This Cast Iron Skillet Mac and Cheese recipe delivers comfort food at its finest! It’s cheesy, has a bit of a crunch, and it’s ready in 30 minutes making it perfect for a weeknight dinner, a last-minute potluck, or a satisfying vegetarian meal.
Mac and Cheese: The ultimate comfort food!
Macaroni and Cheese is one of those comforting side dishes that is really good for the soul. It’s a very versatile dish as well. You can add in bacon, ham, hamburger, or change it up with different cheeses. There is no limit to your inspiration.
Here are a few key tips when prepping the best homemade baked macaroni and cheese recipe you’ve ever had!
How to boil your macaroni noodles:
One of the key things to remember when making this easy Macaroni and Cheese recipe is that when boiling your macaroni noodles, pull them from the heat about a minute or two before the box states. Since you will be baking these noodles in the oven, they will continue to cook while in there.
Why a cast iron skillet?
If you love crispy pasta and cheese with a bit of crunch, then you must bake the noodles in a Cast Iron skillet! The cheese, as well as the noodles, will develop a nice bit of crispy goodness. Plus there is just something about cooking with cast iron. It seems to make everything hotter and the cheese even more gooey!
Cast Iron Skillet prep:
The key to success when cooking with a cast Iron Skillet is to make sure that you heat the pan with oil. That way everything is less likely to stick and your pan will be nicely seasoned and oiled.
Here is the recipe so you know how to make homemade macaroni and cheese. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1/2 box elbow macaroni (prepared according to directions)
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup shredded cheese (use any variety)
- 1/4 cup Panko (optional)
- 4 tsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp seasoning salt
- Cast Iron Wedge Skillet
- Oil for coating skillet
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF and prepare the cast iron skillet. You will need about a 1/2 teaspoon of oil in each of the edges. Once the oven is heated, place the skillet into the oven and let the oil heat up for approximately 8 to 10 minutes.
- While the skillet is pre-heating, you can go ahead and make the roux.
- In a medium sized saucepan, melt the butter. Add in the seasoning salt and slowly whisk in the flour and let the mixture cook for a minute or so over medium heat. Stir constantly so the mixture doesn't stick to the pan and burn. Slowly stir the milk in and stir until smooth. While stirring constantly, cook the roux for about 5 minutes
- Once the roux is ready, start adding all of the cheese!
- When all of that delicious cheese has blended together, then it's time to mix the cheese sauce and the prepared macaroni and spoon it into the wedge skillet.
- Top each wedge with the shredded cheese and a teaspoon of panko bread crumbs.
- Bake at 375ºF for 20 minutes. Then put it under the broiler for 5 minutes on low. Once you remove it from the oven, let the dish cool for about five minutes before serving this amazingly cheesy Cast Iron Skillet Macaroni and Cheese!
Notes
Home Chef Tip: Use your favorite cheese blends to make this mac and cheese. Add cooked, crumbled bacon to the mix for a meatier version.
We hope you enjoy this Cast Iron Skillet Mac and Cheese recipe from SoFabFood Home Chef, Rhonda from Mom Skoop, as much as we do. If you love this comforting dish, you can find more like it by visiting our Side Dish Section. For daily recipe inspiration, like us on Facebook and follow us on Pinterest. Enjoy!
