This Panera Mac and Cheese copycat recipe tastes like the original! It’s made with extra sharp white cheddar cheese for flavor and American cheese for creaminess.
Table of Contents
Panera Mac and Cheese Recipe
Hi Folks,
If you’re a fan of Panera’s famous Mac and Cheese, you’re in for a treat! This is THE recipe for Panera Mac and Cheese. I got it from their website when they posted it briefly! It’s an easy stovetop recipe and a must-try in my book.
This is the pinnacle of mac and cheese dishes. It’s rich, smooth, and ultra-creamy. It’s surprisingly quick and easy to make on the stovetop with just a few simple ingredients. I love serving it with my copycat Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup for a complete meal.
Panera Copycat Mac and Cheese ingredients
Per Serving Cost: $2.24
Recipe Cost: $13.44
- 1 pound Lumaconi pasta (I find it at World Market and Target): $3.99
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter: $0.48
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour: $0.10
- 2 ½ cups milk: $1.86
- 4 ounces white American cheese: $2.25
- 8 ounces extra-sharp white Vermont cheddar: $4.49
- ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard (optional): $0.10
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt: $0.05
- ¼ teaspoon hot sauce: $0.12
NOTE: The recipe prices are calculated using grocery store websites. The actual cost of the recipe will depend on the ingredients you already have. Ingredient prices were updated in October 2024.
How To Make Panera Mac and Cheese
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute, whisking constantly to prevent burning.
- Slowly pour in the milk, whisking as you go. Increase the heat to medium and continue whisking until the sauce thickens and bubbles, about 4-5 minutes. Remove the pan from heat.
- Add the sliced American cheese, shredded white cheddar, Dijon mustard (if using), salt, and hot sauce (if using). Stir until the cheese melts.
- Add the cooked pasta to the cheese sauce. Stir to coat the pasta evenly, then return the saucepan to medium heat. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, until the mac and cheese is warmed through.
- Serve immediately.
***Make sure you watch the recipe video in the recipe card below!
Panera Bread Mac & Cheese Recipe Variations
- Whole milk works best, but 2% milk also gives good results. Avoid skim milk, as it won’t make the sauce as creamy.
- You can use any type of pasta. To make this recipe just like Panera’s, you need to use Lumaconi pasta. In its place, you can use medium shells, elbow macaroni, and Cavatappi.
- Add 1 cup of chopped and steamed broccoli florets for broccoli mac and cheese.
How To Serve This Panera Mac and Cheese Recipe
Here are some tips for serving this mac and cheese:
- As a main course: This mac and cheese is hearty and filling enough to be served as a main course. You could serve it with a side salad or some roasted vegetables.
- As a side dish: This recipe would also make a great side dish for a holiday meal or barbecue. You could serve it with grilled chicken, fish, or pot roast.
- In a grilled cheese sandwich: This mac and cheese would be delicious in a grilled cheese sandwich. Spread some of the mac and cheese on two slices of bread and grill until the bread is golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- In a baked potato: Top a baked potato with some of the mac and cheese and then bake for a few minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Storage Tips
SERVE: This is best served immediately after it’s made. However, you can keep it out for about 30 minutes before it needs to be refrigerated.
STORE: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
FREEZE: Because this recipe contains dairy products, I do not recommend freezing it. Once it’s defrosted, the cheese sauce will be grainy.
REHEAT: Place the Panera Mac and Cheese in a saucepan set over medium-low heat. Add 3-4 tablespoons of milk and heat and stir the mixture until heated through, about 3-6 minutes.
Recipe FAQs
As with all mac and cheese recipes, it’s best to use cheese that isn’t pre-shredded because the extra additives prevent the cheese from clumping.
For this recipe, it’s best to use a block of extra-sharp white cheddar cheese and white American cheese from the deli.
I think so, it’s strictly used to enhance the flavor of the dish. It’s such a tiny amount that it will not make the dish spicy.
Yes, you can make it up to 1 day in advance. Just store the cheese sauce and pasta separately. Then, reheat both and combine when you’re ready to serve.
