TikTok One-Pan Baked Mac & Cheese

Inspired by the viral Tik Tok baked feta pasta, this baked mac and cheese uses a similar method. It's one of the easiest mac and cheese recipes since the pasta bakes right in the pan- no need to boil pasta or make a cheese sauce. I take a few extra steps to ensure that the sauce is creamy and dreamy, no grainy or broken mac and cheese here! Great for a Thanksgiving/Friendsgiving side dish!

• Ready In: 1 hr 10 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

•  one pound pasta medium pasta shell
• 8  ounces cream cheese
• 4  ounces American cheese
• 8  ounces sharp cheddar cheese
• 6  ounces gruyere cheese
• 8  ounces colby-monterey jack cheese (or any good melting cheese)
• 4  cups half-and-half
• 1  cup water
•  salt
•  pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Grate cheddar cheese and gruyere, then combine in a bowl. Take the time to grate your own cheese, it's the only prep for the whole recipe. Pre shredded cheeses will affect the texture.
3. Grate colby jack cheese and set aside in a separate bowl. This will be your topping.
4. To the center of a 9x13 baking dish (preferably broiler safe), add the block of cream cheese and American cheese.
5. Pour dry, uncooked pasta evenly around the cream cheese and American cheese.
6. Cover pasta with half and half and water. Sprinkle with a few generous pinches of salt and fresh ground black pepper. Stir to combine, with disputing the cheeses in the center.
7. Add uncovered baking dish to oven and bake for 30 minutes.
8. After 30 minutes, remove the dish from oven and stir to combine. It will look a little weird at this point, its okay. Trust the process.
9. Add dish back into the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
10. Remove from oven again, this time stirring in the cheddar and gruyere. I prefer to add these cheese later on in the process to prevent them from overheating and tasting grainy. Return to oven for an additional 10 minutes.
11. Remove from oven, stirring to combine. At this point, the pasta should be almost fully cooked. Taste for additional seasoning at this point as well. It should look like a creamy stove top mac and cheese by this point.
12. Top the dish with the remaining colby jack cheese, but do not stir. This will create a crispy, gooey and bubbly cheese topping.
13. Bake for an additional 10 minutes until the top is nicely browned. If not, you can throw under the broiler for a minute or two.
14. Serve immediately!