Skip to main content

Ooey-Gooey Macaroni and Cheese

3.5

(4)

Baked macaroni and cheese in a casserole dish.
Photo by Brittany Conerly

This macaroni and cheese won Time Out New York magazine’s “Best Mac and Cheese” contest back in 2017. It has an awesome, crusty, golden-brown top and the ooey-gooiest center known to humankind. I like using medium pasta shells, which allow the cheese and béchamel to thoroughly coat the outsides as well as really work their way into the nooks and crannies.

This recipe was excerpted from ‘Homage’ by Chris Scott. Buy the full book on Amazon.

Cook's note:

Pouring oil into pasta cooking water is a pet peeve of mine, because nothing will stick to oily pasta, especially not a gooey, slithery cheese sauce. Don't do it here. (Apply oil to other pastas after cooking only, as in the dressing for a cold pasta salad.)

Read More
This comforting cheeseburger-inspired pasta from Kiano Moju is bolstered by berbere spice.
A quick-fix dinner thanks to store-bought tortellini and chicken broth.
In this lasagna, soft layers of pasta and béchamel are interspersed with a rich tomato sauce laden with hearty Mediterranean vegetables.
You can consider this recipe a template for creating a gooey, cheesy instant ramen dish with an appetizing golden crust in the oven.
Native American people made these with cornmeal dumplings, simmering them with wild grapes, which were harvested at their peak sweetness.
Mexican pasta probably isn’t something you’ve thought about before, but this poblano sauce may have you rethinking your devotion to the red variety.
Who says latkes have to be potato? Brussels bring a delicious cruciferousness.
Traditionally, this Mexican staple is simmered for hours in an olla, or clay pot. You can achieve a similar result by using canned beans and instant ramen.