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.
This is literally the best mac and cheese recipe I’ve ever tried. My kids are in love with this recipe.
This was very good. I wanted to find the one pot solution. We tasted it and then added some tuna because I wanted to use some tuna. It was good both ways ??
Hi Melanie, love the addition of tuna! Yum!
Now, I can skip the oven on these hot summer days! I usually boil the pasta in water before adding milk, shredded mild cheddar cheese, black pepper. Optional: toasted bread crumbs (now I know this can be done on the stove top). Super delicious! Thanks!
I love this recipe! My oven doesn’t like to cook a full meal (it turns off while I’m baking EVERY time!) I was really
In the mood for homemade mac and cheese but couldn’t make it the way I usually do. This tastes great and is super easy to make and clean up after!!
Why does the recipe call for low fat milk? I used whole milk and it turned out fine
It works fine with whole milk. We prefer 2% because there’s already enough fat with all the cheese. And that’s the milk we always buy and have in the kitchen.
I was thinking about this the other day. I thought ” i want mac & cheese but not in the oven” this is exactly what i needed! By the way I LOVE the video!!!
I have been using the old recipe (2009 version) for a few years now, and only when I sent it to a friend, she told me it is different than I had mentioned, and I realized you have made changes to it.
I found it perfect just the way it was (did all the tricks as you and readers in the previous post had advised).
I will keep making it the old way.
🙂
I think the old version should have been kept as 1 way, and this version as a 2nd way.
Thanks anyway for the best recipe ever!
Noemie
Wow! This is delicious AND easy! I modified of course using a gluten free rice pasta and almond milk. The gluten free pasta is very gummy so I dumped some pasta water and added fresh again which seemed to help before adding my almond milk! I love the versatility of adding whatever spices and using whatever cheese you want! Thank you for this fantastic recipe!!
Hi, I currently do not have a stove, but only an electric skillet, so I was definitely looking for a manageable mac and cheese recipe. Tried it tonight with a few changes and loved it! Will definitely book mark this recipe and make again in the future. The changes I made were
-Use whole wheat pasta instead (worked great!)
-Added a little parsley and breadcrumbs on top
-Added a little more water (I think the skillet was too hot and the milk evaporated quickly)
-Omitted the nutmeg
All in all, great recipe! Thanks for sharing.
This is like Velveeta only way better and healthier! I’m a plain Jane when it comes to food so I left out most of the spices and the butter, because we are out. Still super delicious and a lot quicker than my mom’s version!
Delicious mac and cheese! Instead of low fat milk, I used half water, half whole milk. Note that 1 c grated cheddar = 4 oz cheddar by weight, so be careful if you’re using a block of cheese.
Guys, this is the best recipe ever!
I am one of the worst cooks and all previous encounters involving pasta have been a huge disappointment (including trying to make ramen/2-minute noodles with more than just the included sachet as ingredient!)
Even after having to abort mission halfway through cooking the macaroni, since we had a power cut, it still came out yummy. I couldn’t believe that the mac didn’t go hard and chewy after standing half-cooked for 2 hours.
I halved the ingredients and it was still too filling. I didn’t even add mustard or nutmeg, just salt and pepper. Used Edam & Gouda cheese. Oh, and stir, stir, stir some more. It would have been done in 20 mins if it wasn’t for the power tripping on me.
Totally worth it, I’d recommend this to everyone.
I just made this for a party, so I doubled the recipe.
It was very easy and came out very good.
The only thing I noticed was that 15-20 minutes seems to be overestimating. It cooked much faster than that.
Thanks for this recipe.
I made this with whole milk and cheddar because that is what I had on hand, and had to leave it in the pot an extra 15 min because the rest of dinner was delayed. The macaroni had the consistency of glue and was SO salty! I’d like to make it again with skim milk (maybe even cut with water) and not salt it until the end. I do think the recipe has potential and was so excited after reading some of the comments.
Super easy and super tasty! I added shitake mushroom when the milk almost evaporated and sprinkled roasted sesame seed & chia seeds before served. Thanks for sharing
YUM. Just made this for lunch and I might eat it all! I’ve never used mustard powder, so I used slightly less (not knowing how it would taste). I also used the random cheeses I had in the house. It ended up being pepper jack & colby. Will make this again!