Patti Labelle’s Mac and Cheese
The "Godmother of Soul" does great comfort food too.
Patti Labelle is known as the “Godmother of Soul” but I don’t think I’ve ever thought to turn to her for a recipe. Until now, that is. Patti Labelle’s Mac and Cheese is classic in the best sense of the word. Creamy and comforting, it’s the type of baked mac that just feels like it’s meant to be at the center of your family’s table. There’s no frills or fuss here — it’s just everything you expect from good mac and cheese!
We made this mac and cheese as a part of our Celebrity Mac and Cheese Recipe Showdown. It’s a fun thing where we take four celebrity recipes — some celebrity chefs, some not so much — cook them, and then taste and compare them to see how they stack up. This match-up included Rachael Ray, Bobby Flay, John Legend, and Patti LaBelle. They were all very different and delicious in their own right.
Mac and Cheese is one of my favorite things to make but I have always relied on a bechamel-based technique when I’m baking it. Patti’s is definitely not that! She has you stir butter into cooked macaroni and then add in shredded cheese, cubed Velveeta, eggs, half and half, and seasoned salt and stir it all together. There’s no building of a sauce really… you’re just stirring everything into the macaroni and then transferring it to a dish to bake. That means it’s super easy to throw together!
As for cheese, Patti uses five different kinds here. There’s muenster, mild cheddar, sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack, and Velveeta. That’s a lot of cheese! But even with all of that, the main flavor you get is Velveeta. This actually tastes very similar to the Velveeta Mac and Cheese from the box, which I’m not complaining about! There’s only a half cup of each of the shredded cheeses so their flavor gets lost a bit but the consistency is delightfully creamy. If I make this again, I’d probably go ahead and use two cups of sharp cheddar for flavor and pair just that cheese with the Velveeta. That’s the only thing I’d change; this is a great Mac and Cheese!
To see how this staked up with the other celebrity mac and cheeses, see our Celebrity Mac and Cheese Recipe Showdown article!
Patti Labelle's Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 lb macaroni
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 cup muenster cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup mild cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- 2 cups half and half
- 8 oz Velveeta cheese, cubed
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/4 teaspoon seasoning salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly butter a 2 1/2 quart baking dish.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then cook macaroni and add 1 tablespoon of the oil. Cook until somewhat tender, about 7 minutes.
- Drain well and return to pot.
- Meanwhile, in a small pan, melt the stick of butter. Stir into macaroni.
- In a large bowl, combine all the shredded cheeses.
- To the macaroni in the pot, add 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheeses, the half and half, the cubed cheese, the eggs, and the seasoned salt and pepper.
- Transfer to prepared baking dish, then top with remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Dot with remaining tablespoon of butter.
- Bake until edges are golden brown and bubbly, 30-35 minutes. Serve hot.
Recipe from Food.</a.