For all you fans of Panera Mac and Cheese, I’m about to blow your mind. This is the actual Panera Mac and Cheese recipe that the company had posted on their website some time ago. Thank goodness my neighbor saved it for all of us to enjoy!
I thought my favorite was my stove top macaroni and cheese recipe, but boy this sure makes it hard to decide!
How to Make Panera Mac and Cheese at Home
This creamy, delicious copycat Panera mac and cheese tastes just like the restaurant. Aside from the pasta, please adhere to the ingredients listed below. As with all copycat recipes, if you want it to taste like you bought it there, you have to make it like they do. If you change any ingredients, you will change the recipe.
We even sought out the same pasta Panera uses, just to make it authentic. We found ours at Trader Joes, but there’s a little Italian grocery store by me that sells it too. They are called pipette rigate and have a unique shape that the Panera chefs say hold the sauce the best. If you can’t find pipette rigate, you can use regular elbow macaroni instead.
What you need to make this recipe:
- Pipette rigate (or elbow macaroni)
- Butter
- All-purpose flour
- Milk
- Sliced white American cheese, cut into strips
- Vermont extra-sharp white cheddar, shredded
- Dijon mustard
- Kosher salt
- Hot sauce
Helpful kitchen tools:
Making this amazing Panera macaroni and cheese
- Follow the directions on the package of pasta to cook al dente.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute, whisking constantly.
- Gradually whisk in the milk; cook over medium heat, whisking until mixture thickens and bubbles. Remove from heat.
- Add cheeses, mustard, salt, and hot sauce, stirring until cheese melts and cheese sauce is smooth.
- Stir in the cooked pasta and cook over medium heat for 1 minute (or until thoroughly heated). Serve immediately.
Panera Mac and Cheese
IMPORTANT - There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate It Text ItIngredients
- 16 ounce pipette rigate or elbow macaroni
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cup milk
- 6 Slices white American cheese sliced into thin strips
- 8 oz Vermont extra-sharp white cheddar shredded
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
Instructions
- Follow the directions on the package of pasta to cook al dente.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute, whisking constantly.
- Gradually whisk in the milk; cook over medium heat, whisking until mixture thickens and bubbles. Remove from heat.
- Add cheeses, mustard, salt, and hot sauce, stirring until cheese melts and cheese sauce is smooth.
- Stir in the cooked pasta and cook over medium heat for 1 minute (or until thoroughly heated). Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Amanda Davis
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Elaine says
My family loved this! We used Walmart brand individually wrapped white American slices and cabot seriously sharp cheddar. I did a half recipe, and my kids loved it. We didn’t finish it all, but it reheated beautifully with a bit of half and half the next day. Thank you for sharing!
Sandy says
Do you have the approximate weight for the white American cheese? The deli has so many choices for thickness which can change to weight. Thanks!
Amanda Formaro says
1 slice is approximately 1 ounce
Jake S. says
Thought the flavor was good if not bland, but the ratio of cheese sauce to pasta was way too high for my family. Maybe we’re outliers, but I would cook 50-100% more pasta with this amount of sauce next time. Thanks for posting the recipe though!
Melanie Hicks says
Jake, I cut the flour in the roux to 3 T f, increase to 3cups of milk,, use 6oz of sharp cheddar instead of 8 and 1 teaspoon of hot sauce!