The sauce should be well seasoned - not with lots of extra spices and ingredients, just simply with salt, pepper, and maybe a tiny bit of mustard to add a touch of tang.No mushy pasta! We prevent this two ways (I’ve shared them below).After baking there needs to still be enough sauce that’s not absorbed into the pasta so every bite is a creamy one. The sauce to pasta ratio is important to get right.That said, I do think there are a few key elements for the best mac and cheese. There are lots of recipes for macaroni and cheese in the world and to be completely honest, I’d probably love most of them.