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John Legend's Macaroni and Cheese

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When musician John Legend visited Martha, he shared this recipe for his favorite Southern comfort food.

Source: The Martha Stewart Show, Episode 1092

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Watch: How to Cook Pasta

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Reviews

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How would you rate this recipe?
1738
  • franco.susi
    16 DEC, 2018
    THIS recipe has become a much-demanded classic here on my farm; best Mac n Cheese recipe EVER~!! Just one problem: The original "John Legend Mac n' Cheese" recipe included John Legend's recipe for his Seasoning Salt, which I've been using for years to make my own Seasoning Salt. I lost it & haven't been able to find it again. That part of the original recipe is omitted here on Martha's website. :( PLEASE advise where I can find it! THANX~
    Reply
    • kbrlfd
      24 DEC, 2018
      Watching the video with John cooking the dish, he used Lawry’s seasoned salt which is what he grew up with (his mom used it as did mine!).
  • leecuz101
    15 OCT, 2018
    This mac and cheese was pretty good. I also tasted notes of sweetness and I did not use sweetened condensed milk as others have suggested. In the future I may try with just one can of evaporated milk or replacing it all together with half and half or heavy cream. I would also suggest seasoning the pasta layers directly with salt and pepper rather than putting it in the liquid.
    Reply
    • ecg4310
      12 DEC, 2018
      I looked this up last Thanksgiving and it made its way onto my table again! It’s the best recipe of Mac n cheese I’ve ever had!
    • icolemanmebane3
      7 NOV, 2018
      Idid just that..6oz. Of heavy wipping cream, 6oz of evaperated milk 1/3 cup 2% milk...seasoning each layerr of pasta!..Came out just fine!..The Bomb.Com!!!lol!
  • babs.walker
    22 NOV, 2018
    I have made this several times now. I substitute gluten free penne noodles for the regular elbow macaroni. I also omit the paprika. The first time I made it I made no modifications other than the GF noodles. Since then I have played with the recipe a little each time, using different cheeses, and substituting the skim milk for half/half. It is always delicious and a crowd pleaser. John Legend surely has a legend with this dish! Yummy yummy yummy!
    Reply
  • dsm1967
    3 SEP, 2012
    Sorry to say that I didn't get the same results that other reviewers enjoyed. It was just "eh." Not creamy. Ingredients separated. Flavor kind of bland. (I mixed it up the night before. Maybe that was the problem. But other reviewers tried that and it worked.)
    Reply
    • leecuz101
      15 OCT, 2018
      Season you noodles directly as you layer it.
  • Kellie McMahan
    8 NOV, 2012
    turned out really sweet, anyone else have that problem
    Reply
    • leecuz101
      15 OCT, 2018
      yes I did with the evaporated milk. Just mild hints of it. I'm only going to use one can at most in the future.
  • rosalieherring
    23 NOV, 2013
    Absolutely delicious and relatively easy mac n' cheese recipe. I believe that there is an error in the ingredients though. Only 3 cups of macaroni?? That's completely crazy for three bags of cheese! I followed recipe to the tee the first time and it was cheesy overload (albeit yummy). I nearly doubled the pasta the next time and it was great and seemed like a more appropriate proportion. I do use shells instead of elbow macaroni but can't imagine that accounts for the difference.
    Reply
    • leecuz101
      15 OCT, 2018
      I used a whole 1lb and it was fine.
    • lizzlebet
      24 NOV, 2017
      I agree that there seems to be too little macaroni....
    • SamT53
      14 FEB, 2016
      Nope, it's correct. The ratio I use for all mac & cheese recipes is 2:1 & that's what this is: 24 oz. cheese to 12 oz. (3 cups) dry pasta.
    • copyska
      27 AUG, 2015
      Re: ratio of macaroni to cheese -- what I read from the recipe is 3 cups of uncooked macaroni, which would yield much more when cooked. Then the three packages of cheese would be appropriate, no?
      • amynthys
        23 NOV, 2015
        Correct. Atleast that's what I got from it.
  • lgillcpa1
    14 JUN, 2016
    Bad recipe. I made this for the Girl Scout troops for the 1st time based on the reviews. It didn't taste bad but the presentation was not good. The milk curdled up so it did not look appetizing. How embarrassing. All ingredients were recently bought. I've had better Mac & Cheese made in crock pots! If someone knows why it curdled up, please let me know how to fix it.
    Reply
    • leecuz101
      15 OCT, 2018
      This was definitely from the egg. I don't mind it but if you don't like it you should make it would it. Leaving the egg out will increase the baking time to double probably.
    • tiffanyliconag
      22 DEC, 2017
      Are you sure it was curdled milk and not just the cooked eggs that are baked into it? That can give a similar appearance (and it's why I hate adding eggs to baked mac & cheese!)
  • hwg224
    11 OCT, 2018
    I am not a fan of thick, southern style mac and cheese. I find it heavy and filling, I prefer creamy. This is definitely southern style. As southern recipes go, this is a good one. If I did like thicker mac and cheese, this would be a regular in my recipe box.
    Reply
  • citpit1962
    19 APR, 2018
    I love this Mac cheese. I made last for dinner with collard and BBQ ribs perfect. Yum
    Reply
  • markcathereams
    26 MAR, 2018
    Great recipe. The only thing I will do next time is double the milk. I made it ahead of time and while juicy, it could have used a little more fluid
    Reply

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