Southern Macaroni and Cheese Recipe – Macaroni and cheese makes a classic dish everyone loves. This Southern macaroni and cheese recipe is an heirloom family recipe that everyone loves! Make-ahead and freezer friendly!
One of my favorite dishes growing up was this Southern Macaroni and Cheese recipe. And as an adult, I can easily say that it remains the best macaroni and cheese that I’ve ever tasted. It is creamy and comforting with a slight little change from the ordinary macaroni and cheese recipes you may have tried before and light years from the boxed varieties you find in the supermarket.This macaroni and cheese comes together so easily, you can have it on the table for a busy weeknight supper even though it tastes like you’ve been working away on it for hours. One of my favorite things to do is to make this macaroni and cheese ahead of time to make weeknights even easier! It is stores well in the refrigerator for 3 days in advance or in the freezer for up to a month.
Southern Macaroni and Cheese Recipe
This macaroni and cheese is a family-favorite recipe that must have been a Southern church potluck staple during my Grandmother and my husband’s Grandmother’s hay day. Actually, my husband’s great aunt Thelma is credited with this recipe on his side of the family while my Grandmother’s friend Doris is credited on mine.
I like to just thank them both.
They both deserve the thanks for bringing this macaroni and cheese into each of our lives.
I’m ever so grateful.
I think you will be too when you make it. And you really should make it soon – and often. It’s Southern comfort food at its finest.
Then just watch it disappear.
It’s like magic how quickly it goes.
You really should make it soon.
You’ll be thanking Aunt T and Mrs. Doris, too.
How to Meal Prep
Prep the ingredients and place into separate freezer-safe containers. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To cook, allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then proceed with the recipe as written.
Here’s our Southern Macaroni and Cheese Recipe. I hope you love it as much as we do!
Southern Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 (8-ounce) package elbow noodles, cooked and drained
- 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 cups cream of chicken soup, or 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup + 10 3/4 ounces of water
- 1/4 cup onion, chopped
- 3 heaping tablespoons mayonnaise
- 3/4 cup pimento pepper, chopped (large jar)
- 1 sleeve Ritz Crackers, crumbled
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F.
- Mix the cooked noodles, cheese, cream of chicken soup (and water if using store-bought), onion, mayonnaise, and pimentos together in a large bowl. Spread into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix Ritz Crackers and melted butter until thoroughly blended. Sprinkle crackers on top of casserole.
- Bake at 350º F degrees until the cheese has melted and the top is golden brown, 30 minutes.
Notes
Prepare Southern Macaroni and Cheese recipe without baking and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Bake as directed for serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
This recipe was very delicious, it definitely lives upto its name. I did add a few other things, I bought roisterer chicken to use for the other recipe(chicken salad with grapes) for my husband and decided to throw in some of the extra left over pieces, and then I added more sharp cheddar on top before adding the ritz topping and oh my! my daughter loves it and she is quite picky, even my husband tried it!:o haha he said it was delicious.
Thank you so much for the recipe Robyn! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes:)
Thank you for solving my Monday dinner ! Have a pleasant weekend !
I hope you love it! xo
I wonder…would a cream of broccoli soup work to make this vegetarian?
Hi Jen,
Yes! Absolutely! You could also use a cream of mushroom or cream of celery would work as well. I hope you enjoy it! xo
This is a great guide. I am so happy that you posted this. I have been searching for this information for a long time. Am glad that I got it! It is very simple and clear to understand. This is very informative to us readers. Keep posting such great information.
This is the best mac & cheese I had , been looking for one that stays creamy the next day ,it was even better the next day , it tast so good ,I made it for our church Christmas party every one loved it ,it was a big hit I had many request for the recipe – try it you will love it too!
Thank you so much, Barbara! I hope you have a Merry Christmas! xo
Thank you for everything 🙂 especially the notes.
I am glad you liked it, Lita! Thanks! xo
Best Mac and Cheese ever!
So glad you enjoyed it, Debra! Thanks!
Yes, and it’s one of our favorites, delicious!
So glad you enjoy it! Thanks so much Charlamange!
Delicious! I doubled the recipe. I only had one cream of chicken so added one cream of mushroom. Also I didn’t have pimentos so I had to omit them. I added Cajun seasoning. I will try shallots instead of onion next time. This Mac and Cheese was great leftover, very creamy.
Thanks, Dana.
My boys wanted Macaroni and Cheese today so I headed to your site to get a different recipe to try instead of the usual stovetop method I typically use. I didn’t have pimento on hand so I had to omit it, but followed the recipe and it is delicious! One of my kids scooped out a bowl before I had topped it with the crackers or even baked it! He said he would do a comparison after it was totally finished….and he wasn’t disappointed. Thank you for another delicious southern recipe.
Thank you, Kimberly. My true taste test was always if my son liked it.