More Copycat Recipes:
- Honey Baked Ham Recipe
- Italian Pizza Sauce Recipe
- Movie Theater Popcorn
- Hawaiian Food Truck Garlic Shrimp
- CPK BBQ Chicken Pizza Recipe
- Fried Apples
- Chick-Fil-A Frosted Lemonade
- Sweet Corn Tamale Cakes
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Panera Bread Mac and Cheese
Video
Equipment
- Cheese grater
- knife
- cutting board
- pasta pot
- medium saucepan
- whisk
- measuring cups and spoons
- colander
Ingredients
- 1 pound Lumaconi pasta or medium shells
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups milk anything but skim milk
- 4 ounces (about 6 slices) sliced white American cheese from the deli counter, cut into thin strips
- 8 ozs extra-sharp white cheddar shredded
- ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard optional
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon hot sauce optional
Instructions
- Prepare pasta according to package directions.
- In large saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute, whisking constantly.
- Gradually whisk in milk; cook over medium heat, whisking until mixture thickens and bubbles. Remove from heat.
- Add cheeses, mustard, salt, and hot sauce, stirring until cheese melts and sauce is smooth.
- Stir in pasta and cook over medium heat for 1 minute (or until thoroughly heated). Serve immediately.
Notes
- Some people find the Dijon mustard in the recipe a bit overwhelming, so feel free to reduce it or omit it altogether.
- If you’re serving this as a main dish, it will serve 4-6 people. If you’re making it as a side dish, it will serve 8-10 people.
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Nutrition
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This didn’t taste at all like Paneras mac-n-cheese 🙁 My girls wouldn’t even eat it! I don’t know what I did wrong… I did use yellow american cheese and not white. I used Vermont White Sharp Cheddar (Cracker Barrel brand). I just did one small squirt of the mustard, because I am not a fan of Dijon mustard. I also did just a few shakes of hot sauce, as 1/4 t. seemed like a lot, esp. for my girls. It has a funny aftertaste to it also.
I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you. I’ve made this recipe at least 7 times now and it’s always turned out. I’m not sure what happened with yours. 🙁
My husband liked it a lot, I think because it was different than the usual Mac & Cheese we eat. I thought it was just ok, a bit gritty, nowhere near as creamy as Panera, and did not have the same “I can’t get enough of this!” flavor. I know it’s from their website, I’ve seen this recipe posted many places, but I think Panera was hiding something when they shared this 😉 Thanks for sharing and the tips, I’m sure I’ll be making it again for my husband for sure. I might use less sharp cheddar next time though because it was a bit too sharp for me.
Thanks for your input. 🙂
Gritty can come from two places. One is using pre shredded cheese. DON”T The pre shredded cheese sometimes uses an additive to prevent sticking. It will cause gritty sauce. The other is trying to melt the cheese to fast or to hot or two high a heat. Using a double boiler can prevent that problem. Good luck.
Thanks for the tips, Richard. I agree, pre shredded cheese can make the sauce gritty as can melting the cheese too fast.
It is pretty good but there is way too much Dijon mustard. But that is just my opinion, different people like different tastes, but i don’t think it tasted too much like Panera’s because of the mustard.
The recipe above is the recipe I got directly off of the Panera site. Feel free to leave out the mustard if you’d like.
Sounds yummy. We will be fixing this soon.
I love Panera’s Mac & Cheese and so does my granddaughters. This is one recipe I will definitely keep handy and the ingredients readily available!
This sounds delicious and easy to make, thank you for sharing.
You wouldn’t by any chance know what brand of white Vermont cheddar cheese Panera uses Would you??
Can you use skim milk in this recipe?
You could give it a try but I don’t think the sauce will come together like it should.
As I was eating the Mac & cheese at Paneras I thought there was a sweet taste like maybe cream cheese or half & half was used. So good I made your recipe today & it was very good too but lacked that tinge of sweetness. Any ideas?
Maybe use half cream and half milk? I haven’t tried this so I’m not sure.
Is it crucial to have mustard and hot sauce in your recipe?
Sofia,
I’d say the mustard isn’t crucial but the hot sauce is.
I have never heard of using hot sauce in a mac and cheese recipe before, what is it that makes such a difference? It doesn’t make it spicy does it? I can’t wait to try this recipe out! 🙂
It adds a slight flavor boost, and it doesn’t make the mac and cheese spicy at all. You can leave it out if you don’t have hot sauce.
