Old-Fashioned Baked Macaroni and Cheese | Yankee Recipe Archives (2000)
Macaroni is layered with shredded cheddar and fresh breadcrumbs (plus a generous splash of milk) in this recipe for old-fashioned baked macaroni and cheese.
By Aimee Tucker|Aug 27 2021|
Old-Fashioned Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Photo Credit: Aimee SeaveyIt’s been feeling an awful lot like summer lately (after the winter we had this year, I’ve been basking in it like a cat in a sunspot), and the warmer weather got me thinking about the cookouts and picnics to come over the next several months. Inspired, I took a trip to the Yankee archives in search of a favorite summer party side dish, and thought this old-fashioned baked macaroni and cheese might fit the bill.
The recipe was first published in February, 2000 (we’re up to $2.99 an issue now!), but since it appeared in a column about food and memory (an earlier version of Recipe with a History), it’s actually much older. It was submitted by reader Marlene Keene of Boothbay Harbor, Maine, whose son Eugene loved his Maine grandmother’s baked macaroni and cheese. She remembered it as “a delightful dish, with bubbly cheese melted through the elbow pasta and a crunch topping.” Eugene loved the dish so much that Marlene got the recipe (and the special dish it was baked in) from Gram Meggett herself so she could make it at home. Then, years later, she shared it with us, and we shared it with you!
After skimming the method, I was intrigued. This was an old-fashioned baked macaroni and cheese recipe unlike any other I’d ever made. It called for the normal ingredients (noodles, cheese, breadcrumbs, milk, butter, salt, and pepper) but was constructed very differently than today’s ultra-creamy baked versions.
The biggest difference was that it didn’t start with a roux, which is a thick sauce made on the stove with butter, flour, and milk. Instead, it called for the cooked macaroni to be layered in the dish, lasagna-style, with the grated cheese (only cheddar) and breadcrumbs in alternate layers. Once that was done, the milk was poured over the whole thing, topped with breadcrumbs and butter, and baked.
The result is a texture that’s more like boxed macaroni and cheese (meaning a lot thinner than most baked versions), but still made with “real” cheese and plenty of butter. It’s different, but still plenty tasty, and my household had no trouble speedily working their way through it.
Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
The torn breadcrumbs (I needed a bit more than the recipe called for) are also a distinctly old-fashioned touch. Some people love the hearty crunch they provide, but if you like a crushed cracker or Panko-butter crumb topping, by all means, swap those out instead. Like most macaroni and cheese recipes, this one is pretty much foolproof so long as you like eating a mixture of noodles and cheese…and you do, right? I think it would pair perfectly with one of our favorite potluck cakes.
Have you ever had old-fashioned baked macaroni and cheese like this recipe?
And fresh breadcrumbs? Velveeta? Hot dogs? Do you have a favorite mac and cheese ingredient?
This post was first published in 2015 and has been updated.
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Old-Fashioned Baked Macaroni and Cheese
I have been making mac & cheese like this for 25 years! My mom probably 50. Maybe an old time Maine recipe since that’s where my family is from years back.
This recipe is how I was taught to make baked macaroni and cheese. I grew up in Hallowell, Maine. We would go to Boynton’s Market and purchase a wedge of strong cheddar cheese from a large wheel he always had in the meat department. Mom would put it through the hand-cranked meat grinder while the macaroni was cooking. She would layer the macaroni and shredded cheese, sometimes adding chunks of ham. She topped it with crushed saltines and butter And added the milk. my husband and two sons love this meal. I have used Cheez-its instead of saltines and it’s delicious! Thank you for sharing this old-fashioned, simple, and delightful recipe.
Me too! My Dad taught me this way when I was very small, using layers of NY sharp cheddar along with havarti and provolone and topped with grated parmesean and bread crumbs. Usually my parents did the cooking, but I sometimes made this for the family dinner when I was still a young teenager. I still make it this way and often bring it to friends’ parties when we do cookouts. You couldn’t pay me to eat macaroni and cheese any other way!
This is very much like the mac and cheese I grew up on and raised my kids on. We didn’t add bread to the layers but sometimes put a crumb topping on it. the topping is really yummy if you add fresh herbs to it. We only layer noodles and cheese, adding salt and pepper with each layer. then we beat an egg and evaporated milk (this kind of mild makes it creamy) together and pour over the layers. than as i said you can add crumble topping or not. Its good either way. We add left over ham sometimes and home grown tomatoes in the summer. both are wonderful variations.
This is the mac and cheese dish we always had growing up on the farm in northern Vermont. Mother always used elbow macaroni, layered with chunks of sharp cheddar, butter pats. Milk was poured over the dish but I have learned in later years not to use too much milk as dish will be very ‘runny.’ Has to be just right (practice helps). Mother would top off with crushed saltines. Dish always cooked until the saltines were nice and brown.
