The Best Cheese Blends For Restaurant-Worthy Mac And Cheese, Chosen By A Chef

There are few places to misstep when making mac and cheese. As long as you have your pasta and fromage and know the basics of making it, you're pretty much good. If you're shooting for something better than "good," however, you'll need to put a little more thought into the ingredients you choose, especially the cheeses. Thankfully, we found a chef who's willing to do the thinking for you.

Before you dive into all the best additions to spruce up mac and cheese, you have to make sure the dish stands on its own. For Chef Marcus Woods of Sylvia's Restaurant in Harlem, mac and cheese is best when scaled back. We caught up with the chef while he was preparing for City Harvest's "BID 2024: CHTV!" to discuss the best blends you should add to your mac and cheese. "A mixture of mild and sharp cheddar with Monterey Jack is a personal favorite, but you can experiment with blends like gruyere, mozzarella, and gouda for extra creaminess and flavor complexity," says Woods.

Both mild cheddar and Monterey Jack have a buttery taste that's punched up by the bold, funky flavor of sharp cheddar. The variety in cheese gives the dish a more dynamic flavor, while still tasting cohesive since two types of the same kind are used. Gruyere, mozzarella, and gouda are on the milder side, but vary in nuttiness and tanginess, providing a varied taste.

If you're not sure where to start, Woods recommends keeping the ingredient list refined. "[The] biggest mistake I see is overcomplicating the recipe," he says. "Traditional and simple seems to do the trick." Though some cheeses are milder, overall, they're savory and pack an umami punch. It's best to let only a small handful show off their flavors rather than forcing a bunch of cheeses to compete for attention.

While you can have two or three different cheeses, Woods believes they should all temper each other out so one doesn't dominate the other. "[The] only rule I can think of is to make sure all the cheeses complement each other. Choose an even balance of cheese," he explains. 

Our baked mac and cheese casserole contains mozzarella, sharp white cheddar, and fontina cheese, which all pair together beautifully. While the mozzarella and fontina cheese provide a milky, nutty taste to the dish, sharp white cheddar is bold and creamy.

For a simple combination that covers all the bases, two cheeses in particular come to mind for Woods. "[You] can never go wrong with a smoked gouda and aged white cheddar mix."