This TikTok Mac and Cheese will soon be one of your favorite cheesy comfort food TikTok dinner recipes. You won’t believe how simple ingredients paired make the BEST cheese flavor you have ever had.
Thick, cheesy, and unbelievably easy, the combination of different kinds of cheese and creamy taste is the mac and cheese of your dreams.
Why you will love TikTok Macaroni and Cheese
Incredibly thick cheese hack: This trending macaroni and cheese recipe is THICK and SO SO CHEESY. It’s what we all love out of a fantastic mac and cheese recipe.
This recipe is not the afterschool lunch recipe but the “you bring the macaroni and cheese to Thanksgiving dinner” recipe honor.
One-pot Mac & Cheese – Ok, actually two if you count the boiled noodles.
But overall, this cheesy oven-baked pasta goes right into a baking dish with all its ooey-gooey ingredients for a simple kitchen clean-up.
Where did this Viral Macaroni and Cheese Recipe come from?
As mac and cheese are one of the most common side dish (or dinner) recipes ever, there are many variations and recipes for the perfect cheesy macaroni.
This recipe came from TikTok and had over 3 million hearts, so it was WELL LOVED. Definitely not one of those 2021 Viral Food TikToks anyone missed!
We knew we had to try it and see how it compared to our regular macaroni side dish recipes and one of our favorite foods, Panera Bread Mac.
The great news is it held up well, and we are so happy to recommend this recipe as a true keeper for CHEESE LOVERS.
One alteration we made in this recipe was to skip the extra cream cheese. There are notes in the recipe on how to add this ingredient back in
Ingredients:
- elbow macaroni – While there are many choices for pasta when it comes to macaroni, we always recommend (like the original TikTok video) cooked and drained elbow macaroni. Once you understand and enjoy the recipe, you may want to experiment with other noodle shapes.
- Butter – As this dish already contains salt, use unsalted butter.
- Minced garlic – Minced garlic is super easy to work with in all excellent mac and cheese recipes. If you prefer and want to get super homemade, try our tiktok roasted garlic for this recipe.
- All-purpose flour, half and half, and heavy whipping cream are needed to thicken the recipe.
- Real Cheese Ingredients: As far as cheese pairing, this recipe uses shredded four-cheese blends (Monterey Jack, Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Queso, and Asadero), shredded mild cheddar, shredded white cheddar, and shredded mozzarella cheese for the most insanely rich and delicious mac n cheese. No cheese powder here, creamy sauce, or American cheese here. Only use real cheese for this TikTok recipe.
- Seasonings: garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and ground black pepper.
How to make TikTok Mac and Cheese
- Boil elbow macaroni until slightly undercooked (so its not too soggy), drain pasta water and keep noodles warm.
- Grease a 9x13x2 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and place cooked macaroni and two tablespoons of butter in the pan. Mix well until butter is melted. Set aside and keep warm.
- Combine five tablespoons of butter, minced garlic, and flour in a large skillet.
- Heat over medium heat until butter is melted and the mixture is thick.
- Add half and half and heavy whipping cream and heat until nearly boiling.
- Remove from heat and stir in 4 cups shredded cheese blend, 2 cups mild cheddar, and all seasonings and spices. Continue to stir until all cheese is melted. *Note this is where we varied from the original recipe which adds 2.5 tablespoons of cream cheese to the mixture and melts prior to adding to noodles*
- Add cheese mixture to the macaroni and stir well to distribute and coat evenly. Top with remaining 1 cup mild cheddar, white cheddar, and mozzarella cheese.
- Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Broil for 3-5 minutes or until cheese is browned. As always, pay attention to the broiler as not to burn.
- Top mac and cheese with chopped fresh parsley before serving if desired.
Why is the cheese white and not yellow?
This will come down to the TYPE of cheese you use! If you concentrate more on sharp and medium cheddar cheese it will be far more yellow.
If you introduce white cheddar, queso, or other light cheese blends, the liquid cheese is more white or beige.
Variations
As with all recipes, variations can make a difference! One alteration that works fine in this recipe is changing up the cheese type as long as it’s not an artificial cheese flavor.
Smoky flavor cheese or jalapeno shredded cheese brings a different flavor element to this dish.
Serve mac and cheese with some added panko bread crumbs on top and a side of hot sauce for the best Thanksgiving Mac & Cheese recipe.
This dish is thick, but sometimes a mac and cheese combo works. Try including bacon as a topping for Cheese Bacon Mac.
Related Viral Recipes
- Love pasta? This Cheesy Baked Ziti with Ricotta is so filling you won’t even need a side dish. Wowza!
- Pair with this cucumber, tomato and red onion salad recipe for a beautiful side dish.
- Need a quick dinner? While mac and cheese will always be one of the quickest dinners, this 10-minute Crispy Tortilla Pizza Recipe is just the ticket for a 10-minute weeknight choice.
- This was 2021’s most Viral Food Recipe.
- Not all viral dinners have to be complicated or expensive. If you haven’t tried this TikTok Ramen recipe, you haven’t lived.
TikTok Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 lb elbow macaroni noodles al dente
- 7 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 2½ tbsp all purpose flour
- 3½ cups half and half
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese Blend
- 2 cups Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese
Seasonings
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Toppping
- 1 cup shredded White Cheddar Cheese
- 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
- chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Boil 1 pound of Elbow Macaroni noodles until just finished (al dente). Drain pasta water.
- Preheat oven to 425.
- Grease a 9x13x2 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and place cooked and drained macaroni noodles and 2 tablespoons butter (on top of noodles) in the baking casserole dish.
- Mix macaroni well until butter is melted. Set dish aside and keep warm.
- In a large skillet, combine 5 tablespoons of butter, minced garlic, and all-purpose flour. Whisk over medium heat until butter is melted and mixture is thick- this happens fairly quickly.
- Add half and half and heavy whipping cream and continue to heat until nearly boiling.
- Remove skillet from heat and stir in 4 cups shredded cheese blend, 2 cups mild cheddar, and all seasonings and spices. It is helpful to melt about 1 cup at a time versus dumping it all in at once.
- Continue stirring until all cheese is melted.
- Once the cheese is completely melted, pour the cheese mixture to the macaroni noodles and stir well to evenly distribute and coat. A spatula can be of assistance in moving the noodles around for a more even distribution of cheese.
- Top macaroni and cheese with remaining 1 cup mild cheddar, white cheddar and mozzarella cheese, doing best to cover the entire top of the noodles.
- Bake macaroni at 425 for 15 minutes in the oven
- Broil top for 3-5 minutes or until cheese is browned on top (optional but please be careful when broiling, burning happens quickly, and not all ovens heat at the same rate).
- Top dish with chopped fresh parsley before serving if desired. Serve immediately while still hot.
Notes
- 8 oz Colby
- 12 oz medium cheddar
- 4 oz sharp cheddar
- 6 oz mozzarella
Variations
- Optional: Add 2.5 tbsp cream cheese into cheese sauce until fully melted.
- Milk may be used in place of heavy whipping cream for cheese sauce.
Nutritional information is an automated estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator or app.
Nutrition
Sharing of this recipe is encouraged and appreciated. Copying of full recipe to any social media is prohibited.
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