If you look through many cookbooks printed at the turn of the 20th century, this is the method commonly used over 100 years ago
My Dad made the best mac & cheese and this is how he’d make it but with crumbled ritz crackers on the top. As another reader commented, the amount of milk has to be just right or it won’t be as wonderfully cheesy. And NY state sharp cheddar is what he’d use as the cheese. We lived right on the NY/Vermont border and his mac & cheese was so good that it was sold at church fundraisers! : )
My family’s recipe is a lot like this, except the cheddar is cut into 1/2 inch square chunks and we use roughly equal amounts of cheese and elbows, mixed throughout evenly. The trick with the milk is to pour it until it just touches the bottom of the top layer and I throw in a splash of sherry first. Top with fresh bread crumbs, grated parm and dot with butter. No matter how much I make, the dish is ALWAYS scraped clean!
My mother would be 117 today, and was born and raised in New Orleans. I was born in NJ 78 years ago and this is how my mother taught me to make mac and cheese. She used, and I use, Velveeta cheese, evaporated milk and egg, with buttered bread crumbs on top. I now add some cheddar, and sometimes Asiago cheese. Delicious!! And easy to make.
This has nothing to do with mac and cheese. What I wish Yankee would do is seek the recipe for making chocolate fudge that starts with potato. My husband’s aunt (born 1892) tried to teach me about 55 years ago, but I did not know enough to pay attention! Now, I wish I had the recipe and knew about its origins.
My mom always made mac and cheese similarly but mixed one or two eggs with the milk and only used buttery breadcrumbs on the top. It was more like a souffle.
My mom always put crushed cornflakes on top which is how I make it. My whole family loves it
Minus the bread crumbs, this is how my mom always made it, without the breadcrumbs however. The top would always get really crispy and crunchy, which I loved. I do make macaroni and cheese with a roux every once in a while, but when I want the memories, I make my moms.
Almost exactly like my Mom’s but she crushed up saltine crackers on the top of the mac and cheese and then dotted with a lot of butter. Once the mac and cheese backed, everyone wanted to make sure that they got a portion with those great buttery saltines.
My mom made this the same way, except she did not layer it. .she placed cooked macaroni in 13×9 pan. Then she put cut sharp cheese on top, stirred it in, added Pat’s of butter. She then poured milk in until it was slightly lower to the top of the macaroni. She sprinkled salt and pepper on top. She added bread crumbs to the top, and sprinkled paprika over it. Then baked it at 350 until it was bubbly and browned on top.
My mother made this Mac & cheese recipe the same way, except she used Old English cheese slices from a package. It may have been a sharp cheddar cheese; since I was the only one who didn’t eat cheese I never noticed. But it was her favorite!
I’m from Connecticut an this recipe is exactly like my Grandmother made and handed down to my Mom and now through Me to my kids . We always use Craker barrel extra sharp cheddar. This mac n cheese is the best ! My perfect comfort food .
Beth, we are from Connecticut as well. Sounds like CT knew the best way to make this dish. It is the way my mom made mac and cheese. Still carry the tradition. I will say I tried several times to make the cheese sauce but it turned clumpy or just didn’t taste right, so no more fooling around. I will only make the tried and true dish.
I’m also in Connecticut and my mom makes it just like this! We’ve always used American cheese though.
Sounds wonderful……my husband born & raised in
Springfield, Ma….he will love this. Thank you, Yankee!
My grandmother from Down East Maine made her mac & cheese like this, but she used American cheese instead of cheddar, pats of butter on each layer, and without the breadcrumbs. The key to cook the macaroni a little under al dente, so it absorbs some of the whole milk. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a runny dish. Gram also used a round Pyrex dish and my brother and I swear that it doesn’t cook right unless you use that same type of dish. He has the original, and I received mine as a gift 30 years ago. I like “fancy mac & cheeses” just fine, but Gram’s recipe is still the best for good comfort food!
This is a perfect recipe for my Mom’s dish. She is in Heaven these days and I couldn’t call and get the exact recipe …. thank goodness I came to this web site.
I’ve been on the lookout for a “good” mac and cheese recipe and plan to try this one out. It is different from most, ingredients and structure, and I’m anxious to try it. My younger of two granddaughters loves mac and cheese, so this will be as much for her as for me. I am Waltham MA, born and raised, living in PA for the past 30 plus years and miss New England so much. Looking and reading through your emails and recipes and, well … everything … takes me home. There’s no place like New England (in my opinion). Thanks for all the good stuff, Yankee!!
I have a tip: don’t use cheese that comes pre-shredded, because it has a drying agent added to it (so the cheese stays in separate pieces in the bag). As such, it tends to soak up too much liquid.
I’m from Rhode Island and my mom made hers this way but she didn’t layer it. It was so good.
This is a similar recipe I grew up on in Stoneham MA. My mom layered Land of Lakes sliced cheese right off the block. (we always had a 5lb block and our own cheese slicer). She always added the juice and a few Pine Cone tomatoes (no bread crumbs on top, just a layer of cheese). We always had a fresh loaf of Italian bread from Colarusso’s Bakery. Delish!!
This is very similar to the mac and cheese I grew up eating and still make today! No breadcrumbs or egg, and just layer sliced extra sharp cheese (Cracker Barrel!) salt, and pepper with the macaroni. Pour in some milk (I don’t measure, just till you tip the pan and can see some milk) Top with some paprika or parsley for color. Couldn’t be easier and everyone asks for the “recipe” lol.
My mom made it this way but added layers of thinly sliced onions. Macaroni, onions, salt and pepper. We used a deep dish and it had 2 layers. I still make it that way. So yummy.