Perfectly creamy and cheesy mac and cheese that takes only 30 minutes to make on the stovetop. There are three kinds of cheese in this recipe for the best flavor and creaminess. Nothing is more comforting than a bowl of homemade mac and cheese, especially when it’s so easy and only takes about 30 minutes.
There is something so comforting about pasta and cheese combined together in a creamy delight and there is more. Try my Baked Mac and Cheese and Cauliflower Mac and Cheese.
Table of Contents
The Most Comforting Dish
Mac and cheese is my weakness. Pasta on its own is only okay but combine it with lots of cheese, and it’s perfection.
Luckily, my family agrees and I’ve had many years of practicing the cheese combinations and spices. I have a favorite cheese combination for my macaroni and cheese, so I highly recommend that you try this one. But of course, you can play around with your favorite cheese as well.
When choosing cheese, remember how well it melts, how smooth it melts, and the flavor. If you want sharper, stronger flavors, then choose sharp cheeses. Remember that the harder the cheese, the lower melting point. Parmesan and other hard cheeses don’t melt as well. Hard cheese can be a flavor addition but not the main cheese.
For smoother melted cheese, choose cheeses like cheddar, Monterrey Jack cheese, Colby Jack, and even Mozzarella. These cheeses all melt very well because they are not soft cheeses and not too hard.
My favorite cheese combination for a classic mac and cheese is extra sharp cheddar, Monterrey Jack cheese, and a little cream cheese. Sharp cheddar provides great sharp flavor, Monterrey Jack melts beautifully but also has extra flavor, and cream cheese provides extra creamy texture.
When making mac and cheese, don’t forget to add a little paprika for that special flavor pop.
Ingredient Notes
Macaroni Pasta – You could also use small pasta shells if you’d prefer. You just need small pasta that has a nice shape so it’ll grip the cheese.
Salt – use about 1 tablespoons of coarse salt to add to 2-2.5 quarts of boiling water, before adding pasta. Note that if you are using table salt, use less. (Don’t cringe, most of that salt will go away with the drained water.)
Butter – it’s always best to use unsalted butter to control the amount of sodium.
Garlic Cloves – fresh garlic will yield much better flavor than pre-minced.
Flour – all-purpose flour is what you’ll need to help thicken the consistency of the sauce.
Milk – use 2% or whole milk for the creamiest consistency.
Cream Cheese – this ingredient works in tandem with the milk to thicken the sauce into a creamy, decadent consistency.
Cheeses – For this simple homemade mac and cheese recipe, I use a combination of sharp cheddar cheese for flavor and Monterrey Jack cheese for smooth and creamy texture. Make sure to get a block of cheese and grate it yourself!
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Cook macaroni according to the package instructions in salted water, drain, and set aside.
While pasta is cooking, grate cheese and start to prepare the cheese sauce:
Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Whisk in flour (1) and once it’s combined, start pouring in milk (2) while constantly stirring. Keep whisking slowly until all incorporated.
Cut cream cheese into small pieces and add it to the pot (3). Stir and let cream cheese mix into the sauce. Add cheeses, one handful at a time (4), while slowly stirring (5).
Season with paprika, salt, and pepper (6). Once all cheese is melted and smooth, add pasta (7). Stir until all completely combined (8). Let it cook on medium-low for a couple of minutes and serve. The point if to heat the mac and cheese through after adding the pasta.
PRO TIP: Never let the cheese sauce or mac and cheese boil! Cook the cheese sauce over medium to medium-low heat to let the milk heat through and the cheese melt. After adding the pasta, you will only cook for additional couple of minutes to heat up the pasta.
Make It Gluten Free:
Mac and cheese is very easy to make gluten free with just two easy substitutions. First, use gluten free pasta. If you don’t have a favorite, I prefer the Tinkayada brand of gluten free pasta. Its texture is the least crumbly and tastes the most like regular pasta.
As far as thickeners, you have two options. Option one is substituting flour for gluten free flour, and option two is using cornstarch instead of flour.
If choosing to use gluten free all purpose flour, simply substitute it for regular flour and mix it with melted butter.
