{"id":565,"date":"2026-01-11T17:28:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T17:28:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/?p=565"},"modified":"2026-01-11T17:28:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T17:28:23","slug":"5-cheese-crack-and-cheese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/11\/5-cheese-crack-and-cheese\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Cheese Crack and Cheese"},"content":{"rendered":"

5 Cheese Crack and Cheese<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Creamy, cheesy, oven-baked magic loaded with five melty cheeses. Ultimate comfort in every bite.<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Pasta:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • 1 pound elbow macaroni<\/li>\n
  • Salt (for boiling water)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Cheese Sauce:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    • 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded<\/li>\n
    • 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded<\/li>\n
    • 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded<\/li>\n
    • 1\/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated<\/li>\n
    • 1\/2 cup cream cheese, softened<\/li>\n
    • 3 cups milk (whole milk preferred)<\/li>\n
    • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter<\/li>\n
    • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour<\/li>\n
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder<\/li>\n
    • 1\/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)<\/li>\n
    • Salt and black pepper to taste<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Topping:<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      • 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded<\/li>\n
      • 1\/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated<\/li>\n
      • 1\/2 teaspoon paprika (optional)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Instructions<\/strong><\/h4>\n
          \n
        1. Cook the pasta:<\/strong>\n
            \n
          • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.<\/li>\n
          • Cook the elbow macaroni according to package instructions until al dente. Drain and set aside.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
          • Make the cheese sauce:<\/strong>\n
              \n
            • In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.<\/li>\n
            • Whisk in flour and cook for 1\u20132 minutes until slightly golden (this is your roux).<\/li>\n
            • Gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Cook for 3\u20135 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens.<\/li>\n
            • Reduce heat to low and stir in cream cheese until smooth.<\/li>\n
            • Add cheddar, mozzarella, Monterey Jack, and Parmesan cheeses, stirring until fully melted.<\/li>\n
            • Season with garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
            • Combine pasta and sauce:<\/strong>\n
                \n
              • Pour the cheese sauce over the cooked macaroni and stir until pasta is fully coated.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
              • Bake:<\/strong>\n
                  \n
                • Preheat oven to 350\u00b0F (175\u00b0C).<\/li>\n
                • Transfer macaroni and cheese mixture to a greased 9×13-inch baking dish.<\/li>\n
                • Sprinkle the remaining cheddar and Parmesan on top, along with paprika if desired.<\/li>\n
                • Bake for 20\u201325 minutes, until bubbly and golden on top.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
                • Serve:<\/strong>\n
                    \n
                  • Let it cool slightly before serving. Enjoy the ultimate cheesy comfort!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                    5 Cheese Crack and Cheese Creamy, cheesy, oven-baked magic loaded with five melty cheeses. Ultimate comfort in every bite. Ingredients…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-recipe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=565"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":567,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565\/revisions\/567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/recipes.ukbiddingdirectory.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}