Garlic Macaroni Cheese Recipe {How to Make Macaroni and Cheese in 60 Minutes the Easy Way}

Name: Garlic Macaroni Cheese Recipe {How to Make Macaroni and Cheese in 60 Minutes the Easy Way}
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: USA
Ingredients: 1) 300 g/10 oz of macaroni (spaghetti); 2) 350 g/12.5 oz of hard cheese like Cheddar, Gruyère, Emmental, Parmesan, and so forth; 3) 500 g/17 oz of sour cream (12% fat); 4) 1 tsp of garlic powder or 1-2 grated garlic cloves; 5) 1/2 tsp of ground white pepper; 6) some salt to taste; 7) 20 g/0.7 oz of butter; 8) some fresh basil or oregano leaves for garnishing the dish (optional)

📖 Table of Contents

Cooking Macaroni Cheese at Home: Garlic Macaroni and Cheese

My garlic macaroni recipe is possibly the most delicious macaroni and cheese recipe you ever cooked!

➡️ “Macaroni and cheese” is one of the most popular comfort foods in the US today, but it’s prepared frequently in many other parts of the world and especially in the UK, where people call this dish simply “macaroni cheese“. The very high popularity of this kind of food is not surprising even if it’s an extremely simple preparation.

➡️ For those who don’t know too much about this food, macaroni ‘n’ cheese is a simple pasta bake featuring spaghetti (macaroni) and matured cheese. I suppose that the high popularity of this kind of food is due to two things: firstly, it’s very simple to make and does not require a lot of time spent in the kitchen, and secondly, it’s a cheap dish that anyone can afford. As you well know, prices at restaurants are skyrocketing, so the option of an inexpensive dinner is welcome for anyone! On this page, I share a mac and cheese recipe flavored with garlic, the secret ingredient that takes this food to the next level!

➡️ As I already mentioned above, cooking spaghetti with cheese is very easy even by the standards of a beginner home chef. Therefore, I will not dwell on this subject. Just watch the cooking video below and learn more about my recipe for macaroni ‘n’ cheese recipe with a twist!

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How to Cook Macaroni Cheese from Scratch

What ingredients do you need for the garlic macaroni cheese?

1) 300 g/10 oz of macaroni (spaghetti)
2) 350 g/12.5 oz of hard cheese like Cheddar, Gruyère, Emmental, Parmesan, and so forth
3) 500 g/17 oz of sour cream (12% fat)
4) 1 tsp of garlic powder or 1-2 grated garlic cloves
5) 1/2 tsp of ground white pepper
6) some salt to taste
7) 20 g/0.7 oz of butter
8) some fresh basil or oregano leaves for garnishing the dish (optional)

How to make garlic macaroni cheese from scratch in 15 steps?

step 1: boil spaghetti in salted water until soft as recommended on the package
step 2: drain spaghetti well when soft, then wait about 5 minutes to cool a bit
step 3: meanwhile, grate the cheese or unpack the grated cheese
step 4: place the sour cream into a bowl
step 5: place about 2/3 of the grated cheese over the sour cream
step 6: add granulated garlic and ground white pepper over the cheese in the bowl
step 7: season the ingredients with some salt to taste, then mix them by hand slowly and thoroughly
step 8: place spaghetti over the sour cream mixture
step 9: combine ingredients by hand to coat spaghetti with the cheese sour cream as better as possible
step 10: brush with butter the baking tray all over the inner surface
step 11: place the macaroni mixture into the tray and spread it into an even layer
step 12: spread the rest of the grated cheese over the macaroni layer
step 13: place the tray in the preheated oven at 180 Celsius or 360 Fahrenheit and bake the ingredients until golden on top, this takes usually about 40-50 minutes, depending on your oven
step 14: take the tray out of the oven and garnish the macaroni cheese with some oregano or basil leaves
step 15: wait about 5-10 min before serving the macaroni cheese to cool a bit, then slice it up as desired

Final Notes for the Macaroni Cheese Recipe with Garlic

➡️ Below are a few tips to get the best results when cooking my macaroni cheese recipe:

Even if the macaroni ‘n’ cheese recipe can be made with any type of spaghetti or macaroni, I recommend using an assortment of pasta made from durum wheat because it has a firmer consistency and behaves much better when baked in the oven. It also absorbs sour cream much better, which makes the pasta more tender and juicy in the end.
From my experience, the best cheese type for cooking macaroni and cheese is Cheddar, but other matured cheese sorts lead to great results such as Gruyère, Emmental, Parmesan, Pecorino, and so on.
The amount of garlic used in the recipe depends entirely on your taste, however, I recommend using at least a teaspoon of granulated garlic or 1-2 grated garlic cloves for a slight garlic flavor. Usually, I double these quantities for a stronger flavor because I really love the garlic taste in food!
Don’t overcook the macaroni cheese because it will become dry, at the moment when the top of the cheese layer is golden, you know that the food is ready.
Allow a few minutes for the macaroni to soak up the sour cream and for the top cheese layer to harden a bit before serving.
Even if using fresh aromatic herbs is not mandatory, I still recommend adding them on top for more flavor in the plate.