I do not eat at Panera often but when I do I always enjoy the food and drinks. So when I saw a copycat recipe for one of their dishes it seemed like it would be worth trying, even though I already have quite a few mac and cheese recipes. Can you really ever have too many different kinds of mac and cheese recipes?
Panera White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese Copycat
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup fat free milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- 16 ounces cavatappi pasta
- Cook pasta according to package directions and drain.
- In a large pot, over medium high heat, melt the butter.
- Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute.
- Reduce the heat to medium and slowly add in the milk and heavy cream, whisking the entire time.
- Add in the black pepper and ground mustard. Continue to whisk until the mixture starts to bubble up.
- Reduce the heat to low and add in the cheddar cheese, stirring until melted.
- Add the cooked pasta to the cheese sauce. Stir until well mixed and then remove from the heat.
- Let sit for about 5 minutes to thicken.
Serves: 8 (as a side dish)
Calories: 704
Total Fat: 47.2g
Saturated: 29.5g
Polyunsaturated: 1.1g
Monounsaturated: 8g
Trans: 0g
Cholesterol: 158.1mg
Sodium: 399.5mg
Potassium: 163.2mg
Total Carbs: 52.1g
Dietary Fiber: 2.2g
Sugars: 3.7g
Protein: 23.8g
Vitamin A: 33.2%
Vitamin C: 1.1%
Calcium: 47.9%
Iron: 10.2%
*The nutritional information will vary slightly depending on the brands you use.
*Adapted from Shurgary Sweets.
