
I added 1/4 tsp Tabasco, 1Tsp dried mustard mixed with some water to form a paste and some garlic powder to the custard mixture. I went heavy on the sour cream as well. I also used 2% milk but kept it a bit shy of the 1cup mark so the dish wouldn’t get watery. I added a 1/4 c of grated parm as well.
I also used a baking dish larger than 9x13 and it got pretty full. Next time I may mix everything together in a mixing before I dump it into the dish.
Trying this recipe for one our sides for dinner tonight, I was curious do you cover the mac and cheese with aluminum before placing it in the oven or do you just pop it in? Thank you in advance!
No, I leave it uncovered.