Macaroni and Cheese from Beecher’s Cheese
Kitchen Tested 
- Yield 4 servings
- Prep 5 mins
- Cook 40 mins
A cheesy, creamy version, with just a hint of chipotle.
If you can't find Beecher's cheese locally, use an aged sharp Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese. This recipe can be made ahead and frozen -- use a freezer-to-oven-safe pan and increase the baking time to 50 minutes.
Ingredients
- Sauce
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 7 ounces Beecher's Flagship cheese, grated (about 1 3/4 cup)
- 1 ounce Beecher's Just Jack cheese, grated (1/4 cup)
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- Pasta
- 6 ounces penne pasta (about 3 ¼ cups)
- 1 ounce (1/4 cup) Beecher's Flagship cheese, grated
- 1 ounce (1/4 cup) Beecher's Just Jack cheese, grated
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
Instructions
- To prepare sauce, melt butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add flour. Cook, whisking constantly, 2 minutes.
- Slowly add milk, whisking constantly. Cook until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
- Add cheese, salt, chili powder and garlic powder. Stir until cheese melts, about 3 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- To prepare pasta, cook pasta 2 minutes less than package directions. (It will finish cooking in the oven.) Rinse pasta in cold water and drain well.
- Combine pasta and sauce in a medium bowl; mix thoroughly. (The mixture will seem soupy, but some of the liquid will be absorbed during baking.) Transfer to an 8-inch square baking dish. Sprinkle top with cheese and chili powder.
- Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Recipe adapted with permission from Pure Flavors: 125 Fresh All-American Recipes from the Pacific Northwest by Kurt Beecher Dammeier and Laura Holmes Haddad (Clarkson Potter, 2007).