When using cornstarch instead of flour, it has to be mixed with cold milk first and then added to the pot to heat through. (1 tablespoon of cornstarch is enough for this recipe.)
Make It Lactose Free:
Did you know that you can easily enjoy mac and cheese even if you a lactose free? Many people who are lactose intolerant are actually not aware that they can still eat cheese. Cheese that is aged 6 months and longer is naturally lactose free through the aging process.
Soft cheeses like blue cheese, Brie, feta, cream cheese, and a few others are not lactose free but cheeses like cheddar, Parmesan, Monterrey Jack cheese and even some Mozzarella are lactose free.
Many brands will put lactose content right on the label, under the nutritional information. Look for words like “contains 0g of lactose per serving.” If the wording is not there, you can look at sugar content. If sugar is 0g, that will indicate there is very low chance for lactose.
Cream cheese can be substituted for vegan (plant-based) cream cheese. I haven’t tried all brands but a few brands that I’ve tried do melt and mix into the sauce well.
Instead of regular milk, use lactose free milk. (Tip: Fairlife brand is not as sweet as Lactaid. I recommend that one in savory dishes.)
Recipe FAQs
Most likely the cause of cheese sauce separating is overheating! Never let your cheese sauce or milk boil. Cook over medium to medium-low heat the whole time. Don’t over-cook either, as soon as the cheese is melted and smooth, add in pasta. As soon as pasta is heated through, take the pot off heat.
Your cheese sauce can be grainy if the flour didn’t get a chance to cook well and thicken the milk or the type of cheese you used. It’s always best to get a good brand of cheese and use a BLOCK not pre-shredded cheese. Pre-shredded cheese always had additives like separators and preservatives that will affect the texture of your sauce.
When letting the milk heat through, before adding the cheese, make sure you give it several minutes to heat through completely and thicken. Don’t add cheese too soon.
When choosing cheese, remember how well it melts, how smooth it melts, and the flavor.
If you want sharper, stronger flavors, then choose sharp cheeses. Note that the harder the cheese, the lower melting point. Parmesan and other hard cheeses don’t melt as well. Hard cheese can be a flavor addition but not the main cheese.
For smoother melted cheese, choose cheeses like cheddar, Monterrey Jack cheese, Colby Jack, and even Mozzarella. These cheeses all melt very well because they are not soft cheeses and not too hard.
My favorite cheese combination for a classic mac and cheese is extra sharp cheddar, Monterrey Jack cheese, and a little cream cheese.
Storing and Reheating Instructions
Keep any leftovers you have mac and cheese in an airtight food storage container, in the refrigerator. You can also use the same pot you used to cook it but cover it air-tight. Properly stored, this dish should stay good for about 3-4 days.
While you can reheat individual portions in the microwave, you can also reheat the whole pot on stove-top. Make sure to reheat it over medium-low heat and add about 1/4-1/3 cup of milk. Cover the pot as mac and cheese reheats and stir every few minutes.
When reheating individual portions in the microwave, add a couple of tablespoons of milk to the bowl with pasta and use a microwave cover if you have one. Reheat the mac and cheese in 30-45 second increments, stirring in between. Make sure to reheat only until heated through.
PRO TIP: you will need to add some milk when reheating, to invigorate the pasta and cheese sauce again. Pasta tends to soak up moisture from the sauces as it sits, so adding a little milk will help refresh it.
More Mac and Cheese Recipes To Try
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Mac and Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb elbow macaroni
- salt salt water for cooking pasta
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 cups 2% milk
- 10 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese block, it melts smoother
- 8 oz Monterrey Jack cheese block, it melts smoother
- 3 oz cream cheese
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil and season with salt. Cook pasta according to the box instructions. Drain completely once pasta is cooked.
- While pasta is cooking, grate cheese and prepare the cheese sauce.
- Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat.
- Whisk in flour and once it's combined with butter, start pouring in milk while constantly stirring. Keep whisking until all incorporated. Let the milk heat through until thickened, while slowly stirring from time to time.
- Cut cream cheese into small pieces and add it to the pot. Stir and let cream cheese mix into the sauce.
