Ingredients For Mac & Cheese
Homemade Mac and Cheese with Just 4-Ingredients?
Yes! We swear, the best mac and cheese recipe is just four, super simple ingredients away. Cooked pasta—you can use any kind you love, we‘re partial to cavatappi—heavy cream, shredded cheddar cheese and grated parmesan. That's it. You can add seasoning to taste, but the parmesan is pretty salty and it’s a good idea to heavily salt the pasta water, so save the seasoning until last to see if it is truly necessary.
Cheddar is the Best Cheese for Mac and Cheese and Here’s Why:
This macaroni and cheese—this pot of creamy, gooey, cheesy, glorious macaroni and cheese—was made with three ingredients in about 10 minutes. That's one fewer ingredient than you need to add to the pot to make a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese. Not only that, but all three ingredients.
The key to achieving a creamy mac and cheese from scratch is using a great melting cheese to anchor the mac and cheese sauce. And the best melting cheese for mac and cheese is—in our humble opinion—cheddar! It’s got that classic milky sharpness and straw-colored hue that we expect our mac and cheese to have, and there’s just nothing else quite like it. Once you master this stovetop mac and cheese recipe, though, you could certainly play around with other cheeses.
We wanted to share a truly simple mac and cheese recipe—one that’s almost as easy as that little blue box—but you can look at it as a great jumping off point for experimentation. If you want to get fancy, try subbing some shredded Gruyére or raclette for half (or all) of the cheddar.
Stovetop Mac and Cheese vs. Baked Mac and Cheese.
Anyway you slice it, a homemade macaroni and cheese recipe is a good thing to have memorized. There’s no faster way to let your kids / spouse know that you love them than whipping up a batch. Or make it for yourself and call it self-care! Quick, comforting and delicious, this four-ingredient stovetop wonder is hands down the best mac and cheese we’ve ever eaten.
Now, we’re not saying that we can’t appreciate a baked macaroni and cheese recipe—the way the top cheese crust gets all bubbly is so enticing—but stovetop macaroni and cheese is way faster oven-baked, and it reminds us of our childhood love affair with a certain little blue box. For a satisfyingly quick mac and cheese fix, it’s all about this easy mac and cheese recipe.
How to Make Mac and Cheese
Easy homemade mac and cheese is just ten minutes (and four ingredients!) away. So what are you waiting for?! Here’s how to make macaroni and cheese on the stovetop:
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- Get your pasta water boiling. Add plenty of salt! Once you’ve added the pasta, start on the cheese sauce.
- How to make mac and cheese sauce: combine the shredded cheese and heavy cream in a saucepan, and gently warm them until the cheese sauce gets a little bubbly and the cheese has fully melted.
- The cheese sauce should be ready right around the time you drain the macaroni (isn’t it nice how that works?).
- Pour the cheese sauce over the cooked noodles, and stir to coat every last little macaroni elbow with that luscious cheddar cheese sauce.
- Gobble immediately! Repeat as necessary.
Tools You’ll Need:
- Heavy saucepan or cast iron skillet
- Spoon for stirring the gooey, melty, cheese sauce into the noodles.
Even More Quick & Easy Comfort:
This easy mac and cheese recipe is one of our top five go-to ready-in-a-flash comfort foods. Here are the other four:
4 Ingredients Away From Bliss:
Snap a photo of your 4-ingredient stovetop mac and cheese and maybe even a video of the beautiful people you feed it to, and then tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so we can celebrate your deliciousness. Happy eating!
Baked macaroni and cheese doesn’t have to be complicated with layers of ingredients to be the soul-warming food you crave. This homemade baked macaroni and cheese is my most favorite and has pleased crowds, small families, kids and picky eaters alike–give it a try and you’ll see why.
Jump to RecipeSometimes you buy that glowing yellow macaroni in the box. Your kids like it, but it glows like the kryptonite they used in the old Christoper Reeve Superman movies.
That’s not normal people.
And I hate to break it to you, but there’s nothing real in that box either.
I hate feeding it to my kids and I dare say that you hate it too. But I can also guess you don’t know many other alternatives. Sure, you can get a box of Velveeta and melt that over some noodles. That works too, but that stuff doesn’t even need to be refrigerated. It’s mystery cheese.
So if you’re looking for the real deal, the old school baked macaroni and cheese the way your grandma might have made it–this is it.
