If you’re a fan of Panera Mac and Cheese, you can now make it at home with this easy recipe. It delivers creamy, cheesy pasta that tastes just like the restaurant version.
If you’ve never tried it, you might be wondering, “Is Panera Mac and Cheese good?” And I’m here to answer that for you! Yes, it is REALLY good. It’s super creamy, cheesy, and flavorful. It’s one of the stand-out, evergreen items on their menu that I can’t imagine they ever discontinue!
Easy To Make! Making this dish at home is simple and quick. You control the ingredients, save money, and skip the trip to the restaurant.
Done In About 20 Minutes! Everything is done right on the stove top very easily. This is a great recipe for beginning cooks.
Delicious Flavor! This recipe will easily become a family favorite.
What You Will Need
The Panera Bread Mac and Cheese ingredient list is super simple. You might even have everything in your kitchen right now! Make sure to scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom for the full list of ingredients and instructions!
Pasta. Panera uses Pipette Rigate, which you can easily find, but I always have shells on-hand, so I use those too. Any short, cut pasta will work! Just cook it al dente so it holds a little bite as it sits in the cheese sauce and continues to cook a bit.
Butter. I specify using salted butter in this recipe because it’s what I prefer. You can use unsalted butter as well. The only added salt in this recipe is what you use to salt the pasta water as well as the salt that exists in the cheese.
Flour. Regular all purpose flour is what you need for this recipe.
Pepper. Ground black pepper is the only additional seasoning in the ac and cheese recipe. I like a lot of black pepper, but feel free to use as much or as little as you prefer.
Milk. You can use either 2% milk or whole milk in this recipe. I don’t recommend 1% milk, skim milk, or almond milk for the creamiest results.
Cheddar Cheese. To make this a real copycat Panera recipe I use a mild white cheddar cheese. You can certainly use yellow cheddar if that’s what you have! The result will be the same, just the flavor will differ slightly.
Parmesan Cheese. The addition of parmesan cheese enhances the cheddar without making the sauce too “sharp”. Panera mac and cheese has a mild flavor, so you don’t want too much Parmesan.
American Cheese. This is the “secret ingredient” to really getting the creamiest cheese sauce. Don’t skip the addition of the deli-sliced white American cheese!
Tips On How To Make Panera Mac and Cheese
Prep all the ingredients before starting. This recipe comes together very quickly, so you want to have everything on-hand and ready when you need it!
Use high-quality white cheddar: This gives the mac and cheese its signature taste. You don’t need to use an aged cheddar or anything super sharp, but a nice, creamy white cheddar will make the sauce extra delicious.
Cooking the pasta: I like to start the water boiling for my pasta at the same time I melt the butter for the sauce, that way everything is done about the same time. But you can easily make the pasta before hand and just drain and keep it covered and warm to add at the end. The pasta might stick together a bit, but it will be ok once it’s mixed into the cheese sauce.
What Makes Panera Mac and Cheese Special
The great thing about this recipe is that it is done in minutes, it has great flavor, can be enjoyed as a quick main dish dinner or lunch, or even a perfect dish dish at your cook out or BBQ.
Can You Use Another Type Of Cheese?
There is just a creaminess and texture that can’t be explained, due in-part to the 3 cheeses I used. I worked hard to create this copycat recipe that is both easy and delicious, with a creamy blend of cheeses. Is it exact? I can’t say for sure, but it is pretty darn close!
You can certainly sub in yellow cheddar and yellow American for the white cheddar and it will work perfectly. You can also use a different blend of cheese if you prefer and use this recipe as a base to really make your own!
Ideas To Add-In To Mac and Cheese
Of course Panera Mac and Cheese is perfect as-is, there are tons of things you can add to make it a full meal or amp of the flavor!
Hot sauce. My husband ALWAYS adds hot sauce to his mac and cheese. Doesn’t matter if it’s homemade or from a box. He loves the heat and tang that hot sauce gives.
Chicken. Really any kind of protein would work well in mac and cheese, but cooked chicken mixed in is a simple way to make this a full meal. And if you really want to take it there, try chicken nuggets mixed in…SO GOOD!
Chili. If you have some leftover chili, adding a scoop on top of this mac and cheese creates the most delicious Chili Mac!
How To Store Panera Mac and Cheese
I’ll be honest, this recipe is best the same day you make it, enjoyed warm. Macaroni and cheese has a tendency to lose its creaminess the longer it sits. That’s just the way it works when you are using real cheese. While it will lose a bit of the creamy texture you can absolutely store this and enjoy it the day as leftovers. Simply cover it in airtight container and when you reheat it add a splash or 2 of milk as you cook it!
This is a spot-on copycat version of Panera Mac and Cheese. It’s super easy to make and takes less than 20 minutes from start to finish. Everyone loves this one!
3 1/2 cups medium shell pasta
1 tablespoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons salted butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 1/2 cups 2% or whole milk
2 cups fresh shredded white cheddar cheese
1/4 cup fresh shredded parmesan cheese
4 slices deli-style white American cheese, torn into pieces
Bring a large pot (5 – 6 quarts) of water to a boil. Add in the salt and stir. Add in the pasta and cook according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
While the pasta is cooking, in a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium-low heat. Once the butter is melted, whisk in the flour and cook for 1 -2 minutes until smooth. Add in the black pepper and then slowly add in the milk, whisking constantly.
Bring the milk mixture to a boil, stirring frequently so the milk doesn’t scald. Once it’s reached a boil, stir constantly for 2 minutes until thickened.
Turn the heat immediately to low and add in the cheddar, parmesan, and American cheese, stirring until smooth. Add in the cooked pasta and stir until coated.
Season with more pepper if desired and serve immediately.
Notes
This type of mac and cheese is always best when enjoyed the same day. You can always store airtight in the refrigerator and reheat in the microwave with a splash of milk!
