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This was the most searched for mac n cheese recipe in 2024! This recipe, cheesy as it can ever be, is so awesome that even Gordon Ramsay raves about it! Yes, just Google it. The recipe calls for three different types of cheese, the amounts of which may shock you a little. That’s alongside several other ingredients but believe me, you need every single one of them to achieve the best results. You just may never make mac n cheese any other way after trying this recipe.

How I came across this awesome mac n cheese recipe

You know how Google changes its Doodle every day to commemorate historical facts, figures, events, and so on? I love clicking on the Doodles whenever one catches my interest. Like, “Celebrating so-and-so’s 133rd birthday,” I’m like, “Okay, Google, let’s find out who this person is and what their story is.” It’s usually such a great way to learn something new and fascinating.

On this particular day, my attention was captured by what looked like a Google Doodle with cute little sea shells all around the six colorful letters. I got curious but as I looked more closely, I realized I was on the Google News Feed and the image I was looking at was featured in an article titled “Google Reveals Top Searches of 2024.” The article, from Search Engine Journal written by Matt G. Southern, immediately got me interested and I clicked to learn more. I quickly scrolled through the sections for sports, entertainment, politics, and news, looking for something to do with food and recipes because I knew it had to be somewhere in there. No doubt it was, although buried away towards the end of the article (no hard feelings. Just saying).

Top 5 most searched for foods and recipes in 2024

I started reviewing the top 5 most searched foods and recipes in 2024 and, according to the article, they were (1) the Olympic chocolate muffins, (2) Tanghulu, (3) Tini’s Mac n Cheese, (4) Mama Kelce’s cookies, and (5) the Dense bean salad. At first, I was at a loss because I did not recognize any of those dishes. “Do I live under a rock?” I wonder to myself. But, before getting all hard and judgemental to myself, I decide to read on. Alas! One name sounded familiar! Tini = Tineke Younger, a name that I was confident I had seen before! I had come across this lady’s cooking videos on Facebook and was completely in awe every time I watched her. Her culinary skills were out of this world. Hence, I was not surprised that one of her recipes had made it to the top five most searched for recipes in 2024!

Tineke Younger (Tini)’s Mac n Cheese Recipe

Naturally, I go and look up Tineke’s Mac n cheese recipe because now I am fully invested. Especially having seen the featured image of the dish in the article – no way anyone would pass that. As expected, I find tons of recipe videos doing exactly what I am doing here – talking about and demonstrating the viral mac n cheese recipe too! I decided to skip them all and go find the original recipe by Tineke herself because you know, if I am going to be reporting about it to my readers, better get it from the horse’s mouth, right?

Without much a do, here are the recipe details.

Ingredients

Pasta: Tineke recommends corkscrew pasta (cellentani) because, according to her, its coily nature holds the cheesiness better and you get to savor that richness with every bite. Tineke used one pound of pasta in her recipe but I chose to only make half a pound. Hence, all of my ingredients are half of what was used in the original recipe.

Water and salt: For boiling the pasta.

For the roux

Butter: Unsalted butter is recommended. For half a pound of pasta, you’ll need one and a half tablespoons of butter.

Evaporated milk: You’ll need three quarters of a cup of evaporated milk.

Heavy whipping cream: You’ll need one cup.

Cheese: Here’s where things get a little wild. You will need half a pound of mozzarella cheese, half a pound of Colby jack cheese, and a quarter a pound of sharp cheddar cheese. Tineke recommends (I do too) that you buy block cheese and grate them yourself. Don’t use pre-shredded cheese. Grate all the three cheeses and mix them in a large bowl, then divide into two halves.

Wheat flour: You’ll need one and a half tablespoons of all-purpose flour.

Seasoning mix: You’ll need close to half a teaspoon each of salt, black pepper, paprika, and garlic powder.

Dijon mustard: You’ll need half a tablespoon of this. Adds a marvelous flavor to the mac n cheese.

Steps for this mac n cheese recipe

Bring water to a boil and add salt to taste. Add your corkscrew pasta and boil for just seven minutes. Drain and set aside.
Pre-heat the oven to 350F as you start to prepare the roux.
Melt butter on a pan on medium-low heat and add half of the seasoning mix. Stir.
Add wheat flour and stir until there are no lumps left.
Add evaporated milk and stir continuously. The roux will thicken a lot, so keep stirring to keep it smooth and without lumps.
Add heavy whipping cream and continue stirring.
Add Dijon mustard and the rest of the seasoning mix and stir.
Start adding cheese. You’ll use one half of the cheese at this stage and reserve the other half for a later step. Add a handful of cheese at a time, and stir until it is melted before adding more.
Once you sauce is thick and ready, add in pasta and stir until well combined.
Tranfer the mac n cheese to baking tray. You’ll do a bit of layring here. Start by pouring in half of the mac n cheese into the tray. Spread and level it out. Then, sprinkle half of the cheese you set aside earlier all over the top. Add the second layer of mac n cheese, spread it out, then sprinkle the rest of the cheese evenly on top.
Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until the top is well browned. Your creamy and gorgeous mac n cheese is ready to serve!

How to store and reheat leftover mac n cheese

Considering how yumy this recipe is, I doubt you’ll have any leftovers! But, just in case you do, here’s how to keep it tasting just as creamy and delicious the next day:

Storing:

Let it cool down to room temp before popping it in the fridge.
Store it in an airtight container to keep it fresh and prevent it from drying out.
Leftovers should be good for 3–4 days, but honestly, are you really going to have if for that long?

Reheating:

Microwave: Add a splash of milk or cream to your portion, cover it with a microwave-safe lid or plate, and heat in 30-second bursts, stirring in between. This keeps it creamy instead of turning into a brick of pasta.
Stovetop: Toss it in a pan on low heat with a bit of milk or cream, stirring gently until it’s warmed through. This method works great if you’re reheating a larger batch.
Oven: Feeling fancy? Put it in an oven-safe dish, cover with foil, and bake at 350F for about 15–20 minutes. You can sprinkle on some extra cheese before reheating!

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