Real Stovetop Mac And Cheese
Meet my all-time favorite mac and cheese recipe! This recipe has been in the works for over one year, no exaggeration. It has taken me that long to find my go-to mac and cheese method.
I wanted a classic stovetop recipe, like the blue box mac and cheese I grew up enjoying. But, I wanted to make my stovetop mac and cheese with real ingredients. I wanted it to be creamy and deliciously cheesybut not oozing with so much cheese that I had to take a nap afterward.
Here is my ultimate mac and cheese recipe, which meets all of the above requirements. I purposefully used yellow cheddar and noodles that remind me of the boxed variety. Its made simply with cheddar cheese and cream, and a few subtle dried spices to ramp up the flavor.
The best part? This mac and cheese could not be easier to make. Homemade mac and cheese for the win!
Throw In Some Leftovers
For the rare occasions when you do cook, or come back home on Sunday evening with Mom or Dad’s leftovers, throw them into your macaroni and cheese. This can include beef or bean chili, meatballs, meatloaf, pot roast â anything that your mom sent you back to the dorms with in a Tupperware container is fair game.
One Pot Spinach & Artichoke From House Of Yum
Is there a better appetizer than spinach artichoke dip? Its one of those dishes thats gone before it even hits the table. This recipe takes all the flavors of your favorite dip and adds them into macaroni and cheese. She makes her own sauce, but you could easily use a white cheddar variety and simply add in the spinach and artichokes. Yum!
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How To Make The Toppings: Tips And Techniques
The first thing you need to do is crush whatever crunchy topping youve chosen. If youre using potato chips, crackers, or cheese crisps, you can either place them in a zip top bag and roll over the bag with a rolling pin , or whir them in a food processor. If youre going the rolling pin route, be sure to push out any air in the bag before zipping it closed.
To make your own breadcrumbs from leftover bread, start by removing any particularly tough or thick crusts. Tear the bread into pieces, place it in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, and pulse until your desired crumb size is reached.
This works best with stale bread. If your bread is particularly fresh and soft, you can dry out the torn pieces in the oven. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 300-degrees F for 15-25 minutes. Watch the bread closely so it doesnt toast or burn.
Whats In Southern Macaroni And Cheese
Most baked macaroni and cheese recipes stick to butter, milk, and cheese, but this southern version takes things to the next level with the addition of sour cream. Theres also a little salt in this recipe, plus a few eggs to bind everything together.
For the cheese, we used a shredded sharp cheddar, but youre welcome to play around with the type of cheese you use to suit your tastes. As for the pasta, we prefer classic elbow macaroni, but any short and sturdy pasta should work .
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The Best Stovetop Mac And Cheese
Four reasons to love this mac and cheese recipe:
I owe Melissa Clark credit for this technique. I stumbled across her stovetop mac and cheese recipe in her new book, Dinner: Changing the Game. Its also available online at Food52.
My changes? Her recipe calls for freshly grated nutmeg, but I found that mac and cheese needs a few other spices to be utterly irresistible: mustard powder, garlic powder and onion powder, and the tiniest pinch of cayenne pepper. That combination is subtle but makes a world of difference. Trust me.
I also adjusted the method, since it was a little unreliable for me. This mac and cheese turns out perfectly every time as written below.
NOTES ON OTHER METHODS
Before I stumbled on this technique, I tried mac and cheese recipes with béchamel sauce, both stovetop versions and baked. No matter the recipe, the béchamel versions turned out somewhat grainy and floury-tasting.
I also tried mac and cheese with evaporated milk, which seemed more like Velveeta than real cheese and left me with a stomachache. I tried mac and cheese with Monterey Jack, too, which offers less flavor than cheddar and produces an excessively gooey texture .
The Best Mac And Cheese
I know, I know. There must be a million Mac and Cheese recipes out there. But before you dismiss this one, let me tell you a little more about it. Ive also included some step-by-step photos so that it doesnt seem nearly as intimidating.
I get it. I remember all those years of just grabbing a blue box when I was grocery shopping and then boiling noodles, draining them and squeezing in the magic packet. With a quick stir, it was done. But once I began making my own homemade mac and cheese, I havent turned back.
I think youll love it, too!
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Pulled Pork Macaroni And Cheese
Pulled pork macaroni and cheese consists of two comfort foods in one dish. You can use homemade leftover pulled pork or store-bought, including leftovers from your favorite barbecue restaurant. Add a little extra barbecue sauce to the pork before baking and serve this dish with coleslaw for a filling meal.
Barbecue Chicken From Kraft
Macaroni and cheese goes so well with barbecue. Its the perfect combination reallysavory, sweet, smoky and cheesy! Use shredded chicken and barbeque sauce to really amp up this combination. Also try this dish with pork as well. You can also turn it into the ultimate dinner platter.