And just so you know, aside from the baking, this easy macaroni and cheese took 15 minutes and only two pans to make. One for boiling the pasta and (affiliate link)a good enameled cast iron pan for the sauce and the baking cuts down on dishes. So yes, even you can make this on a week night.
Can I make this macaroni and cheese ahead and bake it when I’m ready?
Yes you sure can. Just let it cool down, put some plastic wrap right against the surface of the mac and cheese (to keep it from forming a skin) and stick it in the fridge. If you have a few minutes to bring it out and let it warm slightly before you bake it, do that. But if you can’t, just bake it till the center is hot and the edges are bubbling.
Can I freeze macaroni and cheese?
I get asked that a lot and my answer is always no. As the pasta and cheese sauce sit, it will thicken and when you thaw it and bake it, the creamy consistency is just gone. It’s thick and gloppy. Plus if you freeze it and it’s still a bit warm, water crystals will form and then thaw into your dish and could make it separate when you bake it. Besides, it’s so fast to make, there’s not really a reason to freeze your macaroni and cheese.
Tips for the best macaroni and cheese you’ll ever eat
Feel like you may still need some help? If you have time, jump over to this post for the juicy details: 18 Secrets to the Richest, Creamiest Mac and Cheese You’ll Ever Eat or focus on these tips:
–Never stop stirring your milk once it hits the pan. If your skillet is too hot or you walk away and for a minute you could scorch the white sauce and it will curdle. It doesn’t really hurt the taste, but it will look sort of clumpy. Some readers have called it “grainy”. It only takes 5 minutes. Just hang out and stir until that sauce is thick enough to coat the back of your spoon.
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A good cast iron skillet moderates heat and spreads it more evenly across the pan so your sauce is less likely to overheat and curdle. Buy one with enameled surfaces for easier clean-up.
–Use good cheese in your baked macaroni and cheese. That means avoiding bagged, pre-shredded cheeses because they contain cellulose (an anti-caking agent) that can in some cases cause your cheese not to melt as it should. -And speaking of cheese, you have so many options! My favorite is sharp cheddar and Swiss.
-Try to choose a melting cheese and a flavor cheesefor the best flavor and texture in your baked macaroni and cheese.
–Do taste as you go. Taste your cheese sauce before you add your pasta. Is it bland? That can be because of the cheese you used or even the kind of salt you seasoned with. If it doesn’t have enough flavor, add a pinch more salt, stir it in and taste it again until it suits you.
-Feel free to add more pasta if you want to. Some people say that this recipe doesn’t have enough noodles in it, but I’ve never had that problem. And yes, you should cook your pasta before adding it to the cheese sauce.
Do I have to bake my macaroni and cheese?
Not if you don’t want to. You can actually eat it right from the pan or just stick it under the broiler for a few minutes to brown the top if you’d rather. It works just as well and is a great shortcut when you are running low on time.
How can I dress up my macaroni and cheese?
This baked macaroni and cheese may be the most versatile dish ever. Add in some red pepper for kick, any cheeses you like (Fontina is glorious in here), add veggies like broccoli and chopped chicken and it’s a one-dish meal even. Or BACON. Hello. Yeah. Make some garlic bread crumbs for the top if you want some crunch and throw those on. It’s really endless.
What should I serve with my macaroni and cheese?
Avoid the temptation to make more starchy foods (like potatoes) with your mac and cheese. Instead, try:
Watch me make the full recipe on YouTube.
Other macaroni and cheese recipes you’ll want to devour:
Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 1/2cupsdry elbow macaronishells or cavatappi
- 3tablespoonsbutter or margarine
- 3tablespoonsall purpose flour
- 2cupsmilknot skim
- 1/2teaspooneach salt and pepper
- 2cupsof shredded cheeseI like sharp cheddar and Swiss
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil; add a generous sprinkling of salt the pasta.
- While the pasta cooks, melt the butter in a skillet or pot large enough to hold the pasta when it’s done.
- Add the flour and stir over medium heat until the mixture is lightly browned; 1-2 minutes.
- Add the milk and whisk to remove any lumps and add the salt and pepper.
- Cook over medium-high heat until the sauce thickens and starts to bubble. About 6 minutes.
- Stir in the cheese and whisk until smooth and melted. Turn off the heat.
- When the pasta is almost done but still firm, drain it and add to the sauce.
- Stir the pasta into the sauce and bake in a greased 2 quart dish (or an 8×8 pan works pretty well) 20-25 minutes until browned and bubbly. You can also skip baking it if you want it super creamy and just put it under the broiler to brown the top (keep an eye on it) and then serve.