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
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!
This was yummy, thanks!
Easy and delish. To me, it is reminiscent of my grandmothers “cream macaroni” she would make for me and my siblings and cousins. I’m pretty sure there was no cheese, but was still creamy and yummy and was distinctively, deliciously peppered. So, for childhood memories sake, to this recipe I added a tsp of ground white pepper to the sauce after making. Tasted and yes, I was at granny’s kitchen table on the farm. 🙂 I poured the prepared mac and cheese it in a baking dish and topped it with a decent layer of panko, which I then sprayed with cooking spray (such an easy way to add crunchy crispiness to casseroles ) then a little sprinkle of shredded white cheddar. Now, in my oven it sits, waiting for me to turn the broiler on for a couple minutes to get it crispy and gooey right before I take it over to a potluck tonight. 🙂 Thank you for sharing! It was fairly quick , not too many ingredients and, decent amount to share with a crowd. Just what I needed for end of the week last minute potluck 🙂
I add a 1/4 (about 2-3 oz of Cream cheese and about 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika to the cheese mixture. It comes out creamy with a hint of smoke taste to it. I also add about 1/4 tsp. of Cyanne pepper because everyone here in my family loves the hot taste in everything. But this does sound like the one I use to make.
I added several carrots, honey, cinnamon and brown sugar and eliminated the cavatappi and white cheddar.
Ha… sorry, reviews that just submit an entirely different recipe are ridiculous. Thanks for this recipe. It was very good and does taste a lot like Panera’s.
I was like, wait what?? Haha, glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Haha, good one Trumpy!!!!
So hilarious! And so true – that one review below was SO over the top.
I adored this! Prepped everything and took it with me to potluck dinner then cooked it quickly on their stove and assembled it. I wasn’t sure how to make it ahead with out it drying out. Has anyone tired that yet?
Delicious! and quick. Def shred your own cheese.
Thanks for sharing this. Because I personally like a really creamy sauce, I doubled the sauce recipe. I also used smoky bacon chipotle salt instead of the kosher. I added one shallot, five cloves of garlic, half a fresh squeezed lemon, and a third cup of Riesling. I also added a teaspoon of nutmeg (half a teaspoon if not doubling sauce). And a package of baby spinach. Great call on the seriously sharp white cheddar. This is great!
I made this for my granddaughters and they loved it. They said it’s even better than Panera.
doesn’t taste like Parana but taste great!!!!!
I have made this Mac and cheese multiple times for big group events (and tons at home too). And without fail every time I make it everyone raves about it and asks for my recipe. And it’s the first thing gone. I’m not kidding. Everyone loves it. I love it too 🙂 I’m afraid to make it at home as much because I end up eating so much of it!! It’s perfectly creamy with amazing flavors! Oh! And sometimes I add a pinch of dried dill!
Bland bland bland bland bland. Maybe it’s because I live in the south but holy crap is it bland. Would recommend about 1/2 Tbsp of additional salt, 1 Tsp pepper and 1 Tbsp pepreka to the finished product just to give it some flavor. I don’t eat at Panera, and if this is how their food tastes, I’ll continue to not eat there. Must be big in the Midwest where seasoned food is a sin.
Good for you Jeffrey
Southern food isn’t exactly the paragon of health!
I’ve made this a few times over the years and am making it again this Saturday for my grandson’s birthday party. I personally add more dried mustard but it’s a delicious recipe.
I read the reviews before I tried the recipe and noticed a few people mentioned it came out slightly bland. When I made the sauce, I added a few shakes of garlic powder & paprika plus more salt and mine tasted amazing. Not quite Panera’s same taste, but still pretty high up there
love this,,, can’t even count how many times I’ve made this.
I made it as per the recipe. I did make one addition….a healthy sprinkling of cayenne pepper. It’s that little zip that finishes all cheese and/or cream sauce recipes. It is a good “save” recipe.
this recipe is okay, it’s not the exact same as panera’s. tastes like something is missing. definitely a little bland. i eat panera mac n cheese regularly and this does not taste like it lol
To make real copycat Panera mac & cheese, you MUST cook the noodles IN milk, instead of boiling them in water. That’s the secret. You add milk, a tablespoon of butter, salt, mustard, and then slowly cook (stirring often- yes, I know it’s a pain, but so worth it), and when the noodles are done, you take it off the heat and stir in shredded cheese. Important to note that you have to shred the cheese yourself; pre-shredded cheese in a bag has anti-clumping agents and it doesn’t melt nearly as nicely as it does if you’ve shredded a block of cheese yourself.
If you cook it in milk does that mean you don’t use the heavy cream?
Are you saying just use the 1 cup of milk in the recipe to cook the pasta? One cup couldn’t possibly be enough liquid for one pound of dry pasta, could it. Or, do you just use enough milk to cook the pasta then throw away that milk and still add 1 cup milk and 2 cups heavy cream? This is very confusing.
The pasta is already cooked in this recipe.
SO GOOD! I actually prefer this to Panera’s. I’ve made it at least 5 times and only messed it up once, I cooked the flour a little too long. It is so easy! I add a little paprika, a little extra mustard and a tiny bit of cayenne. I sub a tiny bit of the cheddar for parmesan because I love parmesan. I mix a little bit of butter with some panko and seasoning and parmesan and top the Mac with it, broil for a couple of minutes for some extra crunch on the top. LOVE IT!
Could you make this with GF flour and noodles? Would you alter the recipe in any way?
Can’t wait to try this recipe.
I make macaroni and cheese a lot, no matter what version i use,
I add 1 Tbsp prepared yellow mustard , my family request it , requires it lol
Have family members including myself that don’t like Dijon mustard,
So i never have any on hand. I also add a pinch of nutmeg.
Thank you for sharing your recipes.
They are delicious.
I made this exactly how the recipe was written with hand shredded extra sharp white cheddar & it was delicious! I also added breaded crumbs and baked it for 15 minutes.
I have tried at least 10 mac & cheese recipe and this one was by far the best! Perfect ratio’s of cheese, milk, butter etc.
Thanks for delicious recipe!
This a quick delish recipe that anyone would love. Thank you for sharing 😋😋😋
There’s something seriously off about this recipe. I do a lot of cooking and I followed the recipe exactly but it was just not good at all. Bland, gritty, and the cheese sauce was very liquid with a weird after taste. Not creamy and thick at all. I used Cabot so maybe that was the culprit. All ingredients were fresh. Maybe this is good Mac and cheese to some people and I’m just used to making it different. My whole family hated it and we ended up throwing it all out and ate sandwiches for dinner.
Ok Karen 😂
Yes, it WAS a Karen comment….”we had to throw it away’ wasn’t necessary…let’s be civil,with reviews.
I don’t think you’re being a “Karen.”
Maybe your cheddar was too sharp. I know sometimes the sharper your cheddar is, the grainier it is. I haven’t made this recipe, but there’s not much in terms of seasoning here, so I believe you when you say something was off. I’m sorry someone was being so mean when you’ve left a perfectly good review…smh
Omg, so easy and so yummy!! I made this for my son and couldn’t stop eating it once I tasted it. So cheesy and creamy and soooo addictive.