Macaroni & cheese is one of those quintessential American experiences. Nostalgic feelings of childhood are evoked by those fluorescent yellow noodles inseparably associated with fresh-out-of-the-box Kraft™ mac, but as fundamentally tasty and sentimental as those may be, it’s time to step up your game and have a delicious, gourmet recipe in your back pocket now that you're an adult (or at least trying to be).
I’ve recently discovered that I might be lactose intolerant — a significant obstacle to my great love of all things dairy. If I’m going to wreak havoc on my internal systems, it’s going to have to be for a damn good bowl, so one afternoon I lugged two bags full of cheese out of Trader Joes and set out to find the best recipe in the Ultimate Battle of the Mac.
Inspired by Buzzfeed’s ‘Chocolate Chip Cookie Showdown,’ I picked my “lineup” carefully—but instead of just choosing the most popular recipes, I wanted fun variety.
Note: None of these recipes have any mix-ins (i.e. bacon, chipotle chicken, etc.) just because I wanted to preserve the integrity of the “classic” cheese.
The Classic: For a classic mac, I chose Martha Stewart’s recipe, because she’s the queen of classic comfort food.
The Pop Culture Phenomenon: Chrissy Teigen’s recipe has been celebrated by numerous publications (including Spoon University!) as being a delicious, decadent option that’s also easy for amateur chefs.
The Tried & True: For this category, I looked for the recipe with the greatest number of positive reviews online, which happened to be this one from the New York Times.
The Wild Card: And just because I knew eating a small village’s worth of cheesy pasta was going to become pretty one-note, I wanted to throw in one recipe that was unique and totally out of left-field: Terry Crews' Mac and Jeezy!
Martha Stewart’s Classic Mac:
Cheeses: Sharp white cheddar, gruyere.
The preparation: Since you’re basically making a béchamel sauce, this recipe required a lot of whisking. I ended up having to adjust the recipe and add milk, just because the cheese solidified into a giant, dough-like mass. But besides the above, it was relatively straightforward- just melt the cheese, and mix in the mac. Top with breadcrumbs (tip: if you don’t have a food processor, smash the toasted bread in a bag) and leftover cheese and bake for 30 minutes.
The flavor: This mac was pretty bland—I ended up having to significantly increase the amounts of salt, pepper, and cayenne. The gruyere added an unique nutty flavor.
The verdict: Definitely needs modifications/add-ins/extra spices to color the pasta. Would skip.
The New York Times
Cheeses: Cottage cheese, extra-sharp cheddar.
The Preparation: Probably the easiest prep, with all the ingredients simply thrown in a blender and pureed. This recipe required the most baking (an hour), but I ended up taking it out early just because the noodles were beginning to get crusty.
The flavor: With 4,700+ votes and a 5 star rating, I had high hopes for this one, and it ended up being pretty good. With the addition of the cottage cheese, the sauce was smooth.
The verdict: Skip the extra salt and bake in a small container to prevent drying out and you’ll have an excellent classic mac.
Chrissy Teigen’s Mac n Cheese:
Cheeses: Gruyere, Swiss, American, Cheddar.
Preparation: To be totally honest I’m still sore from whisking for what felt like hours (but probably was only 30 minutes). This is definitely the most work-intensive recipe, so make this mac on your ‘arm day’ or enlist some friends to help. This recipe also requires a béchamel sauce, which ended up creating a beautiful, creamy, thick roux (I cannot express how genuinely gorgeous this sauce was). Coat the top with garlic breadcrumbs and bake for only 8 minutes.
The verdict: Nothing will ever top this mac n cheese recipe. I wouldn’t be surprised if scientists found it in outer space because it was seriously out of this world. I was totally ready to quit this entire experiment after this recipe because I couldn’t imagine anything else even coming close. The cheese sauce was the perfect thickness and the variety made it well balanced— with enough classic cheddars to be reminiscent of childhood, but with enough Gruyere to elevate the taste.
Also, make the breadcrumbs, and double the amount of garlic. Or just go ahead and double the amount of breadcrumbs because they were seriously the highlight of this recipe. The garlic was also helpful in cutting through the cheesiness of the sauce.
The verdict: Make it. Make the breadcrumbs. Eat a bowl of the mac. Eat a bowl of breadcrumbs. Thank the genius that is Chrissy Teigen. I made eight servings of this and it was the only one I didn’t have any leftovers for.
Terry Crews’ Mac and Jeezy
Cheeses: Cottage (small curd), sour cream, sharp cheddar.
The preparation: A very simple recipe as well-- just combine everything in a bowl and toss in the oven for 45 minutes.
The flavor: I had doubts about this recipe going in just because it lacked all the artery-clogging butter/etc. of the other recipes but it ended up being pretty good. The mac is cheesy, but definitely the least saucy, and the paprika added a nice smoky accent.
The verdict: A good healthy alternative, but probably not the best option for picky eaters just because of the unique addition of small curd cottage cheese.
The flavor: I had doubts about this recipe going in just because it lacked all the artery-clogging butter/etc. of the other recipes but it ended up being pretty good. The mac is cheesy, but definitely the least saucy, and the paprika added a nice smoky accent.
The verdict: A good healthy alternative, but probably not the best option for picky eaters just because of the unique addition of small curd cottage cheese.
THE RANKING:
I invited a couple people in my dorm over to a blind taste-test of the recipes-- here's what we decided.
SKIP IT: Martha Stewart: This was the one that I had the highest hopes for and unfortunately ended up disappointingly bland.
THIRD-PLACE: Terry Crews: Unique and palate-specific, but still a great option. We ended up agreeing that it was slightly better than Martha Stewart’s just because it was more flavorful. Even if you don’t end up making this recipe, watch the Buzzfeed video just because Terry Crews is hilarious.
RUNNER-UP: The New York Times: A good classic option, and relatively fail-proof.
THE WINNER: Chrissy Teigen: The undisputed winner of the Battle of the Mac.
To Chrissy Teigen’s Mac n Cheese:
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
This may be cheesy but
All I want for Christmas is you.