Southern Baked Mac & Cheese

Baked macaroni and cheese is a quintessential southern side dish. Although the dish has European roots, the version Americans are familiar with today can be attributed to James Hemings, President Thomas Jefferson's highly skilled enslaved chef. Hemings learned of the dish during his travels to Europe with Jefferson and produced the cheesy, savory side we all know and love. Word of the dish spread like wildfire and the cooking technique was passed orally through the enslaved community, creating a staple for the African-American and southern dinner table.

Millie Peartree's baked mac & cheese is famous for a reason! Here are five major takeaways to help you nail it:

1. Make sure your pasta is super al dente. Boil it for too long and your baked macaroni will be mushy. Drain under cool water to stop noodles from cooking any further.
2. Layer it like a lasagna! Millie puts an entire layer of pure cheese in between two layers of (already cheesy) macaroni. Game. Changer.
3. Make a custard. Don't skip the eggs! Whisking together eggs and milk and pouring it over the mac & cheese will make it extra creamy, saucy, and decadent. Feel free to use cream, half and half, or evaporated milk for even creamier mac, depending on how rich you want your mac and cheese to be.
4. But don't scramble it. Getting your noodles cool to the touch will also ensure that the beaten eggs don't turn into scrambled eggs when you add your custard to the noodles.  
5. Make it your own.  If you don’t like sharp cheese please feel free to use mild or any other cheese you like. Use whatever noodles you have on hand or go with a fun new pasta shape. 
6. Let it cool! Allowing the mac and cheese time to cool will help the custard set

Save your future self some time and prep this macaroni ahead. Once it's done baking, allow it to cool to room temperature and wrap the entire pan tightly in plastic wrap and a layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Reheat at 350° until heated through. Baked mac and cheese will keep in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for up to 5 days.  

Baked mac and cheese will always steal the show but there are a few mains that are worthy enough to grace the same table like this oven-baked bbq chicken or a juicy rib-eye steak. Can't get enough of Millie Peartree's recipes? We've got 'em all right here.

Have you made this yet? Let us know how it went in the comments below!

Editor's Note: The introduction to this recipe was updated on May 5, 2022, to include more information about the dish