I totally eyeball it and will admit to using Velveeta as a starter cheese food product. Then whatever cheeses are leftover. Heavy cream instead of milk. Worcestershire, soy sauce, nutmeg that I grind fresh for any cream sauce and then I mix in large elbow Mac. It can get either too dry or too wet so it really is trial and error.

2cups cheese
2 cups milk
1 cup broth

I use two pounds of pasta, two cans of tomato soup, two cans of milk and a lot of cheese. I sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs then pour a stick of melted butter over the top to make the breadcrumbs crunchy. Sometimes I’ll throw in ham and broccoli so I don’t have to make anything else for dinner.

I eyeball it as well, but if I do at least a pound of cheese. I make the bechamel and mix it with the pasta and seasoning, then i add about a cup shredded cheese, 8 oz cheese block cut into small dice and put it in a buttered pan topped with a thin layer of shredded cheese and pano crumbs. So like 3-4 cups of cheese per pound of pasta?

I eyeball it too. It has to be extra cheesy.

Don’t forget nutmeg.

I do pretty much 1:1 on milk and cheese but I'm making a lot less Mac and cheese than many of you seem to be! It's usually a cup of milk and what amount to 8-12 oz of cheese. I generally do a couple different kinds of cheese, which I think add richer flavor and also is a good way to use up the various packages of cheese in the fridge. My favorite is a mix of gouda and sharp white cheddar. I always do a dusting of panko on top.

I don’t measure the cheese. But, I sauté onions in the butter before adding flour then milk. I also include mustard, worcheshire sauce, and sour cream.

This is the recipe I use. It’s quick, delicious, and very creamy. Calls for 2 cups of cheese, 1 1/2 cups of milk, and 1 cup of cream.

https://dairyfarmersofcanada.ca/en/canadian-goodness/recipes/monday-night-mac-and-cheese

i just eyeball it

The basic recipe I use calls for 2 cups milk and 2 cups cheese but I increase the recipe by 50% so I use 3 cups milk, and I never actually measure the cheese. I usually grate down a whole stick of Cracker Barrel extra sharp cheddar (8 oz.) and if I have Asiago on hand, I'll grate a bit of that into it as well. (Family likes strong flavors.) I suspect it's more like 4+ cups of cheese. The sauce always turns out great and nobody in the house has complained about it.
(Unfortunately, I'm really really allergic to dairy and I have no idea what my own creation tastes like.)


Roux: 3 Tbs butter, 3 Tbs flour, 1 tsp ground mustard powder (acts as emulsifier for smoothness)
Add 3c milk, 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp. salt, ground pepper to taste, and stir on medium heat until thick.
Turn off the heat before adding cheese to keep the sauce from breaking.
Pour the sauce over 1 lbs. of undercooked penne pasta and bake in a pan until bubbly and barely browned.

White sauce: 4Tbsp butter, 4Tbsp flour, 2 cups milk
Cheese: somewhere between 1/2 and 1 pound (I eyeball it)
1-2 eggs, about a pound of pasta, and plenty of paprika and garlic and mustard

The recipe I used from serious eats was 12 oz cheese, 2 cups milk, 2 T butter/2T flour roux.

5 1/2 cups milk. 26oz cheese.
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/05/marthas-macaroni-and-cheese/

I usually don't do the bread part, just to simplify. Sometimes add panko for crunch.

How much milk and how much cheese do you use?

I usually follow a recipe that uses two cups of milk and 2 cups of shredded cheese. Curious what others do. Thank you.

(feel free to share the butter and flour amounts for your roux, too!)