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Copycat Chick-fil-A Mac & Cheese: Baked Three-Cheese Recipe
Inspired by Chick-fil-A Mac & Cheese Not the official recipe
- 50 min
- Makes 6 medium sides
- ~$0.71 per serving~£0.71 per serving
- Save ~$20 vs Chick-fil-A
- Not enough ratings yet
Elbow macaroni in a creamy cheddar, Parmesan and Romano sauce, baked until the cheese on top bubbles and browns at the edges. One pot for the sauce, one dish for the oven.
Clone Score
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Rate the cloneCost at home
Save ~$20
~$0.71 each at home
- Homemade
- ~$4.28 for 6 (~$0.71 each)
- At Chick-fil-A
- ~$24.30 for 6
That's 82% less.
~£0.71 each at home
- Homemade
- ~£4.28 for 6 (~£0.71 each)
Estimate · prices checked Oct 2026 · vary by location · excl. tax & delivery.
Estimate. Restaurant prices checked Oct 2026. Prices vary by location; tax and delivery fees are not included. Pantry staples (salt, oil…) are not included.
Ingredients
- Pantry
- Pantry
Pantry staples are not included in the cost estimate.
Ingredient cost
- Homemade
- ~$4.28 for 6 (~$0.71 each)
- At Chick-fil-A
- ~$24.30 for 6
- Homemade
- ~£4.28 for 6 (~£0.71 each)
Method quantities are for the original 6 medium sides.
Kitchen gear
- Large pot
- Whisk
- 8-inch (20 cm) square baking dish, or a 2-quart (2-liter) dish
- Box grater
Method
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Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and butter an 8-inch (20 cm) square baking dish or one of a similar size.
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Boil the macaroni in well-salted water for 2 minutes less than the packet time, so it is still firm in the middle. Drain and set aside; it finishes cooking in the oven.
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In the same pot, melt the butter over medium heat, whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute without letting it brown. Pour in the milk slowly, whisking, and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes until it thickens enough to coat a spoon.
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Take the pot off the heat. Stir in the cheese slices, the Parmesan and Romano blend and three quarters of the cheddar until melted and smooth. Season with the pepper and salt to taste.
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Stir the macaroni into the sauce. It should look looser than you expect; the pasta absorbs some sauce as it bakes. Spread it in the dish and scatter the rest of the cheddar over the top.
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Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until bubbling at the edges and browned in spots on top. Rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Tips for a closer clone
- Pull the pasta early. Fully cooked macaroni turns soft and swollen after 20 minutes in the oven.
- Grate the cheddar yourself; bagged shreds melt into a grainier sauce.
- For more browning on top, finish under a hot grill (broiler) for 2 minutes, watching it closely.
- Reheat portions with a splash of milk, covered, so the sauce loosens again.
How cooks rated it
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The Clone Score is how close cooks say it gets to the original. Taste stars are separate: a dupe can taste great without being identical.
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About this dupe
UK and US
Everything here is in UK supermarkets. Use mature cheddar, plain flour and any processed cheese slices, such as Dairylea. Grated Parmesan and Romano blends are common in the US; in the UK, use grated Parmigiano Reggiano on its own, or mix in a little grated pecorino, which is a Romano-style cheese.
vs the original
Mac & Cheese is on the menu in the US (menu status reviewed Oct 14, 2026). When it launched in 2019, the chain described it as a special blend of cheddar, Parmesan and Romano baked in-restaurant (WISH-TV, August 12, 2019). We have not been able to confirm it on the menu of the chain’s small number of UK restaurants. A medium was listed at $4.05 in US menu-price data reviewed in May 2026; prices vary by restaurant. One serving here is about 1 cup, our own portion; the chain does not publish the size of a medium.
The American cheese slices
They are not there for flavor. The emulsifying salts in processed cheese keep the sauce silky after baking, so it stays creamy instead of turning stiff as it cools.
What it costs: ingredient costs are estimates for the amount used, from supermarket listing prices checked on Oct 15, 2026 (Target.com in the US, Trolley.co.uk for UK supermarkets). Prices vary by store and week.
Where this recipe comes from
Untested: a starting point written with AI help and checked against our recipe rules. Nobody has cooked it yet. Make it, rate how close it gets, and tell us what you changed. How we label recipes
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Copycat recipe inspired by the restaurant original. Not the official recipe. DupeEats is not affiliated with Chick-fil-A.
The original
From dupeeats.com/d027 · Copycat recipe, not the official recipe. DupeEats is not affiliated with any restaurant brand.
