5 Cheese Mac & Cheese

The creamiest and dreamiest mac ever!!!

I am going to be honest here. Growing up in an Italian family, I did not eat a lot of the “traditional” mac and cheese. Things such as Velveeta and Kraft Mac & Cheese was merely a luxury my brother and I would taste only at our friends house. At our house, we had the Italian version of the story with fresh cheeses and some olive oil. While I am most definitely not complaining, there is something special about a rich and creamy classic mac and cheese.

This recipe is my love letter to that!

I will never forget the day in culinary school when we worked on Mother sauces and whipped up batches of béchamel sauce. While we continued to work on the other sauces of the day, our chef transformed the sauce we made into the most incredible truffle mac and cheese. This will forever be in my mind. I asked the chef how he made it and this a loose representation of it with my own twists.

Let’s get into the recipe!!!

PDF of recipe at the bottom!!

The CREAMIEST 5 Cheese Mac & Cheese

Serves 4-6 people

Ingredients

• 2 cups béchamel sauce, recipe linked

• 3/4 cup Sharp White Cheddar, freshly grated

• 1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, freshly grated

• 1/2 cup Fontina cheese, freshly grated

• 1/2 cup Parmigiano cheese , freshly grated

• 1/2 cup low moisture Mozzarella cheese, freshly grated

• 1 lb pasta, anything coiled or with grooves …my choice is fusilli corti bucati

• 1 tsp white truffle oil, optional

• 1 tsp butter

• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

• 1 lemon, zested

• salt and pepper

Step 1 - Grate your cheese

1. The first step is going to be grating all of the cheese needed for the recipe. Combine the cheese altogether in one bowl, and reserve 1/3 of the cheese (about 1 cup) in a separate bowl.

   Hand/freshly grating really makes a difference here as opposed to buying pre-grated options. This will allow it to melt beautifully into the sauce.

Step 2 - Prepare the sauce

1. Prepare or warm up your seasoned béchamel sauce. Over medium heat, begin adding in the cheese mix 1/2 cup at a time, while stirring continuously to melt it into the sauce. Allow the cheese to fully melt into the sauce before adding in the next batch. Continue until the cheese has all been melted.

2. If necessary, add a touch of milk to the sauce the thin it out and prevent it from becoming too thick.

3. Optionally season the sauce with a touch of white truffle oil.

Step 3 - Cook the pasta and bake

4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

5. Cook the pasta 2 minutes under the package al dente instructions. Drain the pasta and add directly into the pot with the cheese sauce. Stir well to combine and coat each piece of pasta.

Now you can enjoy this as is….OR transfer it to a baking dish and add some crispy lemon panko topping to bring it to the next level 🔥

Step 4 - Bake and Panko

6. Transfer half of the pasta into a deep baking dish (I used a 11.5 inch / 2 quart capacity dish). Add a layer of half of the reserved cheese, then add the remaining pasta and finish with the rest of the cheese.

7. Spray a piece of foil with a bit of PAM or cooking oil, cover the baking tray and transfer into the oven for 25/30 minute or until the cheese has melted.

8. In the meantime, make the panko topping. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add in the panko and using a spatula continuously move the panko until you achieve an even golden brown color. Remove from heat, season with salt and lemon zest. Toss to combine.

9. Remove the mac and cheese from the oven and top with the prepared panko topping. Allow to set for at least 5 minutes…..then dig in and ENJOY!!!

Have a question? Feel free to comment below!!!

The Creamiest 5 Cheese Mac & Cheese

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Tried it out? Send me a picture and leave a review!! I love to see how your recreations turn out ❤️