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How about some cheese today? This creamy brie four cheese mac and cheese with buttery ritz crackers is melt in your mouth GOOD.
And pasta!!
It is kind of perfect after the day I had yesterday, or really the day the site had. Not real happy with my VPS host, Bluehost. We are not even going to talk about it except to say is that I am really sorry the site was down ALL day yesterday. So frustrating and just plain terrible. Ugh. Sorry if it caused you guys any inconvenience.
This mac and cheese is my apology.
WATCH HOW-TO VIDEO HERE:
I’d say it’s fair game. I mean just look at it. So creamy and buttery, and did I mention there is four cheeses and one of the cheeses is Brie?!?! Yes, Brie. In mac and cheese. It’s so good. And I would totally add some blue cheese crumbles if you are into it.
That would be good. I should have done that.
The Brie actually does not add a ton of amazing flavor. The flavor comes mostly from the sharp cheddar, fontina and havarti (my favorite cheese to add to mac and cheese!!), but the Brie does add amazing creaminess. Oh so creamy! I think you are going to freak. It is the best mac and cheese I have ever made. And eaten.
Oh, and did you guys notice?
My casserole dish? It is not glued together anymore. It is actually all in once piece and totally not toxic.
Yay!
Now I can eat all the mac and cheese. Not just the center. Thank God.
The only reason I made mac and cheese was because I am currently loaded with fancy and delicious cheeses. Definitely not a problem at all, I love it!
Here is the thing though, my grocery store pretty much just sucks. It is not very good and has very limited selections. BUT it does have a new killer cheese section. Guys, it is awesome and I love it, but you know, cheese is expensive…..
So I piled up on pretty much all the discounted cheese (AKA the old cheese). I bought ten eight-ounce wheels of Brie for ten dollars. Now that is a good deal. Especially for me since cheese takes forever to go bad up here where I live. It’s the one thing the elevation is good for (that and no bugs – too high for the little suckers, just a few tiny ants up here)!
Cheep (fancy) cheese equals really good mac and cheese.
So does buttery Ritz crackers, best mac-n-cheese topping ever.
Just like any mac and cheese recipe, this one is super easy. Make it ahead and everyone will love it. It is the perfect cozy meal for weeknights or the weekends. I am pretty sure it would be an awesome Thanksgiving side as well.
A little mac and cheese can never hurt.
Oh, and don’t mind my holiday Ritz crackers and Christmas bowls. I am just a tad too excited about them and had to share.
Creamy 4 Cheese Brie and Buttery Ritz Cracker Mac and Cheese
Servings: 6 servings
Calories Per Serving: 1012 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 7 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 1 clove garlic minced or grated
- 1 1/2 cups crushed Ritz crackers about 1 sleeve
- 1 pound elbow pasta
- 1/4 cup flour
- 3 cups warm milk I used 2%
- 1 1/4 cups sharp white cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 cup fontina cheese shredded (add an extra 1/4 cup...if you want!)
- 1 1/4 cups havarti cheese shredded
- 4-6 ounces Brie rind removed and chopped (I surely used 6 ounces)
- 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the pasta until al-dente. You want it to have a bit of bite. It will finish cooking in the oven. Drain well.
- While the pasta boils add 3 tablespoons butter to a medium skillet and melt. Add the garlic and sauté 30 seconds then throw in the crushed Ritz crackers and toss to coat.
- Toast the crumbs for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning. Once the crumbs are lightly toasted remove form the heat and set aside.
- In the same pot you boiled the pasta, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let cook/bubble for 1 minute, stirring once or twice to avoid burning. Gradually whisk in the milk and raise the heat up to medium-high. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking frequently until the sauce has thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in all of the cheese, mustard powder, cayenne, salt and pepper. Stir until the cheese is fully melted. Stir in the pasta and transfer to the prepared baking dish.
- Evenly sprinkle on the toasted cracker crumbs and place the baking dish on a baking
- sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the crumbs are golden brown and the sauce is bubbling.
- Remove from the oven and let sit five minutes (yeah, right). Dig in!!
Ok, now let’s just go grab some giant bowls!
Hi! I am needing to triple this recipe for my family thanksgiving! I noticed in a previous comment, you recommended doubling and baking in 2 dishes. Any recommendations for doing even larger batches? Thank you!!
Hi Abby,
I think for best results I wouldn’t do more than a doubling of this recipe at once:) Please let me know if you give it a try! xT
I need to double this recipe. Anything you recommend other than just doubling every ingredient? What size dish would you use to double?
