Southern Baked Mac and Cheese (Soul Food Recipe!)

The formula

Every ingredient resolved to grams, expressed against the recipe's own base — next to the median of all 120.

	this recipe	typical
cheese	250%	125%
dairy	180%	168%
fat	6%	13%
egg	22%	0%
salt	0%	1%
aromatics	1%	0%
different cheeses	2.0	1.0
melt idx	0.7	0.6
cheese flavor idx	0.5	0.6
stretch idx	0.5	0.3

Where it stands out

• #1 of 120 for gloopiness

Adapts cleanly: egg-free, nut-free (documented swaps, applied on the dish page)

Ingredients

Weights computed by us.

454 g	16 ounces dried elbow macaroni
1680 g	6 to 8 cups chicken broth or water (broth adds more flavor)
28 g	2 tablespoons unsalted butter (plus more for greasing the baking dish)
113 g	4 ounces cream cheese (room temperature, cubed)
340 g	1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
363 g	1 1/2 cups half and half
115 g	1/2 cup sour cream
2 g	1 teaspoon black pepper
3 g	1 teaspoon garlic powder
3 g	1 teaspoon onion powder
1 g	1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 g	1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1 g	1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
	Salt (to taste)
454 g	16 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese (freshly grated)
227 g	8 ounces colby jack cheese (freshly grated)
227 g	8 ounces mozzarella cheese (freshly grated)
113 g	4 ounces smoked gouda cheese (freshly grated)
100 g	2 large eggs (beaten)

Method: 5 steps, published by pinkowlkitchen.com — open the original ↗ or use bake mode for a follow-along with a screen that stays on.

“How has no one commented on this yet!? This Mac and cheese is DELICIOUS and now a staple in our home. I could actually live off it. My grandmother was from the south and we grew up with Mac and cheese on the thanksgiving table and while I loved it, I love tryi” — a cook

“I wish I could give this 10 stars! I’m also from the south and this macaroni and cheese recipe is the closest to what I ate growing up out of all that I’ve tried! This is true, southern style mac and cheese! I will keep this recipe handy for every holiday and ” — a cook, 5★