Hmmm...you are quite the baker and cook I see. I enjoyed browsing your site briefly tonight and stopped on this post as I wanted such a recipe for my teenager son who loves M & C but we both agree homemade would be healthier..... Do you take your own pics? Very good, very professional site.

Stumbled upon your mac and cheese recipe and was delighted that it didn't call for velveeta :P Almost everywhere else I've looked has...

Never buy Velveeta, Amy. Not only is it not really cheese :) it's outrageously expensive!

I just made this now. The cheese bit in mine had a bit of a rough/grainy texture though.

Could this be remedied by blending more thorougly, or cooking w/ sauce for longer or shorter?

Rob.

Hi Rob. I've never had that grainy texture. How long did you cook it after you added the cheese sauce ingredients? I know it can look done before it's actually done. Definitely try cooking (and stirring) at least 3 or 4 minutes or a bit longer. Assume you used cheddar cheese? I always grate mine but I don't know if that makes any difference really. When it's run through the blender/processor it should be quite pureed.

One last thought. Wondering if you maybe used a "low-fat" cheddar. It definitely would have a different texture when melted.

Hope some of that helps.

I just made this, and mine had a grainy texture as well. I don't own a blender so I whisked together the wet ingredients and then added the cheese, which had been grated finely. I cooked it for a little longer as in your response to Rob but it still came out grainy. I'm relatively new to cooking, so I experimented a little. I added some more milk and a little more butter which helped a little but not much.

Hmmmm. I'm stumped, Jenny. I've never had a grainy texture myself, but I can't think what the difference might be. Do you have any sense of what ingredient is the culprit? It might be worth trying to melt the butter in the hot pasta first (and leave it out of the sauce mixture) and then add the sauce and see if that helps.

Update: Thinking the culprit is packaged pre-shredded cheese, that has anti-caking agents added to it. I never buy cheese pre-shredded, so would explain why I never had that problem. I'd recommend shredding block cheese for this recipe.

I too have had issues with grainy cheese sauces and invariably it is because the sauce is too hot when adding the cheese...try taking it off the heat and letting cool slightly and then adding cheese. When reheating, do not bring to boil.

Signed, a food guy from Winnipeg!

Thanks Tim. That's a great tip! I assume you mean the macaroni is too hot before the cheese mixture is added.