Momma's Baked Macaroni & Cheese

Momma's Baked Macaroni and Cheese is the easiest to make and absolute best mac and cheese recipe ever!  Don't forget the stewed tomatoes!

Momma's Baked Macaroni and Cheese is the easiest to make and absolute best mac and cheese ever!  Don't forget the stewed tomatoes! #macaroniandcheese

This is my favorite meal.  Like favorite favorite.

One of the special things that my Mom did for me and my three sisters every year on our birthday was to cook the meal of our choice for dinner, and every year without fail, baked macaroni and cheese was my request.

Momma's Baked Macaroni and Cheese is the easiest to make and absolute best mac and cheese ever!  Don't forget the stewed tomatoes! #macaroniandcheese

No boxed stuff for this girl.  Mom makes it like no one else I know.  Sharp white cheddar layered between elbow macaroni that's baked for just an hour.  The top bakes to golden perfection with little pieces of crunchy pasta (the crunchies!) peeking through the hot, bubbly cheese.

Last time I checked, you don't get crunchies with the box stuff.

Momma's Baked Macaroni and Cheese is the easiest to make and absolute best mac and cheese ever!  Don't forget the stewed tomatoes! #macaroniandcheese

What really sets this macaroni and cheese apart from the rest is the stewed tomatoes.

You absolutely positively can't have Momma's baked macaroni and cheese without stewed tomatoes!

Momma's Baked Macaroni and Cheese is the easiest to make and absolute best mac and cheese ever!  Don't forget the stewed tomatoes! #macaroniandcheese

The majority of people that I've come across haven't thought of tomatoes as an accompaniment to their mac and cheese.

I know it may sound a little odd, but I assure you, it is the only way to go.  They are like the yin to the macaroni yang.  At least for this recipe!  So, don't skip 'em, even if you're skeptical.



I've enjoyed many a mac and cheese in my 33 years and Momma's is, and will always be the best.  I hope you love it as much as we do!

So easy, no roux, no block of processed cheese.  Just a few quick layers and you're done.  LOVE!



Momma's Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 10 MINUTES
cook time: 1 HOUR
total time: 1 HOUR 10 MINUTES
Momma's Baked Macaroni and Cheese is the easiest to make and absolute best mac and cheese recipe ever!  Don't forget the stewed tomatoes!

Pin
INGREDIENTS

16 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked al dente and drained
1 1/4 lbs sharp white cheddar cheese, sliced
5 teaspoons butter
3 cups milk
15 ounce can stewed tomatoes, roughly chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan with butter. Layer ingredients in the following order: half of the macaroni, half of the cheese, the remaining macaroni, followed by the remaining cheese. (Sometimes I'll spread it out even more and do the layers of macaroni a little thinner and I end up with somewhere around 1 or two more layers. As long as you end up with cheese on the top, you're good.)
  3. Top with sliced butter.
  4. Pour milk over layers until the milk fills the dish about ¾ of the way full or until you just see the milk coming through the macaroni when you're looking at it from the top, about 3 cups.
  5. Bake uncovered in preheated oven for 1 hour or until the top is golden and bubbly.  Let sit 10 minutes before serving.  Serve with warmed stewed tomatoes and a sprinkle of kosher salt.


NOTES

Sharp cheddar works best for this recipe. We use white cheddar.

Depending on the size/shape of your pan, the amount of cheese needed can vary between 1 lb - 1 1/4 lb.

Author: Becky Tarala

Nutrition data should not be considered a guarantee. Please see our full Nutrition Data Disclosure.


34 comments

  1. What do you do with the tomatoes?????

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I put a big spoonful of them right over the top of the macaroni and cheese. Then just a little salt right on top.

      Delete
    2. My mom use to make this the exact same way. Sometimes she mixed the tomatoes in with the mac and cheese....Delicious

      Delete
  2. I see the tomatoes are actually not part of the recipe! Sorry.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, they are very much a part of the recipe! I never serve this macaroni and cheese without the tomatoes!

      Delete
  3. My mom always added the tomatoes to the mac & cheese mixture before baking. YUMMY!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've seen it that way, too. Haven't tried it that way yet!

      Delete
  4. You don't make a white sauce and melt the cheese? Seems like this would be very dry. Sorry, not for me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nope. No white sauce. It isn't a creamy mac and cheese, for sure. But it is delicious, hearty and not dry. Not for everyone, but definitely for me. :)

      Delete
  5. Before I clicked on the recipe she posted that the stewed tomatoes were served on the side.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My husband likes them on the side, I like them on top. Either way, just make sure you include them!

