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Panera Bread's popular Vermont White Cheddar Mac and Cheese is super easy to make, with a well-seasoned cheese sauce and fun pasta shells! A perfect lunch or dinner side dish that's made in just 20 minutes.
When my husband and I were teens we used to go on little dates and study groups to Panera Bread, and get matching you-pick-two meals: Chipotle Chicken Panini and a cup of white cheddar mac and cheese.
Panera has gotten rid of their delicious original bacon-and-chicken sandwich but their mac and cheese is still going strong...
...for now.
They've now got their baja mac and that delicious broccoli cheddar mac (which is based on their yummy Broccoli and Cheddar Soup) but the classic Vermont White Cheddar Mac will always have a soft spot in my heart.
I'm just not paying eight bucks for it.
How to Make Panera's White Cheddar Mac and Cheese
On their website, Panera Bread has the ingredient list for their mac which broken down in laymen's terms is pasta, pasteurized processed cheese, milk and heavy cream, cheese sauce, salt, and flour. And of course a bunch of other stuff most people just aren't going to have or use because it's a mass made product.
Making mac and cheese is very simple: make a cheese sauce, boil pasta, mix it together. Here's what you need to do it:
Ingredients
Shells Pasta. This type of pasta holds a ton of cheese sauce because it cups around itself, leaving a big spoon area for cheese to sit in. Remember to salt your pasta water well, it should taste 'like the ocean' before dropping in the shells.
Butter. 'Milk Fat' is one ingredient in the original recipe, and that's what butter is!
Flour. To make the cheese sauce, you'll need to make a roux, which is flour and fat mixed together to create a thickening agent.
Whole Milk or Heavy Cream. Want a decadently rich, supremely creamy mac and cheese? Use heavy cream. You can replace at least half of the milk with it for a really fabulous dish.
Sharp White Cheddar Cheese. Cracker Barrel (the cheese company, not the restaurant) makes a block Vermont Sharp Cheddar that tastes exactly like Panera Bread's. But if you have a sharp cheddar cheese that you like, use it!
Pro Tip: Shred your own cheese using a box grater or food processor. Pre-shredded cheese is covered in cellulose, which keeps them from clumping together but also keeps the cheese from melting into a smooth, creamy sauce. So the best cheese to use for mac and cheese is a block of cheddar.
White American Cheese. That 'pasteurized cheese product' in their ingredient list? That's this. American cheese is full of emulsifiers, which stabilize cheese so that when it heats up it melts instead of separating and becoming gritty and grainy. This is most noticeable in a grilled cheese sandwich; nothing makes a grilled cheese better than American cheese and that's a fact, Jack.
Spices. We need seasoning here! A little garlic powder for flavor, black pepper, and ground mustard seed does wonders. The ground mustard enhances the cheddar flavor, I promise it doesn't taste like mustard at all.
Hot Sauce. This is what separates regular white cheddar mac from Panera's white cheddar mac. No, it isn't spicy and it won't taste like 'hot sauce', but it gives a distinct flavor profile that will make you go 'yeah, that's Panera Bread'. I like using sriracha because it's low in spice but big in flavor.
Making the Cheese Sauce
Making from scratch mac and cheese creamy and rich is easy when you know how to make a great cheese sauce.
First, melt the butter in a saucepan and then whisk in the flour. We want to whisk for another minute to cook out the raw flour taste, otherwise your sauce will have a hint of 'glue'.
Splash in the milk or cream, and make sure it's cold! Hot roux + cold milk = no lumps! Whisk while splashing a small amount at a time until the roux is mostly liquid instead of flour. Let it simmer until the sauce thickens up.
Pro Tip: You'll notice that the roux will suck up the milk and kind of seize up while whisking. Don't panic! That's just how roux acts. It'll keep doing that and it won't get nice and smooth until the sauce is more milk than roux. Just keep whisking and adding the milk; I promise you won't get lumps.
Once your sauce (which is technically called a bechamel right now) is thickened until it's nappe (this means it coats the back of a spoon and you can run a finger down the spoon and the sauce stays thick and separated), take it off the heat and add in small handfuls of cheddar and American cheeses at a time, whisking between each addition.
Cheese can separate easily when the pot is still on the heat, especially a harder cheese like sharp cheddar. That can lead to grainy and gritty mac and cheese. So taking it off the heat, while adding only small handfuls (maybe a half cup) before mixing will make sure the cheddar gets melted in without breaking and separating. The emulsifiers in the American cheese will help with that, too.
Add in the spices, and stir in your cooked pasta shells.
Ta-da! See how easy that was to make?
Keep the mac in an air tight container for up to 3 days (if it lasts that long) and reheat on the stove top in a saucepan or in the microwave with a splash of milk stirred in.
Can I Freeze and Reheat Mac and Cheese?
To freeze your mac and cheese, pour all of it into a freezer-to-oven safe dish, like an aluminum foil pan, and wrap with more foil. It’ll keep in the freezer for up to two months.
To reheat, bake in the pan covered with the foil with 2 tablespoons of milk per serving of Mac and cheese. Bake at 350 degrees f (180 degrees C) for about half an hour, or until heated through. Stir well before serving, adding milk if it needs to loosen up.
You can also freeze it in separate servings in freezer-safe zip top bags and thaw and rewarm the mac and cheese in a pot of gently simmering water for about 20-30 minutes until completely warmed through.
