Source: What’s Gaby Cooking

Snapshot Review

My Rating:

My Husband’s Rating:

Will I make again?:  Yes!

Recipe Difficulty:  Simple!

Time Involved: Takes a little time, but worth it!

Occasion: Anytime Mac and Cheese is in order!

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My Thoughts on this Recipe

This Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese is the Mac and Cheese of my dreams! What’s Gaby Cooking has knocked this one out of the park! It is basically like the best fondue you’ve ever eaten with macaroni in it. It is sooooo cheesy, and that could be because it has a whopping 6 cups of cheese in it, and I am in full support of this decision! You MUST try this one if you love Mac and Cheese!

Ingredients

The main ingredients are: macaroni or cavatappi noodles, milk, flour, butter, Gruyère cheese, Cheddar cheese, fresh thyme, nutmeg and panko bread crumbs. View the full recipe here.

Recommendations

The directions for this recipe are very clear and easy-to-follow. I thought it was interesting how she has you heat the milk before you add it to the roux; I have never seen that before in a Mac and Cheese recipe, and I do think it helped speed up the process. That said, it took several minutes for my sauce to thicken after adding the hot milk, so it might take longer than the two minutes specified. I also had to raise the heat to “medium,” but I did not let it boil.

For the Gruyère, I used the grated Swiss/Gruyère mixture from Trader Joe’s, and I will do that again.

The fresh Thyme in this adds the BEST flavor. I would have never thought of it, and you really must add it. Please do not skip it or use dried thyme as it will not be the same.

I think my Panko mixture could have used just a little more butter. Next time I might try 2.5 tablespoons instead of 2.

After my Mac and Cheese was done, I put it in the broiler to toast the bread crumbs a bit more, and I would do that again.

Future Ideas/Variations

In her post, she outlines all sorts of ingredients you could try adding to the Mac and Cheese like pancetta, pesto, caramelized onions, broccoli and more! Then she goes through all sorts of cheeses you could use, but I wouldn’t change a single thing about this if it were me!

Final thoughts

My husband was in love with this recipe and immediately said, “this is five stars!” and you know he doesn’t say that often. You really have to try this one! Make it for your next family gathering!