      Delete
  6. OMG!!! This is how MY mama made mac and cheese!! Except it was yellow sharp (or extra sharp!) cheese. I never see others cook it this way! I have no idea anything about the "sauce" people make for mac and cheese!! This is also my favorite meal!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have made this only I use American cheese and don.t add milk. My mother made

    it when I was a kid and I am 84 yrs. young.

    ReplyDelete
  8. How much milk do you use?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have never measured it in a measuring cup. I just pour it straight from the gallon until it's about 3/4 to the top of the macaroni. I will measure next time and edit it into the post!

      Delete
    2. Our favorite meal for a large family in the 40's and 50's - Never grew to like the creamy sauce kind, but my mother always used long-horn cheese and I don't use any other kind. Totally different taste and so crunchy and cheesy!

      Delete
  9. Is it 5 tablespoons of butter or 5 tsp as listed above? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 5 tsp, but you really don't have to be exact. Just as long as you put 5 little pats of butter on the top before baking it, you're good.

      Delete
  10. Thank you for the recipe Becky. This mac and cheese recipe is exactly the way my grandmother taught my mom to bake it and I had a difficult time finding it online. My grandmother was baking this recipe in the 1930's and my mother was still making it in the 1970's but the recipe was never written down. I am a huge fan of stewed tomatoes and will add them as a side - a new twist for me. Thanks again !!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are so welcome! I'm so glad you ended up here! I think you'll love the stewed tomatoes. I love that your family has enjoyed cooking mac and cheese this way for so long!

      Delete
  11. This recipe is the way I have always made my Mac and cheese. I wouldn't make it any other way. It's your basic Mac and cheese and so delicious! And it couldn't get any easier! I still continue to make to this very day!love it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yay! I love that you love it this way as much as I do! Thanks for your comment! :)

      Delete
  12. Thank You for the recipe Becky. My mom made mac and cheese the same way but layered it in s Pyrex bowl. Still tastes the same. The addition of a side of stewed tomatoes is fantastic. Growing up threw the 1960's and 1970's this was a complete dinner. As I entered my twenties in the 1980's it was still the same. I guess today it is not good enough for the snowflake generation.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thank you for posting this! I've been looking for it for years. I used to help my grandma make this every other weekend when I was a child and of course it was the only recipe she never wrote down. It's my absolute favorite! I've been trying to recreate it for the past 15 years!! I think I've been using too much butter and I never added milk. I'm so excited to try this. Only thing I know she did different was use American cheese slices and added butter to both layers along with salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. I am so glad to see this recipe. My mom made it this wsy with a different cheese. I am 79. Stewed tomatoes not one of favorites

    ReplyDelete
  15. This was also my mom's recipe for mac and cheese except we used sliced american cheese or during times of struggle, "welfare cheese". She also crushed up saltine crackers over the top of hers. Absolutely yummy and now what I'm making my family for dinner tonight!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Nikkie Booher-MinchApril 26, 2019 at 1:48 PM

    I have been eating this "almost" exact same recipe since I had teeth. We called it Grandma Jeans Baked Mac and Cheese. I never added the butter (sounds extra yummy) and we always used Colby (not Co-Jack, too mild). We LOVE those cheesy crunchy edges and its AWESOME reheated. BTW, make this version of baked Mac and Cheese, chill overnight and you have the PERFECT recipe for deep fried mac and cheese bites. It holds together wonderfully for dipping and dropping into fryer. Just added info:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nikkie Booher-MinchApril 26, 2019 at 1:56 PM

      I forgot to mention, once I got married and Gma, Aunts and Dad got older, my LOVE of this dish was my downfall. I became THE cook of this dish for every get-together we had. Thats okay, I always made a little bread loaf size just for myself. After 3 spoonfuls at family meals, I felt like a pig ;)

      Delete
  17. made according to the resipie and for some reason cheese didn't melt on top ..used sharp cheddar and baked for an hour?

    ReplyDelete
  18. So glad to stumble on your site! This is the way my mother (and grandmother) made hers too, 60's..... 80's, loved it, the best and the leftovers next day were always looked forward to warmed up in a bowl with milk! Have a pan in the oven right now....thanks for this post!

    ReplyDelete