If you’ve ever seen the videos of people making sandwiches with a hot knife, then you’re already familiar with this cheese. They can really elevate the flavor of the entire dish without messing up the consistency. In my opinion, it can stand on its own, but it’s a great cheese to mix with other cheeses like Cheddar or Gouda. I like the texture of it when it’s melted and the flavor is light and consistent. It is still a solid cheese choice, especially if the others are too sharp for your palette. Jack is pretty close to Cheddar in creaminess, but is milder in flavor you might even say it’s a bit sweet. It is more difficult to pair with other cheeses, but not impossible if you really can’t live with just one cheese. It has a bit of an earthy taste to it, so it’s a great macaroni to add mushrooms or truffles into, if you’re into that kind of thing. If you’ve never had it before, this dish is a great way to try it. It has a distinct taste that comes from the caverns it’s aged in. I feel like Fontina cheese is the least known from this list and that’s a shame.Ī post shared by Wijn & Spijs Heerenveen a semi-hard Italian cheese that’s incredibly rich and creamy, which makes it great for melting. I’m sure it would taste delicious with any smoked meat, barbeque beans, or even coleslaw, so jot that down for later. I cannot recommend strongly enough having pulled pork on top of this pasta! The flavor comes from being smoked in huge brick ovens over hickory chip embers, and you can tell.īecause it’s smokey, I thought it would go along well with barbeque, and I was right. It adds such a unique, smokey taste that you’ll think it’s a different dish entirely. Smoked Gouda is an excellent choice if you want mac and cheese, but you also don’t. It’s so versatile because it can be your main course or a delicious side. It’s the kind I had the most as a kid, whether homemade or store-bought, but I can never get enough. You can have it any way you like though.Ĭheddar mac and cheese always makes me nostalgic. For me, the sharper the cheddar, the better, so I love to slap in a heaping of extra sharp goodness.

There’s a reason why sharp cheddar ranks on my best cheeses for mac and cheese list- it’s a classic.Ĭheddar has great flavor and melts down easily. In my humble opinion, this cheese is the easiest to pair with other cheeses. If you make it with bread crumbs, it’s easy to sprinkle the Parmesan in, too (and garlic powder if you love your tastebuds). I also love that you can grate Parmesan into the dish and on top of it. Parmesan macaroni and cheese is rather close to Alfredo now that I think about it it’s like Alfredo in a hat and trench coat. It’s another hard cheese that melts exceptionally well, which you may already know if you home make Alfredo sauce. It pairs well with other cheeses you just want to be mindful of how strong in flavor they are since this one already has vigor. It made it easier to pair with caramelized onions and garlic, which I love to work into every meal possible. It can be expensive, so it may not be the go-to cheese every time you cook. It’s a harder cheese than Brie, but it’s Swiss, so it melts extraordinarily well. With Gruyere, and with all of the cheeses in your mac and cheese, you should go with younger ones, as in aged for less time. I also recommend adding Gruyere and Parmesan in to ramp up the flavor without sacrificing texture. If you want an even silkier mouthfeel without it getting runny, then try creamy Brie! It was easy to heat up with butter and spread over elbow noodles, but it didn’t turn too thin either. The most important part is its meltability Brie melts like a dream. It’s a soft French cheese, so it’s a smooth, mild cheese that has undertones of cream and butter, which make it perfect for pasta in any form. Is Brie coming in first place? I know it sounds crazy, but trust me when I say it’s delicious and one of the best cheeses for macaroni and cheese. The key to this dish is cheese, so do your mouth a favor and keep reading to find out the best cheeses for mac and cheese. There’s nothing wrong with the box brand- I have 5 boxes of Kraft in my cabinet right now- but there’s also nothing tastier than fresh-baked, creamy mac and cheese with crispy bread crumbs on top.

I personally recommend treating yourself to a batch from scratch instead of the box. If you’re hungry and have a hankering for Havarti, you can’t beat the classic dish that is macaroni. I think we all know there’s no better way to have cheese than melted and topping oodles of noodles.

The best cheeses for mac and cheese