So, if youre faced with an empty fridge and no idea what to fix for dinner, check your pantry. With a box of macaroni and cheese and a can or two of extras youll enjoy a delicious, simple meal tonight that wont derail your grocery budget.
Whats your favorite way to upgrade your basic mac and cheese recipe? Is there an add-in you use to take your boxed meal to the next level? Share your own mac hacks in the comments!
Want more ridiculously easy 15 minute meal ideas?
You can see the 15 minute meals made with easy convenience foods below no cooking skills needed.
P.S. Hate meal planning? And wish you had a giant list of easy suggestions and not complicated recipes? So did I. So I spent several weeks creating a master list of cheap and easy dinner ideas. And you know what? It completely revolutionized meal planning for us.
These ideas are field-tested by hundreds of thousands of our readers and are guaranteed to help even the most overwhelmed mom stick to a meal plan.
And were giving it to you 100% free right now for a limited time.
Recommended Reading: What You Need To Make Mac And Cheese
How To Make Southern Macaroni And Cheese
This is such an easy macaroni and cheese recipe! To make this baked mac and cheese recipe with sour cream, follow these steps:
Ways To Upgrade Your Basic Mac And Cheese Recipe
By The Busy Budgeter | | This post may contain affiliate links
Who doesnt love macaroni and cheese? Seriously, its a classic combinationgooey, cheesy, saltythe ultimate in comfort food.
The best aspect of a basic mac and cheese recipe is the simplicity. Its one of the few foods where the boxed version is practically as good as made from scratch.
Mac and cheese is easy to cook even for those with limited culinary experience. Store a box in your pantry or cupboard so you can whip up dinner in no time. Plus, mac and cheese is super cheap and you can often find it on sale. Hello, dinner for under $2!
Plus, Mac n cheese is one of the easiest 15 minute minute meals in the world and is great for parties!
Update: 4/5/21 Hate meal planning? And wish you had a giant list of easy suggestions and not complicated recipes? So did I. So I spent several weeks creating a master list of cheap and easy dinner ideas. And you know what? It completely revolutionized meal planning for us.
These ideas are field-tested by hundreds of thousands of our readers and are guaranteed to help even the most overwhelmed mom stick to a meal plan.
And were giving it to you 100% free right now for a limited time.
But sometimes you want to take your mac and cheese beyond the box. So yea, there are TONS of yum add-ins to ramp up your mac game. And its SO EASY your whole family will love it!
Read Also: How Is Mac And Cheese Made
Want To Lighten Up This Mac And Cheese
This mac and cheese is made with real cheese and real cream. Its insanely delicious and worth it. That said, here are a few ideas on how to make it more nutritionally redeeming:
Substitute half and half for the heavy cream.Half and half is equal parts heavy cream and whole milk. Your mac and cheese wont be quite as creamy or rich, but its still very good.
Add veggies! Reduce the amount of pasta to 6 ounces. Add 1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped broccoli florets or 1 cup fresh or frozen peas to the pasta pot when just 2 to 3 minutes of pasta cooking time remain. Drain and stir into the cheese sauce as directed. Or, stir 1 to 2 cups roasted or cooked vegetables in at the end. Roasted Brussels sprouts are great.
Use high-quality ingredients. Grass-fed dairy tends to be higher in healthy Omega-3s. Buy organic cheese and cream to avoid added growth hormones.
Use whole grain pasta. This wont reduce the calories or fat, but it will add whole grains and increase the fiber content. That will make the mac and cheese more filling. My favorite brands of whole wheat pasta are DeLallo and Bionaturae.
Use a more voluminous noodle shape. This wont reduce the calories or fat, either, but it makes it seem like youre eating more pasta because it fills more of your bowl. If you swap other noodle shapes for the macaroni, measure them in ounces instead of cups .
OTHER OPTIONS
Looking for lighter, veggie-packed pasta dishes? I have lots of pasta recipes for you!
How To Make It
Im going to walk you through how I make mac and cheese in my own kitchen. If you want to watch me do it, theres a quick recipe video above that shows each step.
Step 1, Warm milk in a saucepan or in the microwave. Warm milk helps to make the whole sauce making process go a bit quicker and according to Julia Child, warm milk prevents a lumpy cheese sauce.
Step 2, Make a roux with butter and flour. Basically a roux is a cooked paste made with butter and flour. When milk is added later in the recipe, its this butter-flour paste that helps the cheese sauce to thicken.
Step 3, Whisk in the milk and thicken the sauce. When the roux is a golden color and smells nutty , I whisk in the warm milk. As the milk heats up with the roux, it thickens and turns silky smooth.
