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.
This was a great recipe! Not starchy… not sticky… not lumpy. just perfect!
I cannot wait too try this!!! I have 2 boys that love mac and cheese and have given up on anything that comes in a box (unless it is crackers). I have been the on craving Mac & Cheese lately with the weather turning. Cant wait to make this for dinner tomorrow.
Thanks so much for this fabulous recipe! It was a cold and rainy day here and this was the perfect meal for tonight. I made it with almond milk and it still turned out creamy, cheesy and delicious!
I second Steve. This sauce recipe (skim milk, shredded cheese, salt, mustard powder, nutmeg) is simple and great, but cooking the noodles in the pre-cheese milk mixture results in a ton of clumpy starch and mushy pasta, even after rinsing. You will have much better results simply making the cheese sauce in one pot and cooking the noodles in the other. Yeah, you don’t get the fun novelty of being able to say “I cooked this all in ONE pot… no draining or anything!” but your results are so much better. Reduce the milk by at least half, cook the sauce in one pot (and you won’t even need to make a roux, at least if you’re trying to go for the creamy, gooey stovetop style mac n’ cheese) and then add the cooked pasta later. So, so much better. But a lot can be learned from a recipe like this… it’s got some great “essentials”!
Literally just I finished making this! Followed it exactly as it was written & it came out perfect.
Yummy!!
I’m an 8th grade family & consumer sciences teacher (home ec, for those of us over the age of 30) and I’m always looking for healthier versions of foods that my students love (lots of them are not very adventurous eaters yet). This one is perfect! I used small whole wheat elbows, skim milk, no butter, 1 c. extra sharp cheddar, and the exact seasonings in the original recipe. It was rich, creamy, and smooth. I personally thought it was a little TOO rich and will cut back the cheese to 3/4 c. I did have to add about 6 T. of water during cooking. So happy they don’t have to make a roux – any time I’ve had them try anything with a roux in the past about half of them won’t cook it long enough and it just tastes like flour – yuck!
I too found this to be a lumpy, sticky mess. I wish now that I had read through all of the comments before I made it. It would have been helpful to know that you don’t stir it until the end.
I made this today and my sauce didn’t turn out quite as creamy/smooth as I expected. It was a bit grainy but overall still tasted good and my son loved it – ate his whole portion! I used whole wheat shells and was concerned there wouldn’t be enough liquid but they cooked up just fine! I didn’t put in the mustard powder but I doubt that was the issue with my sauce. Do you think it makes a difference if you use pre-shredded cheese vs. shredding your own?
Hi Sara. It sounds like the cheese was the culprit. All cheeses melt differently, giving you a different texture for the sauce. Especially many pre-shredded cheddar cheeses. If you melt them too fast, the oils will separate from the curds giving you a grainy texture. Try either cooking on lower temperature or a different cheese. Good luck.
Sara-
Sometimes preshredded cheese has been tossed with something to keep them from sticking. I have had a simular problem using it for Fondue. Try a slower and lower melt, that may help. Good Luck!!
I’m so sorry to say that I would not recommend making this! I thought it looked amazing, so I did it for the first time for some friends coming over, and I was embarrassed–i was so so stodgy and starchy. There may be a way to change this?, but I did follow the recipe to the best of my ability. I agree with another commenter that it may be best to just do the noodles separately so they don’t become a clump. I think it’s the starch in the pasta that becomes what the flour is in a roux.
Tried this recipe tonight, it was delicious! I changed quite a few things though. First, I used whole wheat shells because I don’t often buy macaroni and didn’t have any in the kitchen. I used Cheddar and Parmesan cheese and also added a little bit of turmeric and frozen peas. I saw a recipe that had tuna and peas with mac and cheese that looked tasty, but I had no tuna so I thought I would still add the peas. Overall, it was fantastic. Standing over the pot for a while was tedious but well worth it! Thanks for the recipe!
I found a link to this recipe on Pinterest, I love this idea for Mac & Cheese and will definitely give it a go, but peoples comments about this recipe’s great shortcut to the bechamel/roux made me think about trying it when I next make tuna mornay! All you’d need to do is add canned tuna & sweetcorn at the end, loving the one pot dish!
HI there,
I posted your blog on my foodie page to highlight this amazing recipe. Hope you come check me out and join the page too!
C
Let me start by saying I love the flavor and creaminess of this mac n’ cheese. I had problem though – my noodles got pasty and didn’t cook well at all. I’m wondering if I turned the heat too low? I will certainly try again. 🙂
I showed my husband this and read the first line. Total fist pump! He was pumped up to join the revolution. This looks good and healthier than most. Thanks for sharing I will be trying it this weekend.
This sounds so good. Is is possible to make in a crock pot? If all you do is bring milk to a boil, then let noodles cook, could they be finished in the crock pot? Just curious.
Hi Susan,
We don’t have a crockpot at home, so don’t have a great deal of knowledge regarding cooking with them. From what we know that sounds like a feasible plan, but we don’t know if you’ll need to make any adjustments to the quantity of milk. If you try it, we’d love to know how it turns out. Good luck!
This is -literally- the best Mac and Cheese I’ve ever had. By far, hands down and so forth. Wow.
Had it on a sandwich with a homemade Juicy Lucy- woooooooow.
THANK YOU! xoxoxo
sounds delicious <3 definitely gonna give it a try some time soon 🙂 thank you!