Tini’s Mac & Cheese
A contender for cheesiest mac and cheese you will try in your home cooking. A recipe even the entire internet deems delicious.
Have you heard of this viral TikTok recipe creator, Tina? According to a few subscribers to our YouTube and Tiktok, she has the best mac and cheese. Our original video for Celebrity Mac & Cheese Showdown was such a fun video to help us find who on the internet has THE BEST mac and cheese recipe out there. Our winner was John Legend we concluded, so it was only right to pit his Mac recipe vs. Tini’s. Tune in to the video below to find out!
Tini’s mac and cheese recipe is the technique all chefs learn in culinary school. Start with a base, roux, then mix in cream to create a béchamel, then add cheese until incorporated to create mornay. This recipe spoke to my inner chef and from that practice alone, I knew it would be delicious. My biggest mistake when making a mornay sauce was not letting the bechamel sauce cook. Let the flour and butter cook into the milk mixture. If you add the cheese too fast, you may end up breaking the sauce resulting in a grainy texture. If you find yourself doing the same, put the heat on low after the bechamel has thickened and let it cook for 5 – 7 minutes, whisking occasionally. Add your cheese handful by handful and let the cheese slowly melt. Take your time this is your masterpiece. Remember, the pyramids weren’t built in a day.
I love how creamy Tini’s comes out from her mornay sauce. It coats the inside and outside of the cavatappi in just the most delicious and artery-clogging way. As all good mac and cheese’s do. It lays the cheese on thick and makes for a great, build-ahead mac and cheese recipe.
Let me ask you, do you prefer a mac and cheese recipe with more or fewer steps? If they both tasted relatively similar, is it worth it?
Tini's Mac & Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 lb. cavatappi pasta, cooked
- 1 lb. mozzarella cheese, grated
- 1 lb. Colby jack cheese, grated
- 8 oz. Cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 12 oz. can evaporated milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F and prepare a 9x13' baking dish.
- Combine all three grated cheeses in a bowl then reserve half of the cheese in separate bowl.
- Combine all spices together and divide half of the spice blend in a separate bowl.
- Melt butter in a large pot until melted, then add flour and reserved spice blend. Cook for 1 - 2 minutes.
- Add evaporated milk into roux and whisk until smooth, then slowly add in heavy cream, remaining spice blend, and Dijon mustard. Add in half the cheese, handful by handful until the cheese melts.
- Fold pasta into cheese sauce and layer half into the prepared 9x13 dish topping with half of remaining grated cheese, then repeat. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until cheese is lightly golden.
Recipe adapted from TikTok