The One Appliance Binging With Babish Uses For Super Smooth Mac And Cheese

Craving a warm, filling meal at the end of a long day? You can never go wrong with mac and cheese. The classic comfort food doesn't require spending much time and energy in the kitchen, whether you're making it from scratch or a box. Cooking the pasta is straightforward, but sometimes the sauce needs a little extra help, especially if you're working with powdered cheese. Fortunately, if you've ever dealt with clumpy sauce, there's a surprisingly simple way to ensure it comes out smooth every single time. All you need is a blender. 

With almost a decade of experience spent recreating iconic foods from movies and television like the Krabby Patty and ratatouille, Andrew Rea, the chef and creator better known by his pseudonym Babish from the successful "Binging with Babish" YouTube series, has cracked the code to irresistibly creamy mac and cheese — a meal that's no stranger to the big screen either. After struggling to prepare the perfect cacio e pepe, another delicious cheesy pasta dish, he shared the secret to a silky cheese sauce with Epicurious: Simply prepare it in a blender. As the blades cut through and combine all the ingredients, the sauce's texture turns out super smooth, making any pesky cheese clumps a long-forgotten problem. Clearly, the common kitchen appliance can come in handy for making more than just smoothies and soups.

Forget melting cheese on the stovetop. When you're trying to make a smooth sauce for mac and cheese, you're best off blending it like Babish. After boiling your preferred pasta to perfection and setting aside some of the hot starchy pasta water that it cooked in, add grated or shredded cheese to your blender's jar. Set the appliance to its slowest setting, then gradually pour in the liquid. Between the blades and the water's temperature, the ingredients will combine into a super silky sauce. You can also add a tablespoon or two of butter for extra richness and fat to aid the emulsification so the sauce clings to the pasta better. Babish recommends using this blender technique for pasta carbonara and similar dishes as it works for any cheese — even older types that ordinarily might sabotage your cheese sauce.

If you're a fan of extra creamy mac, it's worth trying out his other tips for a luxurious sauce. Instead of water, he cooks his pasta in milk, which adds a little flavor but really comes into play in the blender. When combined with cheese, the milk results in an extra creamy sauce. Babish also suggests adding egg yolks into the mix, as they can thicken the sauce and enrich it with a savory umami flavor. If you notice the sauce is starting to set too much, a little extra liquid can halt the process and help thin it back out.

Besides milk and egg yolks, there are plenty of other tricks to take mac and cheese to the next level, whether you're aiming to improve its texture, flavor, or nutritional value. When it comes to pasta shape, consider swapping the standard shells or elbow macaroni for a ridged pasta. The curves can hold onto more of the rich cheese sauce so each bite is even creamier. If you want to introduce more flavor to the dish, add canned cream soup. From cheddar to cream of broccoli, there are all kinds of options that can enhance your mac and cheese. Similarly, while nutritional yeast is a go-to vegan ingredient in most plant-based cheese sauces, it's delicious enough to be enjoyed by anyone, providing an extra cheesy, savory flavor to a classic mac. It's also a great source of vitamin B12 for added nutritional value.

Cooking for kids who aren't too keen on eating their veggies? It's easy to incorporate them into mac and cheese. Broccoli and peas are classic healthy additions to the dish, both made much more delicious by the creamy sauce. For a more unexpected vegetable, turn to carrots. Not only do they boast a bright orange color that's comparable to cheddar, but steamed carrots can be blended directly into the sauce for added shine and nutrients. Who would have guessed a blender would be the key to upping your pasta game in so many ways?