Preheat your oven to 350F (or 325F is using convection) and bring a large pot of water to a boil.
In a large bowl, add your eggs and cream cheese and whisk until fully incorporated and smooth.
Add your half and half, your shredded cheddar, Colby jack, velveeta and American cheeses and a good pinch of salt and stir to combine.
Add a handful of salt and your pasta (taste the water — it should be as salty as the ocean!) to the boiling water and cook for half the “al dente” cooking time. While that’s cooking, grease a 13” baking dish with butter.
Add your half-cooked pasta to your baking dish, then pour in your cheese mixture and mix to combine. At this point, the pasta should look liquid-y, which we want because the macaroni will continue to absorb more liquid while it finishes cooking in the oven.
Top your macaroni and cheese with the additional 4 oz of shredded cheddar, then bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbly. Then, turn off the oven, turn on “broil”, and broil on low until golden brown.
Let your macaroni and cheese rest for 5-10 minutes, then dig in!
Notes
If you want to use a different pasta shape, just make sure it’s a smaller shape with a similar cooking time, otherwise you may need to add more liquid to the mix.I buy pre-shredded Colby jack cheese, but always grate my own cheddar. That way, I have control over what brand I use, and the flavor of freshly shredded cheddar cheese is usually much more pronounced. Colby jack is a more mild cheese with much less block variety, so pre-shredded is fine there.To shred the Velveeta, put it in the fridge the night before, or in the freezer for about 20 minutes before, so it’s easier to shred. Shredding will give much better distribution over cutting into cubes.For the American cheese, you can actually buy a block if you’d like, otherwise I use about 5-6 slices of deli-sliced American and cut into small squares. I also separate the squares from each other before throwing them in, again for distribution.I like my macaroni and cheese without a bunch of seasonings (I really love for the cheeses to shine), but if you want to add seasonings, it’s your world… add ‘em! Since there isn’t any stovetop cooking here, stick to flavors that don’t need to be cooked prior to going in the oven, like granulated garlic, onion, or other seasonings like paprika, mustard powder and cayenne.If your oven is too hot, your mac and cheese could curdle, so resist baking at a higher temp if you are short on time. I cooked my last batch of this in my mother’s convection oven without adjusting the temp and mine curdled, and that was only ~ a 25 degree difference. An oven thermometer is also helpful if you’re not sure how accurate your oven temps are.
Keyword american cheese, baked mac and cheese, butter, colby jack, cream cheese, eggs, elbow macaroni, extra sharp cheddar, half and half, mac and cheese, macaroni and cheese, pasta shells, sharp cheddar, Velveeta
I'm a big eater, a huge fan of pasta (and mac n cheese), and I'm on a mission to prove that indulgence and balance can exist well together without silly restrictions or dieting. Life's too short to eat bad food!
