I tried baked mac-and-cheese recipes by Ina Garten, Ree Drummond, and Martha Stewart. The best used butternut squash.

Erin McDowellNov 15, 2024, 23:52 IST

I compared Ina Garten's, Martha Stewart's, and Ree Drummond's recipes for baked macaroni and cheese.Erin McDowell/Insider; Roy Rochlin/Getty Images; Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty Images; yler Essary/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images

Ina Garten, Martha Stewart, and Ree Drummond all have recipes for baked mac and cheese.
Stewart's recipe uses four kinds of cheese and yellow onion, while Garten's calls for tomato.

Celebrity chefs Ina Garten, Martha Stewart, and Ree Drummond all have their own recipes for baked mac and cheese, so I decided to put them to the test.

Stewart's recipe kept things classic with four kinds of cheese and sautéed yellow onion, while Garten's instructions called for tomato. I thought Drummond's was the most fall-appropriate with the addition of roasted butternut squash and caramelized onions.

All of the recipes cost under $50 to make and include many pantry staples you probably already have.

Here's how to make each celebrity-chef-approved baked mac-and-cheese recipe.

Up first was Martha Stewart's creamy mac and cheese.

The ingredients for Martha Stewart's creamy mac and cheese on my island.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

I started off by melting a few tablespoons of unsalted butter in a pot on the stove.

I melted the butter in a pot on the stove.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

After the butter had fully melted, I added the yellow onion to the pot and gave it a good stir. The delicious smell of butter and onions quickly filled my kitchen.

I then added the onions.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

While the onions were cooking, I set about the somewhat grueling task of grating all the cheeses.

I hand-shredded the cheeses for the macaroni.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

Next, I cooked the macaroni noodles.

I strained the pasta in a colander.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

After the onions had reached the point of being translucent, I added in the flour.

I mixed the onions and butter with flour on the stove.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

I then added 3 cups of whole milk. The mixture was now starting to resemble a cheese sauce.

The cheese sauce cooked on the stove.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

By the time I poured the noodles into the larger pot and added the cheese sauce, I had been prepping and cooking for about an hour.

I mixed the cooked macaroni noodles with the cheese sauce.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

You can make the mac and cheese in individual pans or in a larger 1 1/2-quart baking dish.

The mac and cheese before being put in the oven.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

After half an hour in the oven, my macaroni and cheese was done, and it was delicious.

The finished mac-and-cheese side in a Pyrex dish.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

Ina Garten's recipe for baked mac and cheese calls for fewer ingredients.

The ingredients for Ina Garten's mac and cheese.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

The recipe calls for a whopping eight tablespoons of unsalted butter.

I melted the butter in a pot on the stove.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

While this recipe does call for fewer ingredients, it does require an extra pot.

I then added flour to the melted butter.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

I then added the hot milk into the flour-and-butter mixture.

I cooked the cheese sauce on the stove.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

After adding in the two kinds of cheese, my sauce was beginning to thicken.

The cheese sauce began to thicken.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

The cheese sauce in the Garten recipe was slightly thicker and had a distinct "cheese pull."

The mac and cheese had a thick, stringy consistency.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

Garten recommends topping the mac and cheese with breadcrumbs and tomato slices before putting it in the oven.

The finished Ina Garten mac and cheese.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

The dish smelled heavenly, but I thought it could have been a little cheesier.

The finished Ina Garten macaroni and cheese.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

Ree Drummond's recipe for butternut-squash mac and cheese takes less than an hour to make.

I cut the butternut squash in half.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

After cutting the squash in half, I removed the seeds with a spoon.

I drizzled the butternut squash with olive oil.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

While the squash was roasting, I started cooking the onions.

I sautéed the onions in a stainless steel pan.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

I used a fork to scrape out the insides of the squash, which was easy because it was so soft.

I mashed the butternut squash in a bowl with a fork.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

After the squash was done and set aside, I prepared the sauce in the same skillet I used to cook the onions.

I melted the butter in a stainless steel pan.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

Once the butter was melted, I added the flour, cheddar cheese, and butternut squash.

The sauce for the butternut squash mac and cheese.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

Once the sauce was done, I added the cooked macaroni and onions and stirred it together.

The mac and cheese with the onions on top.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

I then prepped the breadcrumbs, which were supposed to be sprinkled over the top of my mac and cheese.

I mixed the breadcrumbs with melted butter.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

I sprinkled the breadcrumbs over the top of the mac and cheese and then baked it for about 20 minutes.

The finished butternut squash mac and cheese.Erin McDowell/Business Insider

This was one of the most flavorful mac and cheese recipes I've ever made, and it's definitely my favorite of the three.