Southern Baked Macaroni and Cheese

A classic, soul food southern baked macaroni and cheese recipe that bakes up firm but creamy with a delicious crusty top! This decadent macaroni and cheese is made with evaporated milk, cream, eggs, and three types of cheeses, and will be requested at every holiday dinner!

For more tasty Thanksgiving sides, check out our Southern Sweet Potato Casserole and our Honey Butter Dinner Roll recipes next!

Jump to:

• A Classic Southern Mac and Cheese Recipe
• Ingredients You Need To Make This Recipe
• How To Make This Recipe
• Variations and Substitutions
• What Cheeses Are Best For Mac and Cheese?
• Do I Have To Put Eggs In Macaroni and Cheese?
• Make-Ahead and Storing Instructions
• Tips For The Best Macaroni and Cheese
• What To Serve With Southern Macaroni and Cheese
• Recommended Tools for Making This Recipe
• More Southern Recipes You Will Love!
• 📖 Recipe

A Classic Southern Mac and Cheese Recipe

I am so excited to share this macaroni and cheese recipe with you all! I was born and raised in Mississippi, and if there is one thing Black families don't play about in the south, it's macaroni and cheese! No Thanksgiving meal is complete without it.

We do mac and cheese a little differently in the South, and it has taken me quite some time to perfect this recipe. I knew that my last test run was a winner when my family said they wanted this exact recipe at every family gathering and holiday dinner from now on! This just might be the best southern macaroni and cheese recipe you will find.

Contrary to what you may have heard, there is no roux in traditional southern mac and cheese! At least not in the soul food version that black folks like my family have enjoyed for decades. That's right! Our macaroni and cheese is made using eggs as a binder instead of roux, which is the base of most other baked macaroni and cheese recipes.

Ingredients You Need To Make This Recipe

• Elbow macaroni pasta. Traditional southern macaroni and cheese is made with elbow noodles. No need to get fancy with the shapes here!

• Evaporated milk. Evaporated milk is concentrated, shelf-stable milk that helps gives this macaroni and cheese its richness and creaminess. Evaporated milk is heated so that most of the water evaporates before it is homogenized and canned.

• Half and half. Half and half is combined with the evaporated milk in the custard-like base for this recipe. You can also use whole milk if you do not have half and half.

• Sour cream. I added this ingredient to this mac and cheese recipe because of the subtle tanginess and additional creaminess that it adds. I always get asked what I put in my mac and cheese because there's just something extra delicious that people can't quite put their finger on, and they're usually surprised to hear that's it sour cream!

• Salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, dry mustard powder, and cayenne pepper. These are the spices used to flavor the macaroni and cheese.

• Large eggs. Eggs act as the binder for this mac and cheese instead of the roux that most baked mac and cheese recipes feature. This is one of the things that sets southern mac and cheese apart from others.

• Freshly shredded sharp cheddar, Colby jack, and Monterey jack cheeses. These are the cheeses used for this recipe and we use lots of it in this macaroni and cheese! Do not use pre-shredded cheese!

How To Make This Recipe

• Preheat your oven to 375°F. Generously butter a 9 x 13 baking dish and set aside.

• Cook the elbow macaroni noodles in salted water until they are almost al-dente and still firm to the bite. Drain the pasta but do not run cold water on it.

• In a large mixing bowl, add the evaporated milk, half and half, sour cream, and seasonings, and whisk to combine. Taste the milk mixture and add more salt to taste until you are pleased with the flavor.

• Add the eggs to the milk mixture and beat with a whisk until they are mixed in. With a wooden spoon, stir in the cheeses, reserving about a cup for topping the mac and cheese. Pour the warm elbow macaroni into the bowl with the milk mixture and stir to combine all of the ingredients.

• Transferred the macaroni and cheese to the prepared baking dish and top with the remaining cheeses. Bake the mac and cheese for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. Serve immediately!

Variations and Substitutions

If you do not have evaporated milk on hand, you can use regular whole milk instead. However, I highly recommend trying it with evaporated milk for the old-school, extra-rich macaroni and cheese I grew up eating in Mississippi!

You can also experiment with different ratios of heavy cream, whole milk, and/or half and half until you find which combination gives you the best result.

What Cheeses Are Best For Mac and Cheese?

Feel free to try different cheeses in this dish according to what you like. Many people swear by American cheese or Velveeta in southern mac and cheese. Just make sure you are using good melting cheeses and grate them at home yourself. Some of my suggestions are:

• Mozzarella
• Gouda
• Fontina
• Gruyere
• Pepper jack

Do I Have To Put Eggs In Macaroni and Cheese?

While you do not have to put eggs in macaroni and cheese, they are used in southern-style mac and cheese recipes to give the dish structure and to bind the ingredients. Many macaroni and cheese recipes call for flour to be cooked in butter, better known as a roux, as the base for the recipe.

Eggs give southern mac and cheese a characteristic sturdy structure that is still creamy and cheesy. Southern macaroni and cheese is more of a custard than its roux-containing counterparts.

Make-Ahead and Storing Instructions

You can assemble this macaroni and cheese a day ahead of time and bake it when ready to serve if you like. Just assemble the mac and cheese, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and store it in the refrigerator overnight. Take it out about 30 minutes before you plan to bake it.

Leftover macaroni and cheese can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat mac and cheese in the microwave or oven.

Tips For The Best Macaroni and Cheese

• Do not use pre-shredded cheese! Buy blocks of cheese and shred it at home with a box grater or a food processor with the grater attachment. Packaged pre-shredded cheeses have anti-caking agents added to them which prevent them from melting well. Trust me on this if you want extra creamy macaroni and cheese that gives you an epic cheese pull!
• Southern mac and cheese has a characteristic crusty top that is so dang good! Try turning on the oven broiler for the last couple of minutes to get an even crustier top on your mac!

What To Serve With Southern Macaroni and Cheese

I grew up on straight-up soul food and if you want a true southern-style meal, serve this mac and cheese with some of the following:

• Southern fried chicken
• Fried fish
• Fried or baked pork chops
• Smothered baked chicken
• Baked ham
• Baked turkey
• Collard greens
• Turnip greens
• Green beans
• Black-eyed peas
• Candied yams
• Cornbread
• Cornbread dressing
• Peach cobbler
• Caramel cake

Recommended Tools for Making This Recipe

• 9 x 13 baking dish
• Cheese grater
• Mixing bowl
• Whisk

More Southern Recipes You Will Love!

• Creamy Southern Cheese Grits
• Classic Southern Coleslaw
• Mississippi Comeback Sauce
• Southern Sweet Onion Hushpuppies
• Authentic Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

📖 Recipe