Baked Brie Mac and Cheese with Cheddar

This roux-based Brie and Cheddar Baked Mac and Cheese has a deliciously decadent sauce made from sharp cheddar cheese and smooth and tangy brie. It’s topped with buttery brioche bread crumbs and yields 6 generous servings! This super creamy baked mac and cheese can be ready in under 1 hour!

The mission behind this recipe was to achieve the most creamy baked mac and cheese without using fake cheese. Creaminess is the single most important property that I look for in mac and cheese. If it were up to me we would skip the baking part altogether, but I know you guys looooove your baked mac! So that’s why I created this super creamy baked mac and cheese recipe!

To be quite honest, I have a few different versions of mac and cheese in my rotation, but this brie and cheddar baked mac and cheese is the one that everyone in my circle raves about. It’s baked but still very creamy, and topped with buttery brioche bread-crumbs. Who could ask for anything more?

What’s the secret to creamy baked mac and cheese?

It’s combination of earthy brie and sharp cheddar. These two textures yield the smoothest, meltiest and creamy mac and cheese, period. End of story. In terms of flavor, the earthiness of the brie cuts the sharpness of the cheddar, and it’s just magic. It’s important to call out that this is a roux-based mac and cheese. Roux is a french term. Simply put, it’s a method of combining flour and fat to achieve thick sauces and stews.

Ingredients:

• Elbow macaroni and cheese– I like the small elbows that are ribbed and have a slightly twisted shape. if you can’t find that particular type, plain elbows will do! You’ll need a 16 ounce box.
• Block cheddar cheese– Yes, I said block cheese, as in the kind you shred by hand. Bagged cheese doesn’t compare to the freshness of hand-shredded. I usually just grab two 8 ounce blocks.
• Brie cheese– This usually comes in an 8 ounce rind. Some varieties of brie boast their creaminess on the label. Creamier is better, but any kind will do. You’ll have to remove the rind though, which I’ll show you how to do!
• Heavy cream and evaporated milk
• Butter and all-purpose flour are what create the roux-base of this dish.
• Brioche buns– Because fresh bread-crumbs take about 5 minutes to make, we’ll also be making our bread-crumbs from scratch.

Quick note: I recommend making your own bread crumbs, but I realize that not everyone has time for all that! Feel free to use a handful or 2 of store-bought breadcrumbs, if you need to.

Suggested tools:

• Sharp knife or a wide vegetable peeler for removing the rind from the brie. I love using this chef’s knife or this y-shaped vegetable peeler for this task.
• Quality box grater – because we always grate our own cheese! Trust me, it makes a huge difference!
• Spoon-spatula – yes this is a thing and it’s one of my favorite kitchen tools ever. It’s shaped like a spoon but made from silicone. It’s great for scraping thick sauce off the side of pans. Hands down my favorite tool ever, and it’s so useful for this recipe.
• A food processor is needed if you’ll be making your own breadcrumbs

How to make brie and cheddar mac and cheese

Step 1: Make the brioche bread-crumbs

Start with 2 brioche buns. Most grocery stores carry them. Cut them into cubes and toast them in a cast iron skillet until they’re slightly browned. Transfer the cubes to a food processor, add some salt, pepper and garlic powder, pulse several times until they look like bread-crumbs. You’re done.

Step 2: Boil the macaroni

Another very easy step. All you need to do is bring some salted water to a boil in a pot and add the elbow macaroni to the water. Cook until it’s al-dente (you don’t want mushy mac and cheese). To achieve al-dente macaroni, I usually cook the pasta for 6-7 minutes after adding it to the boiling water.

Once your pasta is done boiling, drain it and rinse it in cold water so it stops cooking.

Step 3: Peel and grate the cheese

This is the only step in the recipe that you may not like. Sorry. In order for the brie to melt evenly, you’ll need to remove the rind. It can be a sticky process but you can do it. I just use a sharp knife to cut the rind off. As you can see below, I’m not perfect. Try not to remove too much cheese with the rind, and try not to leave too much rind on the cheese!

Next, shred your cheddar. A box grater helps. I know it’s a lot of cheese to grate, but I promise it’ll be worth it!

Step 4: Make the sauce

This part goes quickly so you’ll want to make sure you have the heavy cream and evaporated milk ready to go! Open the can and measure the cream in advance. You don’t want the roux to burn!

Start by melting your butter in the pan first. I recommend starting the roux off over a medium-low flame since it get’s thick and you don’t want it to burn.

Once the butter is melted, add the flour and keep stirring. The roux will start to form as shown in the first photo in the gallery below. Slowly add the heavy cream and evaporated milk.

Add the brie cheese first, and keep mixing until it’s fully melted. Now add the cheddar cheese. Continue to mix the sauce until the sauce becomes smooth. Since cheese is naturally salty, I wait until the end to season the sauce with salt and pepper.

Step 5: Bring it all together and bake!

Combine the elbows with the cheese-sauce, and mix until the elbows are evenly coated. Top the mac and cheese with an even layer of bread-crumbs. If you used a sauce pan to make your sauce you’ll need to transfer your mac and cheese to an oven-safe dish or pan.

Bake the brie mac and cheese (uncovered) in the oven at 350°F for 30 minutes.

You can serve once you take it out of the oven and the cheese stops bubbling. Be careful, it’ll be hot!

Here’s an extra-close up of this lovely baked brie and cheddar mac and cheese! Look at the texture of the breadcrumbs, and the creaminess of the sauce!

How to serve Brie mac and cheese:

This Brie and Cheddar Baked Mac and Cheese recipe is simple, yields a generous portion for everyone and is super-delicious! Serve this up during the holidays or during the week!

Check out these other fabulous dishes to go with this creamy baked mac and cheese!

Lemon Roasted Chicken with Garlic and Sage

Crispy Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwich

Simple Spiked Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Easy Southern Style Collard Greens Recipe

Easy Sweet and Savory Cornbread Stuffing Recipe

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