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Sweetie Pie’s Mac & Cheese is creamy, gooey, and baked with a lightly browned cheddar top that’s impossible to resist. You’re going to love the rich blend of cheeses, evaporated milk, and just a little sugar to round it all out. It’s comfort food at its best—easy to stir together and perfect for a generous pan of baked mac and cheese.
Why You’ll Love It
- Ultra-creamy and cheesy — Velveeta, cheddar, Colby, Monterey Jack, whole milk, and evaporated milk make every bite rich and gooey.
- No separate cheese sauce — stir everything together in one large bowl before baking.
- Makes a generous pan — perfect for a holiday table, family dinner, or backyard cookout.
- That crusty cheddar top — the browned edges are the best part.
Ingredient Notes
Use elbow macaroni here. I know cavatappi is cute and shells are fun, but this recipe is built around elbows, and sometimes we don’t need to reinvent a perfectly good wheel. Cook them according to the package directions until tender. Not mushy—tender. There’s a difference, though I admit I have crossed that line while trying to unload groceries and watch the weather report at the same time.
The evaporated milk is important. It gives this macaroni and cheese that distinct creamy richness without making a separate cheese sauce. Use whole milk along with it, as written. This is not the moment for skim milk. I’m not saying skim milk has no place in the world… I just don’t know where that place is.
For cheese, I buy blocks and shred the Colby & Monterey Jack and sharp cheddar myself when I’m feeling organized. Pre-shredded works if that’s what you have, and I will not come to your house and inspect your refrigerator. The Velveeta needs to be cubed, and yes, use the real thing. This is a treat recipe. We are not conducting a wellness seminar.
Ground white pepper gives it a warm little bite without the black specks. That said, white pepper has a smell when you open the container that always reminds me of kitchen drawers—spices rolling around loose, cinnamon on everything, and one mysterious packet of gravy mix. Use a tablespoon. It seems like a lot. It works.
The sour cream is optional, and I have made it both ways. I usually add it because I like the extra tang. But I’ve also forgotten it entirely and nobody pushed away from the table in sorrow.
Ingredients
- 16 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked according to the package directions until tender
- 1 cup whole milk
- 24 ounces evaporated milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 stick butter, cubed
- 8 ounces Colby & Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 pound Velveeta, cubed
- Salt, to taste—I start modestly because the cheeses bring plenty
- 1 tablespoon ground white pepper
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup sour cream, optional, though I usually toss it in
- 1 cup mild cheddar cheese, shredded, for the topping
- Cooking oil spray for the baking dish
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Spray a 10×14-inch baking pan or a tall 9×13-inch dish with cooking oil spray. A tall dish matters more than you might think; this is a generous, creamy situation, and I have learned the hard way that an overfilled pan will bubble over at the exact moment you’re trying to set the table.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the elbow macaroni according to the package directions until tender. Drain it well. Don’t rinse it. I know somebody will tell you to rinse pasta, but not here. We want all that cheese and milk mixture to cling to those elbows like they pay rent.
While the macaroni cooks, grab a very large bowl. Whisk together the whole milk, evaporated milk, and eggs until they’re combined. Add the optional sour cream, salt to taste, ground white pepper, and granulated sugar. Stir it all together. The sugar sounds peculiar, I know. The first time I read it, I raised an eyebrow so hard I nearly gave myself a headache. But it doesn’t make the dish sweet; it rounds everything out.
Add the drained, cooked macaroni to the milk mixture and stir. Then add the cubed butter, shredded Colby & Monterey Jack, shredded sharp cheddar, and cubed Velveeta. Stir until everything is mixed through. It will look very loose and very cheesy, which is exactly where you want it. Do not panic and add flour. Do not decide it needs breadcrumbs. I have had those impulses. They were wrong.
Pour the macaroni mixture into your prepared pan. Use a spoon to nudge it into the corners and level it out a bit. You don’t need to press it down like you’re paving a driveway—just spread it evenly.
