Creamy white cheddar macaroni and cheese just like Panera. Give this copycat panera mac and cheese a try. Oh and it’s quick and easy on the stove top too!!
For more traditional mac and cheese try my favorite Baked Macaroni and Cheese recipe or my Gouda Bacon Mac and Cheese.
Copycat Panera Recipe
My kids are so predictable sometimes when it comes to ordering from restaurants. I like to order something different every time I go out, it’s fun to try new things.
But at Panera, we all seem to be creatures of habit. We all get the same soup, sandwich or salad..EVERY TIME.
Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Orange Scones, and a big bowl of Mac and Cheese. Don’t forget the kitchen sink cookies!
I thought it would be fun to try to recreate this recipe at home. I’m good at making the main dish for dinner, but it’s the side dishes that always get forgotten. And peanut butter fudge is the perfect ending to any meal, right?
We usually end up having applesauce and a roasted broccoli because I can’t seem to wrap my head around making side dishes.
- Made on stove top in minutes!
- Creamy and cheesy!
- Kid and adult approved.
Ingredient Notes
With just a handful of ingredients, you can make this stove top mac and cheese at home.
- Pasta- use what you love. Cavatappi is a great choice, but shells or elbows work great too.
- Cheese- good quality cheese is a must. And shredding it yourself is key to the creamiest mac and cheese. Bag of shredded cheese won’t give you the same results, you’ll find it more grainy. Use white cheddar to mimic Panera.
- Ground Mustard- or dry mustard. This does not give your mac and cheese a mustard flavor, but instead ENHANCES the cheese flavor. Don’t skip it!
- Milk & Cream- for the thickest mac and cheese, use heavy whipping cream and whole milk.
- Salt and Pepper- season as directed, adding more after serving if necessary.
Step by Step Instructions
- Cook pasta- according to package directions while making the sauce. Drain and set aside until ready to use.
- Make the roux- In a large saucepan on medium high heat, add butter until melted. Whisk in the flour and cook for about one minute. Reduce heat to medium and add milk, heavy cream, salt, dry mustard and pepper.
- Add cheese- Continue whisking until it begins to bubble. Reduce to low and add white cheddar. Stir until melted.
- Add pasta- Add cooked pasta, stirring until combined. Remove from heat and allow to sit about 5 minutes to thicken. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired. ENJOY.
Recipe FAQs
I prefer a white cheddar, like Cabot’s. Don’t use the packaged shredded cheese, as it usually has thickeners on it. Buy a block and shred it yourself for the creamiest results.
1/2-1 tsp of dijon mustard would work well with today’s mac and cheese recipe. It doesn’t make the recipe taste like mustard, but instead enhances the cheese flavor!
Absolutely! Start with about 1/4 teaspoon. This will give the pasta great flavor without making it spicy. Add more if you want spice!
Tips and Tricks
- While your noodles are cooking, you can whip up the roux (flour and butter mixture). Then add remaining ingredients. By the time your noodles are done, your sauce should be ready. Easy!
- When ready to reheat your leftovers, you may need to add about 1/2 cup milk. Warm it up on low on the stovetop. This recipe is about two meals for us as a side dish, for our family of 4.
- Use the video tutorial below to follow along!
Serving Suggestions
- Buffalo Chicken Sliders
- Meatball Subs
- Instant Pot Hamburgers
- Instant Pot French Dip Sandwiches
- Mississippi Pot Roast
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Copycat Panera Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 pound pasta cooked (cavatapppi, shells, or elbow)
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions while making the sauce. Drain and set aside until ready to use.
- In a large pot on medium high heat, add butter until melted. Whisk in the flour and cook for about one minute. Reduce heat to medium and add milk, heavy cream, salt, dry mustard and pepper.
- Continue whisking until it begins to bubble. Reduce to low and add white cheddar. Stir until melted.
- Add cooked pasta, stirring until combined. Remove from heat and allow to sit about 5 minutes to thicken. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.
Notes
- Use a good quality cheese for best flavor. We choose Cabot white cheddar for best results.
- Shred your own cheese!
Video
Nutrition
Copycat Panera White Cheddar Mac and Cheese recipe is perfect for an easy weeknight side dish!
PB does have good mac and cheese. Love this copycat version. So creamy!!!
Thanks Jennie!! Let me know if you give it a try 🙂
Bought everything to try this tonight!! Saw it on the recipe girls facebook and was drooling over it! Gorgeous photos and thanks for the recipe 🙂 Love that bowl!!
Hope you enjoyed the recipe!!
I am obsessed with Cabot cheese. Their outlet store used to be down the street from my office when I lived in Vermont. We would go in there all the time and bring back cheese and crackers for an afternoon snack at the office! I am dying over this Mac and Cheese!
An outlet store? Woah, that sounds deliciously dangerous!
So I totally see why you’d call this a side dish….I want it at my side all day long! (crickets chirping) But It needs to be my main course. Seriously though: this mac and cheese looks freaking out of this world, Aimee. 😀
LOL. I giggled 🙂
This dish looks so appetizing. I guess that the sauce is very piquant and there is a lot of it in the dish. I always admired the variety of macaroni in the shops. It is really amazing.
This is seriously one delicious looking bowl of mac and cheese! White cheddar is my favorite!
I always get the same thing at Panera too. There have been one or two times where I got something else and although it wasn’t bad I missed the norm. The mac and cheese is not the norm. And though I would love to try it I want to miss out on my favorites. Making this at home is the perfect solution.
One of our favorites at St. Louis Bread Company (Panera’s hometown!). Their serving size is never enough to satisfy. We’ll have this for dinner tomorrow night. Thank you for sharing.
I love the panera mac & cheese and I adore sharp cheddar, I can’t eat normal cheddar. Sharp all the way baby!!
I’m right there with you!!
MMM..that looks like a great bowl of mac n cheese.
PERFECT!!! so happpyyyy that you recreated this recipe-it looks crazy amazing
A job where you get to try cheese? So lucky! 🙂 I tried Cabot a few weeks ago and loved it! This looks delicious and I know it would go over well with the family!
I Am not sure if you received my first email.if you did I apologize for the second one.just won’t to know if you could bake this in the oven and how to do it and how long.thank you.
Hi Audrey, This is a stovetop recipe. Check out my other mac and cheese recipes, two of them are oven baked!
Can you baked this in the oven? If yes how and how long.thank you.
Not going to lie, I haven’t had Panera’s Macaroni and Cheese…but this girl LOVES white cheddar anything….and everything I have had at Panera has rocked my socks. If this is 1/16 as incredible as it looks (which I am 110% sure it is!) I am one happy girl! Pinned
I have never had Panera’s mac and cheese. I always go for their chicken salad if I’m fortunate enough to find a Panera anywhere near me. Nebraska is dumb. This mac and cheese is not. The end.
Haha #freakingnebraska 🙂
Where are the amounts of the ingredients??
If you made it all the way to the comments, then you missed the recipe card right above.
Karly, snarky but very cute.
#movetoOmaha
Super-yum! We make a copycat of the Panera tomato soup that I like even better than the original. Happy Friday!
So easy. So cheesy. So darned good!
That macaroni looks like perfection! So creamy and flavorful. I want a spoon of it right now!
That’s a stunning bowl of mac and cheese! The only thing that would make it better is if it were mine!