Hi Jessica,
For best results, I would double the rice and then bake it in 2 separate dishes:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Quick question…what other cheeses could be subbed here? Admittedly, my kids are pretty true to a sharp cheddar flavor, but would you consider that for this recipe? If so, what other cheeses in your recipe would you keep to pair? Thank you in advance!
Hey Anna,
I guess I am wondering what cheeses are you wanting to sub? You could do all cheddar cheese if you wanted. You might like one of my other Mac and cheese recipes better:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/boil-mac-cheese/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/baked-mac-and-cheese/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/cheese-makers-mac-cheese/
I hope this helps! xT
After reviewing the recipe again, I realized it does call for white cheddar. Perhaps that will give it enough cheddar taste to suit my crew. Thank you for the additional links…this one just looks so good that I think I will give it a whirl. Appreciate you and many blessings for a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Tieghan, this sounds wonderful. The creaminess of this recipe is what has attracted me .
I love using gruyere cheese and wondered if I could add or substitute it in this recipe.
If adding it, how much? Thinking of making this for Thanksgiving. Many thanks.
Thanks so much! If you want to use gruyere I would use that in place of the brie, I think the combo of the two might be odd. I hope this helps! xT
Hi!!! I love making this! I have heavy whipping cream in my fridge that I need to use up, can I use it in place of the Milk?? 😉
Hello! Yes you could definitely use heavy cream! xT
If you were to add blue cheese crumbles, would you do so to bake with the other cheeses or at the end as a topping? Thank you!
Hi Margaret,
You could add with the other cheeses:) Let me know how this dish turns out for you, I hope it’s delish! xT
This Mac & Cheese was the bomb! I assembled it a day before serving. My husband and I couldn’t resist sneaking a few bites before storing it for the next day and it was to die for. When we baked and served it the next day we did find that it dried out compared to when it was freshly made. Any tips for avoiding that? Thank you!!
Hi Tricia,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! Unfortunately, baking this twice, will definitely dry it out, so sorry! xT
Made this tonight. Super easy and everyone loved the flavor. The only issue we had was that it was a bit “grainy” in the texture and mine was not as creamy as your pictures. Is there a trick I missed?
Hey Tara,
Happy Monday!🎃 I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was tasty for you, thanks a bunch for making it! Did you use freshly grated cheese? It makes such a difference over store bought pre-shredded cheese:) xx
Hi Tieghan!
If I make this dish ahead of time for a late Friendsgiving, how would I go about storing it? Should I make the cheese mixture and refrigerate until ready?
Thank you!! Can’t wait to try!
Hey there,
You can make up until the point of baking, cover and keep in the fridge, then bake when you are ready to serve. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Made this as a side for my small group’s Christmas dinner. The cheeses made it a pretty pricey side dish.. Everyone loved it and it was easy to make a portion of it gluten free for one of the guests by using gf all purpose flour and pasta and not doing the cracker topping for her portion.
My husband said this was the best mac and cheese I’ve ever made. Will definitely make again.
Hey Emily,
Fantastic! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad it was enjoyed!❄️ xTieghan
I made this for a friendsgiving dinner and it was great! I was short on ritz crackers so I ended up doing half ritz and half smashed Cheese-Itz as the crunchy top. It all worked out well together I think.
Hi Em,
Wonderful! It’s so great to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan! sorry if this is a dumb question, your recipes never fail me- but do we remove the brine from the brie before using?
Hey Kathleen,
I always leave the brine on my brie. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Hi. I want to make this ahead for a party. Would you do everything except for the last step of baking it? Do you think it would get dried out if it sits in the fridge overnight prior to baking it?
Hey there,
You could be totally fine to make this up until the point of baking, keep covered in the fridge, and then bake when you are ready to serve. I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you. Please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I’ve been making this for years and it is 100% the best darn macaroni and cheese recipe I have EVER made! Always always gets rave reviews! It’s delicious.
Hey Lindz,
I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! xTieghan
Hello, fellow Cleveland native here. I got this recipe from a work colleage and made it with cavatappi and it was really, really delicious, probably the best mac I’ve ever made. My husband and teenager loved it, roo. I like the idea of subbing half the pasta with cooked, shredded chicken and broccoli florets, as another commenter suggested. Great recipe, a keeper, for sure.
Hey Robin,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Happy New Year! xTieghan