This copycat Panera Mac and Cheese tastes just like the stuff you buy in the famous bakery but is easy to make at home and only requires one pan!
So, let’s just start this by saying that our Panera Bread has a drive-thru.
It’s bad for my wallet. I don’t like fast-food, but I like food to be fast. Especially with two kids and there is NO way I’m getting out of the car with both kids to grab food. Forget that, I’d rather go home.
So Panera’s drive-thru is both the answer to my prayers and a huge nightmare. But it’s mostly a good thing.
And their mac and cheese! Oh my, their mac and cheese. It is soooo good. Ultra creamy and so amazingly delicious. I usually order it for E but I always snag a bite or two before giving it to her. Don’t tell!
What makes this recipe great is not only the fact that it is creamy and amazing just like the stuff you get at Panera, but this mac and cheese is made in one pan and one pan only. It cooks in the milk for a super creamy and thick texture.
You’ll want to use a really good, high quality white cheddar for this macaroni and cheese. And in my opinion, the sharper the better. And keep stirring. The whole time. It’s important to keep the pasta from sticking together.
Save yourself some money and enjoy this copycat Panera mac and cheese at home!
Copycat Panera Mac and Cheese (one pan!)
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked medium shell pasta
- 2 and 1/2 cups whole milk (MUST be WHOLE milk for this recipe to work)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup freshly grated extra sharp white cheddar (4 ounces) – do not use pre-grated
Instructions
- Rinse uncooked pasta under cold water.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine milk, pasta, salt, mustard and butter. Stir frequently and bring to a simmer. Reduce to low. Stir frequently (almost continually) for 15-20 minutes while pasta cooks and milk is absorbed. Remove from heat, stir in cheese and cover for 5 minutes. Enjoy immediately (not good reheated — gets grainy).
Notes
- Using store-bought grated cheese instead of freshly grated cheese could cause this recipe to fail because of the additives (anti-clumping agents) in grated cheese.
- Using milk that has a lower fat percentage than whole milk will also likely cause this recipe to fail and the milk to curdle.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Love this! This recipe is my go to place to deal with mac and cheese cravings. I made it for my neighbour and his comment was, “You could sell this.” I laughed as I doubt he has ever heard of Panera.
Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
I love that story, thanks for sharing!
This came out awful. It is a disgusting soupy mess with huge clumps of cheese. I followed the instructions and bought super expensive aged cheddar and hand grated it. Not happy.
So sorry to hear that! Did you use whole milk?
I always thought Panera’s had some cream cheese in it, too.
I don’t think so, but I’m sure it would yummy! There are the ingredients according to their website:
Mac & Cheese (Cooked Enriched Macaroni Product (Water, Semolina [Wheat], Egg Whites, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Cheddar Cheese (Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Bacterial Culture, Salt, Microbial And Animal Enzymes], Milk, Cream, Soybean Oil, Salted Butter [Cream, Salt], Concentrated Skim Milk, Whey, Whey Protein Concentrate, Milkfat, Sodium Citrate, Salt, Skim Milk, Milk Protein Concentrate, Modified Corn Starch, Sea Salt, Dry Cream [Cream, Nonfat Milk], Enriched Wheat Flour [Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid], Sodium Citrate, Lactic Acid, Calcium Lactate, Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Alginate, Microbial And Animal Enzymes).
Haven’t tried this yet, but look forward to it. Found it interesting that some commentators did not have success with cooking the pasta in the milk. I do it all the time when I am making MAC n CHEESE, even cook rigatoni or egg noodles in leftover spaghetti sauce, and throw in some cheese. It is amazing! Besides, you don’t dirty an extra pot.
I do too! I love one pan pasta recipes!
Suffering from a desperate Panera mac & cheese craving tonight. Instead of driving to Panera and spending the money I thought, “there must be a good copycat recipe online!” Selected this one based on the large number of high ratings. Clearly other people are able to figure something out that I can’t, because this came out as a soupy mess with over-cooked pasta and no cheese flavor (I used Cabot seriously sharp). Over-cooked pasta in warm milk soup did *not* satisfy the craving I had.
I love Cabot seriously sharp! What type of pasta did you use?
Great recipe! So much easier to make than traditional mac and cheese! Thank you once again. Your recipes never disappoint!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you liked this!
Can you make it easy to save recipes like pinterest or something. I wont be able to keep otherwise Thanks
Thanks for the feedback! You can print my recipes or save them to Pinterest or your Facebook, or you can subscribe to my email list.
I stumbled across this recipe and decided to try it. My first attempt was good, 2nd attempt was better. The 3rd time, I was out of whole milk, so I used what I had: 1 1/2c heavy cream, and 1 1/4 c plain, unsweetened almond milk. It was utterly glorious! My one kid who does not like Panera mac has asked me to please make it this way EVERY time! So I will :)
Can’t beat “glorious!” So glad you like this recipe! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
A job where you get to try cheese? So lucky! I tried Cabot a few weeks ago and loved it! This looks delicious and I know it would go over well with the family!
It is a pretty amazing job!
This recipe is, unfortunately, sort of awful. When I taste this completed dish I can taste what it was supposed to taste like conceptually but it would be SO much better with separately cooked pasta in well-salted water. It’s not worth not dirtying another pot to do so. Even after rinsing the shells thoroughly the residual starch both on the outside of the pasta and inside it is released into the milk/butter mixture creating a quickly thickening bechamel sauce that’s nigh impossible to properly cook pasta in. I decided to try this on a whim and it was close to the thirty minute mark of stirring that both my tiring stirring arm and I lamented not having just driven the ten minutes to Panera. The seasoning is on point, though it should probably need a little more salt and pepper to taste by the end. Keep the sauce, boil the pasta like normal. Or just go to panera bread, I guess.
Sorry to hear this one wasn’t a success for you.