Step 4, Adds spices and the cheese. When the milk is a silky thickened sauce, I whisk in a few spices and the shredded cheese. When the cheese has melted into the sauce, I always taste and check for seasoning. Its likely that some salt needs to be added.
Step 5, Stir in slightly undercooked pasta, add to a baking dish, and bake. As I mentioned above, I undercook my pasta by 2 minutes, drain, and then rinse it of excess starches. This makes sure that my sauce stays creamy while it bakes in the oven. The macaroni and cheese bakes for about 30 minutes.
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+ Ways To Dress Up Boxed Mac & Cheese
Dont get me wrong while reading this article. I love a good baked macaroni and cheese dish. In fact, one of my favorite dishes to bring to a get-together or party when Im trying to impress people is this amazing Food Network recipe. But there is nothing quite like boxed Macaroni and Cheese.
Lets face it: recipes for amazing baked macaroni and cheese generally take more time, more ingredients, and more thought, not to mention serious kitchen skills. On the flip side, I bet most of you out there can whip up a box of Kraft in your sleep.
Mac & cheese and I have been good friends since I boiled my first pot of water. As busy kid who had to be carted off to gymnastics practice by a neighborhood carpool before my parents got home from work, I had to learn how to fend for myself when it came to dinner. And as a 12-year-old, my meal of choice was boxed macaroni and cheese 9 out of 10 times. It was easy to make, extremely delicious, and I could often enjoy the leftovers for lunch the next day.
Even now that my tastes have greatly expanded, a week rarely goes when I dont have mac & cheese at least once. Here are just some of the reasons why the boxed stuff is so awesome:
Easy Add-In and Toppers
Before we get into the actual recipe ideas, lets just marvel at the amount of cheap ingredients that you can add to the boxed stuff to make it different each time you prepare it. These are just some of the things Ive added into my mac over the last couple of decades:
Goes With Anything Salad
First up in our what to serve with mac and cheese: something that goes with anything. Meet our “Goes with Anything” salad! Crisp veggies the perfect pair against the rich cheese. This salad features a rainbow of veggies: radishes, carrots, red and green onion, and tangy jarred pepperoncini. The salad dressing is customizable: here we’d recommend Healthy Ranch, Best Balsamic Vinaigrette, Easy Honey Mustard, or Homemade Caesar.
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My Love Affair With Mac And Cheese
I have a mini love affair with mac and cheese. As a child, I would take it any way I could get it out of a box or made from scratch by Mom. Wait what am I saying, I do that now Mounds of cheese melted into a velvety, creamy sauce and tossed with pasta. Yes, please!
There are lots of recipes for macaroni and cheese in the world and to be completely honest, Id probably love most of them. That said, I do think there are a few key elements for the best mac and cheese.
Best Homemade Cheeseburger Macaroni
This homemade cheeseburger macaroni recipe is made with whole, clean ingredients, tastes better than the boxed stuff and is ready in 20 minutes!
Sometimes its those simple comforts that hit the spot best.
I grew up in health-conscious home where things like Hamburger Helper were only served on very rare occasions. And Im grateful for a mom who took the time to cook healthy, wholesome meals for her family. I now do the same. But on those rare occasions we certainly enjoyed those quick, less-than-healthy meals. Lets face it, they taste pretty good. I specifically recollect those moments of eating Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni and Tuna Casserole. Probably because it was so infrequent.
So here is a version of it you can eat and enjoy without any worry about of the nasty ingredients that typically accompany pre-prepared foods.
Like this ingredient list below from Hamburger Helpers Cheeseburger Macaroni you dont have to worry about any of those items Ive emphasized in bold:
Now compare that with our ingredient list:
Macaroni, beef, onions, tomatoes, avocado oil, spices, sugar, flour, milk, beef broth, cheddar cheese
And thats including the out-of-box ingredients of beef, milk and broth.
With a clean list of ingredients you can feel good about what youre feeding your family. Our kids love this cheeseburger macaroni and I dont have to worry about whats in it.
Ready to get cooking?
Lets get started!
Add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
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Easy Mac And Cheese Recipe
Mac and cheese is just one of those staple recipes we all grew up eating. This version skips a powder and instead uses real shredded cheddar, mozzarella, and cream cheese for a rich and satisfying flavor.
Its total comfort food and it pairs well with just about anything. Its easy enough for weekday dinners but good enough to serve at holiday get togethers.
This easy homemade mac and cheese is made on the stovetop and uses basic everyday ingredients. As much as I love creamy mac and cheese thats been baked in the oven, this stovetop version is more practical for everyday cooking and is just as delicious!
