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.
HUNGRY FOR MORE? Subscribe to my Newsletter and come hang out with me on INSTAGRAM, or give me a follow on FACEBOOK or see what I’m pinning on PINTEREST.
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.
Best mac n cheese ever! Every bit is better and better. Thank you saving this for lots of future meals
Aww, thanks so much Dawn! I'm glad you liked it, it's definitely a keeper.
Made this for Thanksgiving and it was a hit! Would absolutely make again!
This was delicious!! I loved that this recipe was more firm. Some Mac and cheese recipes are not as cheesy and can be liquidy. This one is totally cheesy and delicious, and firm enough. I did get just a bit of velveeta chunks in mine, but worse things have happened to me lol. I had a total of four people to feed (using this dish as a side), so I halved the recipe, and still had just a bit of leftovers (can’t wait.) totally worth making!!
Can you use half & half instead of evaporated milk ?
I have never tried that and have only made this recipe as written. It seems like a reasonable substitution but I can’t say for sure.
Oh my this looks just like my mom’s macaroni! She’s no longer with us, and her recipe I haven’t been able to replicate. I can’t wait to try this for new year’s dinner!
Absolutely delicious
This is the best macaroni and cheese recipe I have ever made. It's divine.
Aww, thank you.
I am allergic to the chemicals in Velveta cheese so I substituted cream cheese for the same texture. It was excellent and yes there is a substitute for the Velveta.
Nice, happy to hear that worked for you. If you can tolerate American cheese, that would be a good substitute for Velveeta.
@Cathy Galloway,
Made this for Thanksgiving this year. It was so good and my family loved it.
I doubled this recipe and it came out delicious!!! We are halfway threw eating the dish and my 6 year old wants me to make it again. He said he doesn’t want it to run out. Thanks for a great recipe 😊
So cute, your son knows a good thing! Glad you all liked it.
When you doubled it, did you double everything else ? @Kaycooks,
Hi, Tyra. You can double the recipe ingredients but I would only use 1 more egg.
Can I make this, put in fridge in the morning, then bake it tomorrow?
I wouldn't, the macaroni might soak up too much of the liquid.
I searched for a really good mac & cheese recipe for Thanksgiving dinner and ended up trying this recipe and another one. Let me tell you, hands down, this one is the winner!!! It's everything that southern style mac & cheese should be & everyone loved it! I'm sticking with this recipe from here on out! Thanks!
Wow, what a compliment. Thank you so much for letting me know! I love this recipe.
I made this last night and it was AMAZING!!!! My only mistakes were i ended up using a little more than the suggested amount of sharp cheddar AND my store only had medium cheddar left so i couldnt use mild cheddar which caused the taste to almost be just a little too cheesy but even then it was delicious. I can only imagine how much better it would have been had i followed instructions to a T. Thank you for this, it was my first time cooking thanksgiving on my own since my mother passed and now my house thinks I’m a chef❤️.
Awesome!
I cannot rave about this recipe enough! I have tried several recipes similar to this one, and they were alright, but I've still been searching for the perfect recipe. I am all about a hearty, curdy southern style mac and cheese. I followed this recipe exactly (except for the bit of garlic powder I did add) and holy cow, it is just amazing! You hit it out the park with this one. Thanks so much for sharing, I have finally found THE recipe!
This makes me happy, thank you for letting me know!
Excellent. Also added some garlic powder. Next time though I may skip the salt. Not that it was salty but I think dish does not need it. I used 10 oz of the pasta.