Want more amazing mac and cheese recipes? Check these out:
- Ultimate Bacon Mac and Cheese
- BBQ Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese
- Soul Food Southern Baked Mac and Cheese
- One Pot Stove Top Mac and Cheese
- Gentleman Jack Bacon Mac and Cheese
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Creamy Vermont White Cheddar Mac and Cheese (Panera Bread Copycat)
Panera Bread's popular Vermont White Cheddar Mac and Cheese is super easy to make, with a well-seasoned cheese sauce and fun pasta shells! A perfect lunch or dinner side dish that's made in just 20 minutes.
Ingredients
- 16 oz uncooked shells pasta
- 4 tbsp (56 g) unsalted butter
- ¼ cup (30 g) all purpose flour
- 3 cups (710 mL) whole milk, heavy cream, or half and half, cold
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- ½ tsp mustard powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp hot sauce
- 8 oz block extra sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
- 4 oz white American cheese (or other mild melting cheese like white cheddar), in small pieces
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions in a large pot with well salted water.
Make Creamy White Cheddar Cheese Sauce
- In a Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. When melted, whisk in flour and cook for about a minute, whisking constantly to cook out the raw flour taste.
- Begin splashing in the cold milk or heavy cream, small amounts at a time, whisking well. It will seize up, don't panic. Continue pouring milk in small amounts, constantly whisking to ensure smoothness, until the mixture is no longer a paste-like consistency but more like a soupy liquid.
- Turn the heat to medium-low, whisking occasionally and getting into the corners to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom or the corners and burns, until the bechamel becomes thick and coats the back of a wooden spoon, about 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in mustard powder, garlic powder, and hot sauce.
- Stir in the sharp white cheddar and American cheeses, a small handful at a time, whisking in well until the cheese melts completely before adding the next addition. Continue until all the cheese is incorporated. Season with kosher salt and black pepper to taste.
Serve
- Drain the pasta when ready and add it into the Dutch oven; stir to coat each piece of pasta well with cheese sauce. Serve immediately.
Notes
Don't like American Cheese?
That's fine! Use another great melting cheese like Emmental, Gruyere, or Havarti!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 504Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 89mgSodium: 1021mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 22g
All nutrition facts are estimations. Please see a physician for any health-related inquiries.
Eden Westbrook is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind Sweet Tea and Thyme. A classically trained chef, Eden has inspired home cooks into the kitchen with cultural comfort foods, easy family-friendly eats and sweets, and glorious spreads for date night and entertaining since 2015.
I love how in the instructions you say "it will seize up, don't panic". Because I literally panic every time.
Lol that seize up is all part of the roux making process!
Would you care to share what type of pasta you used and if its available in regular stores like walmart ?
In the post, I mentioned it’s called ‘pipe rigate’, and I’m not sure if Walmart would carry it as it wouldn’t be a “big box” purchase like spaghetti or elbow macaroni pastas. It could possibly be held in Whole Foods, but shells and oricchiette pastas are more commonly found and can easily replace this pasta style.
I made a triple batch of this today for my son's 5th birthday party. Kids and adults alike enjoyed. After cooking I kept it warm in the crock pot and Instant pot for about an hour before it was time to serve. It thickened up a bit and changed texture slightly but it was still awesome.
I'm so glad you liked it and everyone enjoyed the recipe! Quick tip, if the sauce became gloopy, stir in a splash of milk. Or if it became a little grainy, that means it was held on a heat that was too high. To avoid that, keep the temperature as low as possible, and stir it occasionally so the sauce never gets too hot in one spot. Thanks for your review!
I notice that the instructions state “serve immediately”, would I be able to mak this for a family dinner that is being hosted at another home ? What would be a good way to make sure it doesn’t separate? Is there a safe way to reheat or warm it up if need be?
Hi! Yes, you can store it in your normal air tight containers, then reheat it on the stove gently over low heat with a hearty splash of milk or cream to make sure the cheese doesn’t separate and the sauce stays at the desired consistency. Hope that helps!
Can I transfer this recipe after I cook it into a crockpot to keep warm for a party?
To make sure the cheese sauce doesn’t separate it mustn’t get too hot. If you keep the crockpot on warm (not low or high) and give it a stir occasionally, I don’t see why not!
I've admittedly never had the Panera mac and cheese, but this looks SO GOOD. We don't eat a lot of pasta at home, but I am completely unable to resist a good, cheesy bowl of mac and cheese!
Neither am I, girl! Give me a bowl of mac and cheese any day!
This Mac + Cheese is a MUST TRY! Wow. It looks so creamy and flavorful! saving this for later!
Thanks hon!
Oh man, I don't have Panera a whole lot, but if I do, chances are this is what I am going to get! Great to see this copycat recipe! Their Mac and cheese is so damn creamy!
I know right? It's addictive almost, haha. Panera better not give up their Mac and cheese!
I've been on the hunt for the perfect mac and cheese recipe and this one sounds like I just found it! That sauce is so creamy - I must try this!
Try it, it's SUPER creamy and so good!
I love Panera's mac and cheese! This looks delicious and can't wait to try!
Mmmm... Looks delicious. I'm going cook this for my family tonight. Hope it turns out well. Thanks for sharing ..
Oh my, that is a lot of cheesy goodness right there! Great idea to recreate your restaurant favorites...why is it they always remove the best recipes from the menu?!?!
Oh I love Panera's mac-n-cheese. Must try this
I need to pass this recipe on to my youngest daughter. Panera Mac & Cheese is one of her favorite things!
Yes! I need this recipe! I love Panera, especially this mac and cheese, but I can't get it here in London. Thanks for coming up with this recipe <3