This 5-Cheese Mac and Cheese is the perfect comfort food, loaded with five different cheeses in a dreamy creamy sauce.
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This Mac & Cheese is a bump up from your typical cheddar cheese version and it’s purposefully not baked in order to keep the sauce incredibly creamy and melty, just the way we love it.
Have you ever noticed that baking Mac & Cheese makes it grainy and dry? I don’t know why anyone bakes it, to be honest. Making it on the stove top is quicker and results in a much more creamy dish. If you are looking for something a little different try smoking your mac and cheese.
What Cheese to Use
For this 5-Cheese Mac & Cheese, I used
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (4 oz)
- 1/2 cup mascarpone (4 oz)
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (4 oz)
- 1/4 cup Asiago, shredded (2 oz)
- 1/4 cup Pecorino, shredded (2 oz)
This is a good mix of melting cheeses like cheddar and mascarpone, and really flavorful hard cheeses, like parmesan and asiago. You don’t have to stick with these cheeses, but I do love the flavor that this combination gives.
If you can’t find one of them, it’s okay to substitute other cheeses like provolone and Romano, or even American cheese, Velvetta, or mozzarella. Or you can make it just a 3-cheese variation and add more of one or two cheeses.
The rest of the ingredients are pretty straight forward.
- Penne pasta – We are using penne pasta for this recipe but you can use any shape of pasta you wish. Cooked according to the package directions.
- Butter
- Salt and black pepper
- Mustard powder – We use dry mustard powder in this recipe. It is a common ingredient in mac and cheese. If you don’t have any you can use regular yellow mustard or leave it out all together.
- Evaporated milk – Evaporated milk is just milk that’s been reduced to a smooth, slightly sweet consistency.
How to Make 5-Cheese Mac and Cheese
Cook the pasta al dente, according to package instructions. Drain and set back on the stove top over medium heat.
Add the butter, salt, pepper, mustard powder, and evaporated milk. Stir until butter is melted.
Add the cheeses in slowly, stirring until melted between additions, until all the cheese is fully melted. Serve immediately.
Tips for Making Perfect Mac & Cheese
For best results, serve right away. The Mac and Cheese will stiffen up if it sits too long before serving. To loosen, add additional milk and stir well over low heat.
You can substitute different types of cheese, if you want. Lots of hard and soft cheeses work well, like goat cheese, cream cheese, colby jack, gouda, and gruyere.
If you don’t have, or can’t find, evaporated milk, you can substitute half & half, whole milk or single cream.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best cheeses for mac and cheese?
In this recipe we use a mixture of hard flavorful cheeses and good melting cheeses for the perfect creamy, flavorful pasta. We like to use cheddar, Parmesan, Asiago, Pecorino and mascarpone. You could really substitute any of your favorites though. Try using provolone, Romano, mozzarella, or even Velvetta.
What kind of milk works best in mac and cheese?
We have found that evaporated milk makes a really creamy sauce. The evaporated milk subs in for a higher fat heavy cream in this dish. It’s basically just milk that’s been reduced to a smooth, slightly sweet consistency. When used in this recipe, it keeps its silkiness, while cream would become clumpy.
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5-Cheese Mac & Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried penne pasta cooked according to package 8 oz
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 teaspoon salt more to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk sub cream or half and half 4 oz
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded 4 oz
- 1/2 cup mascarpone 4 oz
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese 4 oz
- 1/4 cup Asiago shredded 2 oz
- 1/4 cup Pecorino shredded 2 oz
Instructions
- Cook the pasta al dente, according to package instructions. Drain and set back on the stove top over medium heat.
- Add the butter, salt, pepper, mustard powder, and evaporated milk. Stir until butter is melted.
- Add the cheeses in slowly, stirring until melted between additions, until all the cheese is fully melted. Serve immediately.
Notes
- For best results, serve right away. The Mac and Cheese will stiffen up if it sits too long before serving. To loosen, add additional milk and stir well over low heat.
- You can substitute different types of cheese, if you want. Lots of hard and soft cheeses work well, like goat cheese, cream cheese, colby jack, gouda, and gruyere.
- If you don’t have, or can’t find, evaporated milk, you can substitute half & half, whole milk or single cream.
Nutrition
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Laura is a home cook, with 25 years experience behind the stove, who spends an extraordinary amount of time in the kitchen cooking. She loves making new recipes and finding wonderful new things to eat, both at home or abroad. She spends a lot of time researching, crafting, and perfecting her recipes and currently has a cookbook in development.
This mac and cheese was SO cheesy and delicious!! Thank you!
We have friends coming over for a weekend BBQ and I was just saying I need to find a Mac & Cheese recipe. This looks delish!
I have everything I need for this dish, can’t wait to make it this weekend!
I bet my husband would fall in love with this 5-Cheese Mac and Cheese! He loves mac and cheese and (CHEESE everything) The more cheese, the better. Looks fab!!!
What a perfect blend of cheeses! And so easy too! Can’t wait to give this mac and cheese a try, it’s been too long since I made my own mac!