Hello can you please tell me the exact type of dijon mustard you use. We have tried it twice now, and the mustard is overpowering the dish both times. The second time we only /14 tbsp. Please help! We love the Panera Bread Mac & Cheese. Thank you for taking the time to write this recipe out!
I use the Market Pantry brand from Target. But I’d say your next go around exclude the mustard all together and see how you like it.
What’s the difference between kosher salt and regular Morton salt? Could I just use the Morton salt?
Kristina,
Here’s a great article that explains the difference between kosher salt and table salt(like Morton’s). http://www.finecooking.com/item/17444/kosher-vs-table-salt
And yes, go ahead and use the table salt/Morton’s.
The recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon, not tablespoon.. huge difference.. so if the mustard is overpowering, that might be the problem. Good luck! Hope this helps someone.
I think you may be misreading the recipe. Looks like it calls for 1/2 TEASPOON of Dijon, not 1/2 TABLESPOON (=1.5 teaspoons)
Do you use stick butter or tub butter? salted or unsalted?
I used unsalted stick butter.
Is it crucial to use extra sharp white Vermont cheddar? I used extra sharp white cheddar, since I couldn’t find the Vermont one, and the mac&cheese had a strange after taste.
Hi Amanda. From reading your comment I would say yes it is crucial to use Vermont extra sharp white cheddar. I’ve never used anything else and I’ve never had a strange after taste. Hope this helps!
What do I do with the slices of cheese? I know to shred the one kind, but what about the other?
Hi Meg, in step 4 of the recipe directions you add both the shredded and sliced cheese.
I ended up ‘mixing’ up my cheese. I know I put in 8 oz and 6 slices of cheese but I wasn’t keeping track of placement so due to user error- mine did NOT taste identical to panera’s BUT it was still pretty tasty! One thing I was curious about was the Dijon mustard- it was quite over-powering & I’m not a mustard fan. When the recipe is made right do other people find the mustard at a 1/2 T is too much? I know I can alter it next time but I’m wondering if it had to do with the cheese mix-up or not?
The recipe turned out very oily for us. Any ideas why and did this happen for others? There was oil coated at the bottom of the pan. We threw it out 🙁
Hi Shawna, I’m so sorry this recipe didn’t turn out from you. I’ve made this recipe numerous times and haven’t had the oily problem. Granted I wasn’t there with you when you made the recipe, but it sounds like the cheese might be the problem. Sometimes lower quality cheeses are made with more oil than milk. Use the best-quality white cheddar you can afford and try getting the white American cheese from your deli counter.
Hope this helps!
It sounds like you may have over-cooked the flour and the butter. Whisking these together is called a roux. Google images of white rouxs versus blond and brown rouxs. The different roux have different thickening power, with white and blond being much better than brown. Brown rouxs come from heating the flour in the butter for a longer period of time, and the flour loses its ability to thicken sauces, making your sauce oily.
I also know this comment is really late, but I just found this recipe. Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks for the extra info, some readers will find it helpful. 🙂 I hope you enjoyed the recipe!
all I have to say is thanks for sharing the recipe one of my vendors brought in lunch from Panera accompanied with the mac and cheese and it is so delicious. I don’t remember what the vendor was presenting but i do remember the mac and cheese
You’re SO welcome!
Delicious…VERY close to Panera’s.
This tates IDENTICALto the Panera Bread mac & cheese. Identical!
Yay! SO glad you liked the recipe. 🙂
How many calories are in this??
Courtney, I’m not sure but I know it’s not low-cal by any means.
Hello I was just wondering what do you use for hot sauce?
I used Tabasco sauce.
We LOVE this recipe…but do you think it would work in the crock pot? What adjustments could we make!?!
Susan, I am SO glad you love the recipe! I have never made it (or any other pasta-type recipe) in the slow cooker so I’m not sure. My only guess would be to use milk to cook the pasta in instead of water. Let me know if you try it in the slow cooker, I’d love to know how it turns out! Good luck!
Not sure if you ever figured out how to make this in the crockpot, but i know someone that can give the answer to this, especially where she worked for them for many years and also know all the ins and outs of Mac N’ Cheese in the crock pot. I’ll get bsck to you. Blessings, K.J.
Ok, thanks! 🙂