Sprinkle the 1 cup of mild cheddar evenly over the top. Be sure to get some near the edges because those browned, cheesy bits are the pieces people mysteriously “just want to taste” before dinner is served.
Bake for 45 minutes, until the top is lightly browned. Let it sit for a few minutes before serving if you can stand it. I rarely can.
Variations
I tend to leave this one alone because it’s already doing the absolute most, but you can add a little extra sharp cheddar on top instead of mild cheddar for a bolder flavor.
You can leave out the sour cream, as the recipe says, and it will still be rich and creamy. I’ve done that when I had every ingredient lined up neatly on the counter except sour cream—which was sitting unopened behind a jar of pickles, naturally. One time I tried adding Bacon because bacon is everybody’s first idea when they don’t know what else to do. It wasn’t bad, exactly. But it distracted from the cheese, and I regretted it. Not deeply. Let’s not get dramatic. But enough that I haven’t repeated it.
If you want a little heat at the table, put out hot sauce rather than changing the pan itself. That way the folks who like things mild can keep enjoying that soft, creamy old-school flavor, and the heat-seekers can go right ahead and sweat through dinner.
Storage & Reheating
Cover leftovers tightly and refrigerate them for up to three or four days. I usually scoop portions into containers because otherwise the pan gets picked over until there is nothing left worth saving.
To reheat, microwave a serving until hot, stopping once or twice to stir if you can. It thickens up in the refrigerator, as baked mac and cheese does. A splash of milk can loosen it a little, but don’t drown it. You can also reheat a larger amount, covered, in a 350°F oven until warmed through. I can’t give you an exact time because it depends on how much is in the dish and whether your refrigerator runs as cold as mine does. Ours is practically a meat locker. The butter compartment freezes, which seems like a design flaw, but there we are.
I don’t recommend freezing it. Could you? Probably. Should you, with all that creamy dairy and tender pasta? I wouldn’t. Fresh or refrigerated leftovers are where this recipe shines.
Final Notes
This is the sort of dish that makes a regular dinner feel like an occasion, even if the rest of the meal is just Chicken from the grocery store and green beans somebody opened from a can. It has that generous, slightly excessive quality I remember from family tables when I was growing up—there was always one casserole nobody needed, strictly speaking, but everybody would have noticed if it wasn’t there.
Make it when you want comfort. Make it when your people are coming over. Make it when the weather has been ugly for six straight days and you are tired of salads pretending to solve problems.
And if you scrape the browned cheese from the corner of the pan before anyone else gets to it… well. I won’t tell.
Sweetie Pie's Mac & Cheese
Ingredients
- 16 ounces elbow macaroni cooked according to the package directions until tender
- 1 cup whole milk
- 24 ounces evaporated milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 stick butter cubed
- 8 ounces Colby & Monterey Jack cheese shredded
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 pound Velveeta cubed
- salt to taste; start modestly because the cheeses bring plenty
- 1 tablespoon ground white pepper
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup sour cream optional
- 1 cup mild cheddar cheese shredded, for the topping
- cooking oil spray for the baking dish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a 10x14-inch baking pan or a tall 9x13-inch dish with cooking oil spray.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, cook the elbow macaroni according to the package directions until tender, and drain it well without rinsing.
- While the macaroni cooks, whisk the whole milk, evaporated milk, and eggs together in a very large bowl until combined.
- Add the optional sour cream, salt to taste, ground white pepper, and granulated sugar to the milk mixture and stir until combined.
- Add the drained cooked macaroni to the milk mixture, then stir in the cubed butter, shredded Colby & Monterey Jack, shredded sharp cheddar, and cubed Velveeta until everything is mixed through.
- Pour the macaroni mixture into the prepared pan, spread it evenly into the corners, and sprinkle the mild cheddar evenly over the top, including near the edges.
- Bake for 45 minutes, until the top is lightly browned, then let it sit for a few minutes before serving.