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!
Can any of your macaroni and cheese recipes be frozen? My family loves the panera copy cat recipe and we want to take on our lake trip. I was going to make, freeze, then bake – what are your thoughts or recommendations? Thanks for any advice – love this recipe
I am on a keto diet and have been doing a low carb lifestyle for quite a while, but I really missed my Panera mac and cheese.
I modified this recipe as follows:
I substituted Xanthan Gun instead of the flour I used about 3/4 teaspoon, adding it by rubbing it between my fingers while whisking with the other hand after adding the wet ingredients but before the cheese. It takes time to work and will thicken more over time. Do not add more.
I used Fiber Gourmet’s Light Elbows with 17g net carbs per serving (it’s actually a lot once cooked). * Note: This pasta is made with digestive resistant starch and doesn’t seem to throw me out of ketosis, but in the interest full disclosure, I’m listing what’s on the label.
I used actual spicy brown mustard instead of the dry, but only 1/2 teaspoon.
I used salted butter, then cut the salt down to just under 1/2 teaspoon of salt and tasted it as I went to make sure I didn’t over salt, and I added the salt at the end after the cheese was melted.
The sauce as prepared above has only 13g carbs from the milk. About 2-3g per serving. When added to the pasta, it’s about 20g total.
Since I like a lot of sauce, it’s about 20g total when I eat it, but I don’t have any weight gain the next day after eating this pasta. I hope this helps anyone trying to support a low carb lifestyle.
Thank you SOOO much for this amazing recipe. I couldn’t tell the difference at all from Panera. Sorry, Panera!! You’ve been replaced.
I made this for the first time yesterday. I couldn’t find the Cracker Barrel white cheddar so I used almost 2 cups of Tillamook white cheddar instead and added 1/2 cup of Extra Sharp normal cheddar. It was absolutely delicious and my whole family loved it! I will definitely keep this recipe in our family favourites 😁 Thank you!
Trying this tonight…do you think extra sharp white cheddar would be too much?
Damn good! So quick and easy too!
This has simple instructions and is easy to make however we found it sort of bland. We would add a couple different cheese’s next time for additional flavor.
We love this Mac & Cheese recipe! I make it with Asiago cheese and add an extra tsp. of dry mustard. I usually make it as an oven version though: make as directed, then put in casserole dish, put a layer of shredded extra sharp cheddar and top with buttered Panko bread crumbs. Heat in 350 Degree oven untIl brown in top.
Delish! Making it now!
can you use almond flour as a substitute?
What do you do if you add sweetened condensed milk?
Throw it away, LOL.
Can I use half and half instead of heavy cream
Do you salt your pasta?
This is THE BEST mac n cheese recipe! I’ve been making it for years now. I don’t make any changes (I might add a little extra pepper… I’m always generous when I add pepper to things). Sometimes I add things to it. Tonight I added chicken and broccoli. Sometimes I add steak and broccoli. No matter how you serve it it’s delicious! And SO quick and easy 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
can I use 2% milk instead of skim milk?
Yes you can 🙂
It looks really good. Thanks for the recipe!
Instead of heavy cream could carnation evaporated milk work?
Evaporated milk will definitely change the flavor and texture of this recipe.
If I don’t have heavy cream can I just add more milk? I know the heavy cream helps with the creaminess, but any way I can make it without?
You can make heavy cream with butter, milk, and a thickener like cornstarch.
I make this regularly as a side dish for sloppy Joe’s, burgers and chicken. It is SO good. We use whatever pasta we have on hand and add a little more salt or pepper to taste depending on our moods. I’ve put the sauce over lobster ravioli and it was TO DIE FOR.
I tried this recipe twice and wanted to provide feedback for any non-cooks (like me) trying to make this.
The recipe itself is pretty easy compared to others I’ve looked at. The roux is time sensitive so have all your ingredients out and measured if you can. I would recommend boiling your pasta first so you don’t have to stress about draining it while you’re mixing your other ingredients.
Now as far as taste, I personally do not recommend the Cabot seriously cheddar. I thought it was way too sharp and Nothing like Panera. Luckily, I tasted the roux before mixing in the pasta so I added about a cup of yellow cheddar and maybe half a cup of mozzarella. The taste was much better and the whole fam liked it.
The second time I decided to try it with a different cheese.. someone mentioned Cracker Barrel’s so I tried that. YES!!! Perfect! Very close to Panera!!! I tried adding About half a cup of yellow cheddar again. It was still good but not necessary. I also sprinkled some breadcrumbs on top for a little crunch
Hi there 🙂
You mentioned you used “cracker barrel” cheese, can you specify which cheese you used? I an assuming white cheddar?Thank you so much .
Yes, it was the white cheddar, but I can’t remember which one exactly. I want to say the Vermont white cheddar. (I’ve been trying different cheese combinations.)
I always make homemade Mac n cheese, but this is great, simple and easy for a go to quick and fast meal.
This is my all time favorite Mac and Cheese to make. I’ve been making it for a few years now. 🙂
i dont have dry mustRd what can i do?
You can skip it if you must. 🙂
I finally had the chance to make this and everything was on point except the amount of pepper-1 TSP is way too much. I’d suggest 1/2 or even 1/4 TSP and maybe white pepper instead for aesthetics. My daughter did enjoy it (and my husband and I), the pepper was the only downfall!
I just wanna say that I love pepper so I thought it was good for me and my kids
This recipe is fabulous! According to my granddaughter it is better than Panera. We were going every week to Panera for lunch so she can have their Mac n Cheese. Yesterday we were school clothes shopping and I asked if she wanted Panera for lunch. She actually said no! She asked me to make it at home again. Made a full batch recipe today but made the cheese sauce 1/2 more. She likes it saucy and it is such a large recipe I figured it would hold up better & stay saucy for it to last us a couple days. I used Cabot Farmhouse Reserve, a bold & creamy cheddar, it tastes wonderful! Thanks so much for this recipe!
WOW looks so great for Panera lover like me. Can’t resist it!