Cottage cheese, sour cream and Velveeta come together to make the richest, creamy macaroni and cheese. You’ll love the cheddar cheese and crispy bread crumb topping!
Baked Macaroni and Cheese
OK, friends. Today I’m sharing with you a recipe that has been a family favorite since we’ve been married. We love trying out new recipes and creating our own, and so many meals that were really good get lost in the shuffle. But a few are so good that they stand the test of time. This Rich and Creamy Macaroni and Cheese is one of those recipes.
I can remember finding this recipe when we were first married. We’d make a pan of this and it would feed us for almost a whole work week. Cooking one meal and having it last 4 or 5 meals? Those were the days. Then little kids came into the picture. At first, they didn’t like this homemade mac ‘n cheese. They preferred the boxed variety. Go figure.
Then the kids grew up and suddenly they think homemade macaroni and cheese is pretty great. And this big batch of cheesy goodness lasts us two meals at best.
My favorite part of this mac ‘n cheese is the combination of the rich, creamy cheese sauce covering the macaroni, paired with the crunchy topping of bread crumbs and cheddar cheese. It’s simply fantastic. The kids today prefer the creamy bottom layer to the crunchy topping, so I gladly take their topping and add it to mine.
Macaroni and Cheese with Three Cheeses
What makes this casserole so creamy? It has Velveeta, cottage cheese and sour cream. Don’t worry, though. If you don’t like sour cream or cottage cheese, you won’t taste it in there. If you’re worried about the texture of cottage cheese, you can run it through the food processor to make it smooth, but it is definitely not necessary. It all bakes together nicely. The combination of those three ingredients make this the richest and creamiest macaroni and cheese ever!
Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 3 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
- 6 tablespoons butter divided
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 cups milk
- 8 ounces Velveeta cheese cubed
- 1-1/3 cups cottage cheese
- 2/3 cup sour cream
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (8 ounces) divided
- 1-1/2 cups soft bread crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain the macaroni and place it in a greased 9x13 baking pan.
- In a medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons butter. Add in the flour, salt and sugar, then stir until smooth.
- Gradually add in the milk, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until the mixture has thickened. Reduce the heat to low.
- Stir in the Velveeta cheese until melted.
- Stir in cottage cheese, sour cream and 1 cup cheddar cheese until melted.
- Pour the cheese mixture over macaroni. Sprinkle with the remaining cheddar cheese.
- Melt remaining butter and toss with bread crumbs; sprinkle over top the casserole.
- Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Video
Nutrition
Adapted from Taste of Home
That mac and cheese looks really good…pinning to my pasta board. Coming over from the Instagram Blog Hop.
Oh I love a good mac ‘n cheese recipe! This sounds delicious!
Love a great mac and cheese. looks creamy delicioso!
~ sharon and denise
This sounds awesome. Thanks for linking to What’d You Do This Weekend.
Linda
Thanks so much for the great recipe. It’s absolutely THE best mac & cheese recipe ever. I made it a couple weeks ago but I didn’t have Velveeta on hand (substituted a bag of colby jack cheddar blend) and it came out perfect. I need to make something to take to a potluck dinner tomorrow & thought I bookmarked your website but didn’t. I almost had an anxiety attack trying to find it. THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE!!!! I’m going to try it with the Velveeta this time, but I have to agree with Denise…I’m not a fan..,that being said, I… Read more »
Can you sub Cream Cheese for cottage cheese?
Do you drain any of the liquid off the cottage cheese?
I spend holidays with friends and this mac & cheese recipe has become a “must bring” to each meal. It seems that I never make enough of it !
I have been making this recipe for years now and wanted to scroll through the comments to see if anyone has had luck freezing it. I know it isn’t strenuous to make, but we just had baby boy #2 and I work nights so I’ve been trying to make as many freezer meals as possible to know my husband and toddler are fed. I will say this recipe is absolutely perfect! The only thing I change is using Ritz crackers on top instead of bread crumbs. Thank you for the creamy cheesy comfort food!
can i swap ricotta for the cottage?
thank you
This mac n cheese is good. I have my own 5 cheese recipe and it’s rich , delicious and creamy in a different way and has a totally different taste. This mac n cheese is an awesome no fuss mac n cheese for a weekday or cook out side dish. It’s a casual and kid friendly mac n cheese. I don’t cook with velveeta, but it works well in this dish, it just does.
I made this in the crockpot for a potluck high for 30 to get crust then low for 2/12 it was fantastic started out warm with all ingredients
Sounds good until I read the Velvetta..Don’t use that nasty stuff