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
How to Make One Pot, Stove Top Macaroni and Cheese RecipeIt’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.
LOVE IT! I’m eighteen and saw this recipe on Pinterest. It turned out fabulously for me, and i have zero experience in the kitchen. I used white cheddar and american cheese, shredded myself. no butter. the milk took like thirty minutes to fully cook in so that was annoying, but it ended up tasting amazing!
Do NOT use whole wheat elbow pasta! Flavor was great, but it didn’t cook right. Too grainy and weird. Next time I will use regular elbow noodles.
i just tried this recipe for breakfast this morning. i think i put quite alot of milk but the macaroni was well cooked. it taste quite salty maybe because i put some salt after i stir it with cheese. i shouldnt have put salt but nvm it still turned out great eventhough it taste a bit salty. it was a good try 🙂
This is The ulimate recipe for mac & cheese, less cheese and fat than most recipes i found, still not fat free but hey no one said to eat that when u are on a diet. 🙂 never going back to the boxed version or trying another recipe again. Just read instructions carefully and this is a keeper!!!!!!
This was so good, thank you! Actually, it turned out way better than any of my previous efforts trying to make mac and cheese with two pots and a separate bechamel, etc.
Admittedly, I did use more cheese than was called for. Probably closer to 1.5 cups – a mix of sharp cheddar and parmesan. Exactly 2 c. skim milk (what I had on hand) and maybe 2-3 Tbsp. of butter (but after tasting I think 1 would have been fine). I also added a sprinkling of seasoned salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika at the end [maybe too much – will keep it more simple next time :)].
To those who said theirs came out gummy and/or mushy, maybe shorten the cooking time a bit? Every stovetop is different, but after mine came to a simmer and I turned the heat down to low, it only took about 7 minutes until the pasta was cooked and tender (I like mine just a smidgen past al-dente). And it did get even a little softer in the 5 minute resting period.
Cheers to an easy one-pot dinner!
You are a mac n cheese genius…soooo good! Great recipe and vey easy!
I just made this–finally–and it is amazing! I couldn’t imagine how it would turn out without the traditional roux, but I’m a believer. I will never make it the old way again. It’s so much better without adding flour, which I now know was not necessary. Many thanks for coming up with a great new way to make fantastic mac and cheese! Delicious!
The pasta you use really matters!!! I made it for the first time last year with ronzoni macaroni and it came out perfect!! I tried it again last night with macaroni from Trader Joe’s and it didn’t turn out as well. FYI.
This was amazing! My 6-year-old said better than the boxed stuff, which he loves. Substituted a dash of allspice and dash of cinnamon for the nutmeg, and used a bit of yellow mustard from fridge instead of powder. Used 2% milk and a mixture of sharp white cheddar (shredded myself) and bagged mild cheddar. Babysat it at the stove stirring, had to add extra milk at the end to finish the noodles. Topped it with toasted panko crumbs. Boiling in milk makes all the difference. The noodles were so creamy and yummy even before adding the cheese.
Was getting my daily pinterest browse on when I saw someone had pinned this. I looked at the ingredients (rejoiced that I had everything) and decided that was my dinner. SO GOOD! I used edam cheese, unsalted butter and skim milk. Next time I will stock up on wholewheat/wholemeal pasta to make it as healthy as I can. Thanks heaps 🙂
My stove-top macaroni recipe search is officially over – I love this (thank you). Of course, we all have to change it up a little. Instead of using plain milk because it just tastes too sweet to me (I can’t even tolerate sugar in whipped cream), I used the “milk broth” from Laura Calder’s recipe for potato puree. She adds herbs and seasonings to milk, brings it to a simmer, turns it off and lets it steep, then strains. I changed her recipe a little, adding different herbs.
okay, i’m going to ask:
has anyone ever tried this recipe using coconut milk or almond milk?? would like to make this recipe as healthy as possible, but i’m wondering if the consistency of these types of milk will hurt the end result..
I have! Turned out fine 🙂 you can use almond milk for anything but jello or pudding!
Um…wow!?!?
I though I was going to have to babysit this a lot more than I did. Seriously easy. I halved the ingredients because I’m the only one in my house that likes mac and cheese (crazy right?). I used sharp cheddar plus one processed cheese slice (someone commented and said this helped keep the texture creamy, so I said heck why not and tried it out) and threw in a diced tomato, a few chopped up strips of turkey bacon and a scallion. So good.
Next time I might add a little more milk (I did add one extra 1/4 cup) and simmer for longer to see if I can get it to be a little less al dente. But seriously, no complaints. It’s delicious. This is my new go to mac and cheese recipe.
I just prepared this n must say it was good. I used only Cheddar n it came out well.
I just finished my bowl of mac n cheese, which was pretty good and easy! I used whole wheat rigatoni, coriander in place for nutmeg, mustard in place of mustard seed, skim milk, and 2% milk sharp cheddar cheese. I used way too much coriander (or maybe I shouldn’t have even used that) and I thought it was going to be horrible at first because the cheese and everything wouldnt stick to the noodles. I added a smidgen of flour and took it off the heat, so it started to thicken up and hug my noodles 🙂 … I had tons of leftovers because I’m a single woman so let’s hope and pray that it will be good for leftovers!
Just made this for my family. Was so excited when I saw how it turned out….until I tasted it. I did use 2% milk so maybe that was the problem, or I didn’t add the mustard powder. I don’t know, but I will not be making this one again. I’d rather have boxed Mac and cheese. Not very cheesy either. But this is just me. Good luck everyone else, if you’re thinking of changing the recipie like me though, please don’t.