On our recent trip everyone fell in love with Panera’s Mac and Cheese! Unfortunately, we don’t have Panera in our city! Yet fortunately, that created a recipe development opportunity. This is unbelievably creamy, decadent and delicious!! Total win of a recipe and tastes exactly like Panera! This is by our our favourite Mac and Cheese recipe going forward!
Panera Mac and Cheese
Servings
4
servingsPrep time
30
minutesCooking time
40
minutesCalories
300
kcalIngredients
1 lb medium shells pasta
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
8-11 oz sharp white cheddar, shredded
8 American cheese slices (ideally white, but regular ones will do)
1/2 tsp ground dry mustard
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp pepper
Directions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta noodles and cook until al dente. Do not overcook. Drain the pasta once ready.
- Melt butter in a medium pan over medium-high heat. Add flour and cook for about a minute, stirring into a paste. While whisking, slowly pour in milk and cream, a little at a time. Stir the mixture into a thick paste then into homogenous liquid. Add dry mustard, hot sauce, kosher salt and ground pepper. Bring to a boil (that will take about 4 minutes,) stirring constantly. Then, once boiled, cook for about 4 minutes until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, likely another 4 minutes.
- Reduce hat to low and add cheeses a little at a time, while stirring. Remove from heat and stir in the cooked pasta. Serve and enjoy!
