Y’all like macaroni and cheese?

People be asking me how I cook my macaroni and cheese. They think it’s some long secret recipe with fifteen ingredients and a grocery list longer than a church announcement.

But nah. My macaroni and cheese is real simple. Cheese. Butter. Salt. Pepper. That’s it.

No milk, no sour cream, no eggs, no flour, no cream of chicken, no garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, Himalayan sea salt blessed by monks, or whatever else folks be throwing in there trying to reinvent the wheel. Just the basics.

Nowadays, everybody on TikTok trying to turn macaroni into a science experiment. Folks on the internet layering fifteen cheeses like they building a lasagna skyscraper. Somebody done added ranch dressing. Somebody auntie done put cream cheese in there and called it “gourmet.” Macaroni and cheese been around longer than all these TikTok recipes.

When you keep it simple, every ingredient got a job to do. The butter brings the richness. The cheese does what cheese supposed to do — melt and make everybody happy. Salt and pepper bring it all together.

Sometimes less really is more.

Ingredients

• 1 lb elbow macaroni
• 1 stick butter
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded American cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Cook the macaroni

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Cook macaroni until just tender (about 8 minutes).
• Drain and set aside.

2. Butter the pasta

• Put the hot macaroni in a large bowl or back into the pot.
• Add butter and stir until it melts and coats the noodles.

3. Add seasoning

• Sprinkle in salt and black pepper and mix well.

4. Add the cheese

• Stir in about 2 cups of the shredded cheese so it starts melting into the pasta.

5. Assemble

• Pour the macaroni mixture into a buttered baking dish (9×13 works well).
• Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of cheese evenly on top.

6. Bake

• Bake for 15 minutes covered with aluminium foil. Then put oven on broil and bake for 4 minutes or until the top is golden brow.