Copycat Chick Fil A mac and cheese recipe is here! Tastes just like the restaurant but cheaper and the best side dish for dinner. If you love our pressure cooker macaroni and cheese but want to bake it in your oven, this is for you.
I bet you love Chick Fil A mac and cheese huh? Who doesn’t?? As soon as they offered this next to their chicken sandwiches it was instantly my girls’ favorite add on. With a family of 5 it can get expensive to eat out often, so copycat recipe ideas like this one are right on. (affiliate links present)
Chick Fil A Copycat Mac and Cheese Hack
If you’re here you’re already in love with this fast food restaurant. SO you should bookmark our Chick Fil A chicken nuggets recipe and how to make air fryer waffle fries too. We made those in our air fryer to make them super crispy crunchy. Made at the same time all of you could enjoy this duo for lunch or dinnertime as often as you want now.
You can use elbow or small shells for the noodles. Whatever suits your fancy and makes you happy is what it should be. Bowtie pasta is even a fun choice when it comes to creating a fun kid recipe they will eat and ask for seconds.
Table of contents
Similar to our Crockpot macaroni and cheese, with a few adjustments, it is homemade without store bought cheese sauce. When it comes to the add ins there is one thing that is specific. The American cheese used is sliced fresh at the deli counter. This is different than packaged Kraft singles as it will help thicken the dish.
If you cannot find that the consistency will be a bit different. Second best would be to make our Velveeta cheese sauce or you can buy a block at the grocery store. Like I said, deli cheese is how you make it a copycat version but just in case I like to offer some sort of alternative.
Chick Fil A Macaroni and Cheese Ingredients
- Pasta
- Milk or make mac and cheese with heavy cream for a really thick version
- 4 different blend of cheeses
- deli American cheese slices
- 3 other kinds of cheese shredded like romano cheese and others
- Butter
- Salt and pepper
You honestly wouldn’t even have to use the oven if you didn’t want to, it’s just to melt the cheese on top and give it more time to thicken.
OR follow our how to make mac and cheese in the microwave post. Our air fryer macaroni and cheese timing is handy too if you want to use something other than the oven.
Chick Fil A Mac and Cheese Recipe
- If you want a bit of crisp on top of your dish, preheat your oven to broil.
- Prepare 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the elbow macaroni.
- Cook for 20 minutes until slightly al dente but tender.
- Drain with cold water. Transfer the macaroni to the prepared baking dish.
- In a small bowl toss together ½ cup of the cheddar cheese and ½ cup of the white cheddar cheese.
- Set aside to use for the topping.
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk, American cheese, butter, and salt, stirring often until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth.
- Add the remaining cheeses to the saucepan and heat just until melted.
- Remove and pour the cheese sauce over the top, stir to blend.
- Sprinkle the reserved cheeses over the top of the casserole.
Crisp and melt the cheese on the top under the broiler for 2-3 minutes or so, then serve. You can make a fun version going further with pizza mac and cheese. Adding pepperoni to the top is a hit with the kids.
In the microwave
You will need a small saucepan to make the well…..the sauce and a larger pot to boil the noodles from dry to tender. I prefer to boil until they are slightly al dente myself. Below will feed about 8, if you wanted to cut it down to feed just two you could do so for the sauce and read how to cook pasta in the microwave, then combine the two.
What shredded cheese does Chick-fil-A use?
When it comes to the special blend of cheeses yes there are quite a few, they are; cheddar, white cheddar, parmesan and romano. That is how to make it taste just like at the store. If you can only find a few then by all means use those but just know that all are present in their recipe.
Pure comfort food served with chicken and waffle fries. You can eat these in your jammies now! You could use these measurements with half heavy cream and half whole milk to make a version of Instant Pot macaroni and cheese creamy. That method takes a lot less time for sure but you may not have that kitchen appliance. If you do you know how amazing it really is.
What makes this different
I would say that the biggest difference between this and any other homemade version out there is the mixture of cheeses. Yes cheddar is the obvious choice for this dish but if you have had their version in their drive thru you may have noticed a bit of tang or sharpness to it. Parmesan and romano is how you get that.
What else can you add
If you have leftover ham you should dice that up and throw that on top too! That brings this dish from good to OMG amazing I tell you with the added smokiness and salt. Makes an additional meal the next day for free basically. Use what you have, bacon bits are wonderful too, or serve this inside a bread bowl.
How to save leftover mac and cheese
If you do not finish the whole dish. You may not eat all of this but as luck would have it this saves really well for the next day or so. Don’t use the same dish, it will be too big and take up too much space. Instead spoon what is left into a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Gently touch the top so it sticks.
Reason for this is to eliminate as much air as possible so it stays moist. Trick when reheating leftovers is to add 1 Tbsp of milk over the top and some added shredded cheese. Then microwave in a heat safe bowl for 1 minute, stir and heat for another 30 seconds. This will make it tender and moist again with ooey gooey stringy on the top.
Warm this copycat Chick Fil A mac and cheese on the second go around served with our air fryer Chick Fil A chicken sandwich and you’ll be a believer too.
According to the nutritional information on their website and on the drive thru menu a small order is 270 calories. Of course that will vary slightly depending on exactly how many ounces they fill the cup to but that is about right.
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Copycat Chick Fil A Mac and Cheese
Equipment
- 1 pot
- 1 9×13 dish
Ingredients
- 16 oz elbow macaroni
- 2 c milk whole is bet, for thicker use 1.5 c milk and 1/2 c heavy whipping cream
- 4 oz American cheese sliced from the deli, not packaged Kraft, torn into pieces
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 8 oz cheddar cheese block, shredded
- 4 oz white cheddar cheese shredded
- 1/2 c parmesan cheese shredded
- 2 tbsp romano cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to broil. Prepare a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the elbow macaroni. Cook for 20 minutes until slightly al dente but tender.
- Drain and rinse with cold water. Transfer the macaroni to the prepared baking dish. In a small bowl toss together ½ cup of the cheddar cheese and ½ cup of the white cheddar cheese. Set aside to use for the topping.
- Meanwhile, in a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk, American cheese, butter, and salt, stirring often until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth.
- Add the remaining cheeses to the saucepan and heat just until melted. Remove from heat. Pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni and stir to blend. Sprinkle the reserved cheeses over the top of the casserole.
- Place under the oven broiler and heat for 2 to 3minutes or until the cheese is beginning to brown slightly. Then serve.
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