Three-Cheese Baked Mac with Garlic Crumb Crust

⏱ 55 min · Serves 4

Creamy, deeply cheesy macaroni under a crisp golden crumb lid — the kind of bake that gets scraped straight from the dish. A touch of mustard and nutmeg keeps it from feeling heavy.

Per serving: 965 kcal · 44.0g protein · 92.0g carbs · 47.0g fat

Ingredients

• 350g macaroni
• 50g butter, plus 15g for the crumbs
• 50g plain flour
• 700ml whole milk, warmed
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 150g mature cheddar, grated
• 100g Gruyère, grated
• 40g Parmesan, finely grated
• 60g fresh breadcrumbs (about 2 slices of bread, blitzed)
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed
• Salt and black pepper
• Small handful parsley, chopped (optional)

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan. Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil and cook the macaroni 2 minutes short of the packet time, then drain.
2. Melt 50g butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes until it smells biscuity.
3. Pour in the warm milk a splash at a time, whisking constantly, until smooth. Simmer gently for 5 minutes, stirring, until it coats the back of a spoon.
4. Off the heat, stir in the mustard, nutmeg, cheddar, Gruyère and half the Parmesan until melted. Season generously with salt and plenty of pepper.
5. Fold in the drained macaroni, then tip into a buttered 2-litre baking dish.
6. Melt the remaining 15g butter, mix with the breadcrumbs, garlic and remaining Parmesan, and scatter over the top.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes until bubbling at the edges and golden on top. Rest 5 minutes, scatter with parsley and serve.
8. Tip: for extra depth, stir 100g crisped bacon lardons or roasted cherry tomatoes through the pasta before baking.