One Pot, Stove Top, Creamy Mac and Cheese – My decadent revolution
Update: This Stove Top One Pot Mac and Cheese was originally shared in 2009. It now has new step-by-step photos, video and updated technique to satisfy all our hungry readers. Also, try this “healthier” version of Broccoli Mac and Cheese. It’s another reader favorite.
Stove Top Mac and Cheese Recipe
I’m calling for a mac and cheese recipe revolution. For those sweltering Summer days when cranking up the oven means turning our kitchen into a sauna, or for those times when I don’t want to be a dishwasher, but still want to have a satisfying home cooked meal, I need a meal that can be cooked fairly quickly and efficiently. Enter the solution and what I call, my mac and cheese revolution: the One Pot, Stove Top, Creamy Macaroni and Cheese recipe.
Watch this delicious Stove Top Creamy Mac and Cheese Video:
Start by boiling small macaroni in water on low simmer
constantly stir so that macaroni doesn’t stick
after macaroni is pre-cooked in water, add milk and simmer on low heat
when macaroni is plump, tender and cooked, add the cheese
optional- add toasted bread crumbs or panko for extra crunch and texture
How to Make One Pot, Stove Top Macaroni and Cheese Recipe
It’s simple, clear, and considerate of everything we need in order to still eat well and prepare quickly, without compromising on quality and taste.
- – One Pot– Yes, you read it correctly. All the raw macaroni is cooked in one pot, without a pre-boil step that most other stove top recipes require. There is no extra pot to pre-boil or wash. One pot means less dishes!
- – Stove Stop- Stove top means NO oven. During our hot summer days, that last thing that I want is to turn on my oven and sweat even more just for a bowl of mac and cheese. The stove top method is a wonderful way of cooking the macaroni pasta, quickly and to your desired texture. I can control exactly how soft or al dente I want my macaroni to be.
- – Creamy – This mac and cheese recipe is slowly cooked in water, then milk and a little butter. The cheese is added in the end and it’s so creamy and amazing.
- – Flavor blasts with creative cheeses- Now that I’ve figured out how to cook it easily and still maintain great texture, now comes the best part—-great flavor! Have fun with this recipe and experiment with flavorful, cheeses that melt well. My favorite is using parmesan and asiago cheese because I can use less cheese and still have bold flavor. Every single bite is delicious.
I’m still a huge fan of oven baked mac and cheese because the warm, comforting, casserole bake can’t be compromised. The cheesy crusts are a show stopper too. But when I’m starving and the weather is scorching hot, the last thing I want to do is to blast that oven to 350°F.
happy Stove Top Creamy Mac and Cheese times to you,
-diane
Toasted bread crumbs: I love toasted bread crumbs and it’s so easy to make. Just break up some old bread, heat it up on a skillet. Continue stirring until crumbs start to brown and become fragrant. Remove from heat and top off your macaroni and cheese!
One Pot, Stove Top Macaroni & Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound (454 g) small elbow macaroni , uncooked
- 3 cups (720 ml) water (approximately)
- 2 cups (480 ml) low-fat Milk , or more if needed
- **if more milk is needed , additional 1/4 cup milk at a time for final cooking. **Macaroni pasta varies so much! have additional milk on hand, or be ready to increase the heat if your macaroni doesn't absorb fast enough.
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) Butter , for flavor
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) Mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) Salt , plus additional for final season later
- generous dash of Nutmeg
- 8 ounces (227 g) Grated Cheddar Cheese , any one or combination of (jack, cheddar, swiss, mozzarella, gouda, parmesan*, asiago*, pecorino*) *Hard cheeses are best combined with a secondary, softer, better melting cheese. Cheese varies in flavor and salt level too! The more cheddar cheese you use, the creamier the mac and cheese will be
additional toppings:(optional)
- bacon bits
- bread crumbs
- chopped parsley
- diced tomatoes
- black pepper to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Place raw elbow macaroni in colander and quickly rinse under water. Let drain.
- In medium sauce pot (about 3.5 qt), add water and raw elbow macaroni. Heat the pot on medium heat to bring the mixture to a low simmer and keep the flame consistent to maintain the low simmer.
- Stir the macaroni frequently as it comes up to a simmer. This will separate macaroni and keep them from sticking together. DO NOT LEAVE THE STOVE! The mixture will come to a low boil very quickly and leaving it unattended will leave a big mess on your stove stop.Once mixture comes to a simmer, add the milk and bring the mixture back to a low simmer. Then immediately turn down heat to LOW. Macaroni will slowly cook in the milk. Having your heat too high will burn the milk and scorch your pan
- Continue to stir the mixture frequently so that macaroni will cook evenly and absorb milk evenly. If you don't stir your mixture frequently, you will get a big clump of macaroni in the end! Stir, stir stir!Cook for about 10 minutes or until macaroni is tender. Make sure there is still some milk in the pot to melt the cheese, which makes the mac and cheese creamy. **If macaroni is not cooked fully, add a little more milk to mixture ( in small amounts) until macaroni is fully cooked.
