Turn off the heat and add the pasta to the cheese sauce.Turn the heat to low and whisk in the cheddar cheese and salt until smooth and creamy.Make the roux ( according to the instructions below).If you will bake the macaroni and cheese, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook your pasta according to the package directions in heavily salted water.Gruyere, swiss, white cheddar, and provolone are all delicious in this recipe! Cheese - shredded sharp cheddar cheese is my my favorite cheeses for this mac and cheese, but you can also substitute in another semi-hard cheese if you have one.Flour -a gluten-free 1-to-1 blend can work in place of traditional to make this recipe gluten-free.I haven't tried this recipe yet with oat milk or nut milk so I can't guarantee those results. Milk - if you don't have 1% or 2% milk, you can substitute in skim milk or whole milk.In fact, I used Banza for this recipe and loved it (I buy mine on Thrive Market each month - the best deal I've found)! Pasta - traditional pasta alternatives like chickpea pasta or rice flour pasta can seamlessly substitute for the original.Sharp Shredded Cheddar Cheese - the sharp cheese flavor allows us to use less cheese while still having a nice and cheesy flavor.Pasta - a small shaped pasta like penne, cavatappi, macaroni, orecchiette, or shells is best.I used Banza pasta for this recipe but you can easily use traditional pasta, too. A few other popular dishes that also use a roux are chowders, gumbo, bisque, and some cream soups. The flour in the roux helps to thicken up the sauce as it cooks and the butter adds a bit of richness and nuttiness. In this case, it thickens the mac and cheese sauce and makes it creamy, smooth, and luscious.

It is most commonly used to thicken sauces. A roux is a mixture of butter and flour, or a fat and a flour, that you cook together on the stovetop before whisking in a liquid.

Homemade roux mac and cheese