- When the macaroni is plump and cooked, add the mustard powder, salt, nutmeg and grated cheddar cheese. Stir the cheese mixture evenly into the macaroni. We will add more milk to the pot if needed, then add the cheese to make the mixture more creamy.
- Take a final taste and add additional salt to taste. Before serving, stir one final time to mix everything together. Turn off heat and serve immediately.Add bread crumbs for a crunchy bite if you wish.
Great recipe! It tastes good, doesn’t use the oven, and uses one pot; the exact kind of recipes I was looking for.
I just made this with whole grain penne and it came out fantastic! Thank you so much for this recipe! I can’t wait to make it again and again with different variations!
I just tried it and it didn’t work so well for me. I only had whole milk so I think that might have been the problem. The noodles cooked up just fine but it all just turned into a mush of evaporated milk. 🙁 The cheese could barely be tasted and the noodles were so mushy that they were indistinguishable from the rest of the mush. I may have tried too small of noodles too (they are whole wheat elbows but they are tiny). Do you (any of you) think that the whole milk might have been the problem? Did it create too much of a paste because of the fat content?
I had the same problem! I used skim milk so I don’t think that was it–however, like you, I used small (whole wheat/vegetable infused) elbow noodles. So maybe that was it? I’ve been scared to try again!
If your noodles are too mushy and your milk evaporated too quickly, you may have had the temp too high and cooked the noodles too long. Maybe check noodles for doneness every 5 min or so?
Wow! For using only skim milk, I cannot believe just how thick and unbelievably RICH this got–I ate a small portion and couldn’t eat any more because I was FULL of cheesy goodness!! In fact, I actually prefer my mac’n’cheese sauce just a bit thinner and creamier than this stick-to-the-spoon version turned out, so I may try a combination of milk and water next time instead of just milk. I used monterey-jack cheese, but next time I think I may use a sharper cheddar and bump it up to 1 1/2 cups or so. I also used a dash of white pepper along with the black pepper–yummers! Great recipe!!
Just made this and it was amazing! I doubled the recipe and ended up needing about 6 cups of milk in total. One recommendation I have is using a nonstick pot though because without stirring even for just 30 seconds, the pasta will stick to the bottom. I used shredded cheddar and jack. It ended up being super delicious and ultra creamy! Will definitely make this over and over again! I put a little franks red hot on top and it was so mmmmmmmm. Thanks so much for this fantastic recipe!!
Omg!!! I just made this dish for me and my boyfriend….and it was DELICIOUS!!! Very very creamy…it was hard to stop “taste testing” omg
I completely guesstimated the measurements, and I think it turned out delicious and amazing. I just put in enough fat free milk to cover the macaroni completely – and that seem to have worked pretty well. I stirred through the entire process with chopsticks, which seemed to cover more area on the bottom of the pot versus a wooden spoon with it’s rounded tip. Since I liked mustard, I upped that and minimized the cumin. I agree that the butter is give/take though – not necessary at all! Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe!
Thanks for a great recipe for hot summer days.
I used small shells for quicker cooking time and more surface area to absorb the milk quickly. It needed about 1/4 more milk and was just perfect. This will be my go to mac-n-cheese recipe.
Just made this and it came out great – if you don’t like your food too salty, I would go with 1/2 tsp salt and then taste at the end. Cheese can be salty depending on what you use. Great recipe!
Well….I seem to have made a rather fatal mistake. I used like small veggie macaroni noodles and the poor things more or less fell apart and there was so much unabsorbed milk and I ended up with just…goop 🙁 So bummed. I could kick myself.
Tastes so good! I tried it with a mix of cheddar, parmesan and mozzarella and it’s nicely stringy, which I love. What other cheeses would people suggest I mix in?
This looks devilishly good, think I will try it with whole wheat pasta, a non-dairy milk (I just don’t keep the regular milk around), a mix of cheeses and a half cup or so of chopped up sun-dried tomatoes
I just amazed the pants out of my soon to be husband with this delicious cheesy delight…34 days and counting!
Oh FYI try it with white American and Vermont sharp white cheddar combined totally Panera style.
I made this last night and it is FANTASTIC! I just finished off the leftovers for lunch, in fact. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe – it’s an instant favorite in our house now!
As for the folks that found the finished product too goopy, just a thought – pre shredded cheese is usually dusted in cornstarch to keep it from sticking to itself. If they used that instead of shredding it themselves, it might really increase the end product’s thickness.
Anyway, super delicious and easy recipe! Thanks again!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this! So easy and so very yummy. Couldn’t believe how creamy it was with so little effort. But it should be eaten right away. We were grilling and it ended up setting too long. Creamy was gone but the taste was still great so who cares?! 😉 We used Salsa Jack cheese and I didn’t use nutmeg.
Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe.
This recipe was great! Followed the directions and had no problems. This mac and cheese does NOT come out like the baked kind, which doesn’t bother me at all. I prefer the gooey, creamy, cheesiness of this recipe to baked mac and cheese. Maybe some of the posters are used to or prefer it baked. Baked is just too dry for me, I guess. In any event, most excellent recipe. Cheers!