- Start adding the grated cheeses, one handful at a time, while slowly stirring and letting it melt.
- Season with paprika, salt, and pepper.
- Once all cheese is melted and smooth, add pasta. Stir until all completely combined. Let it cook on medium-low heat for just a couple of minutes and take off heat. The point is to just heat the mac and cheese through after adding the pasta.
Video
Notes
- *Read the post to learn how to make this mac and cheese gluten free and/or lactose free!
- Remember: Never let the cheese sauce or mac and cheese boil! Cook the cheese sauce over medium to medium-low heat to let the milk heat through and the cheese melt. After adding the pasta, you will only cook for additional couple of minutes to heat up the pasta.
- Reheating: You can also reheat the whole pot on stove-top. Make sure to reheat it over medium-low heat and add about 1/4-1/3 cup of milk. Cover the pot as mac and cheese reheats and stir every few minutes.
- When reheating individual portions in the microwave, add a couple of tablespoons of milk to the bowl with pasta and use a microwave cover if you have one. Reheat the mac and cheese in 30-45 second increments, stirring in between. Make sure to reheat only until heated through.
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles on February 1, 2019.
Nova says
Omg it was so good! So happy i came across this recipe, healthy, tasty, and easy! I loved it!
LyubaB says
Hi Nova,
Awe thank you! I am so glad you liked it!
Anessa says
Tasted great when hot but when it cooled as I was eating it, the cheese had a weird consistency, may have been because I didn’t cook it long enough after. I also thought it was too cheesy, but I’m not sure. Any ideas/suggestions? Will try and make again in the future!
LyubaB says
Hi Anessa,
I am sorry I am not sure what weird consistency it could be without seeing it. But it could be the brand of cheese they sometimes melt differently or if you used a grated cheese those don’t melt as well. You don’t want to cook it too long or the cheese will separate. I hope this helps, but if you can give me some more details I may be able to help more.
laura says
Followed recipe, was going great until I added the pasta to the cheese sauce. Lots of cheese solidified and separated. Very disappointed.
LyubaB says
Hi Laura,
Sorry it didn’t workout for you. I am not sure what happened because that’s never happened to me before. It’s possible that you overheated/scalded the cheese. Cheese sauce shouldn’t boil. Try to take take the pot off the heat once it melted and smooth and then add the pasta. Let it sit a little or return to very low heat for a few minutes
James says
I msfe this 3 times twice perfect. The third time my cheese separated as well. Could be the noodles were too cool going in to the sauce. I had them sitting in a colander wait on the sauce. Other than that I can’t think of another reason.
Kathleen says
Second time using recipe. Had been looking for a tasty Mac & cheese and this fits the bill perfectly
LyubaB says
Thank you, Kathleen!
Thanks for taking the time to rate and comment on my recipe! I am so glad you liked it! 🙂
Tamanna says
Hello!
Can I make this day ahead and reheat in the oven the next day?
Also can I use a combo on Cheddar, Gouda, and Cream cheese?
Hoping to make it day ahead for Christmas dinner.
Please let me know.
Thank you 🙂
LyubaB says
I think it has a better texture when you eat it right away. And you can use whichever cheese is your favorite 🙂
Amy says
How does this old up in a crock pot?
LyubaB says
I have never tried it, but I think you could keep it on warm/low for awhile if you stir it occasionally to help keep it from drying out.
Kelly says
What do you mean by “block it melts faster”? Do you mean not to shred it first and just put in big blocks of cheese? That would save me time but seems too easy lol
Kelly says
Never mind I read your recipe more closely – please delete!
LyubaB says
No, Problem! Hope you liked it 🙂
Wendy Groeneveld says
This is wonderfu!!!! Great flavor and easy to make I added some bacon…Yum!! Honestly only second time I’ve made mac and cheese from scratch wanted a recipe that didn’t need to be baked and take forever. Thank you will definitely use the again.
LyubaB says
I am so glad you liked it, Wendy! The bacon sounds amazing with it! 🙂
Susan Sotkovski says
Could I make the sauce and put it in the fridge for a day or so till I am ready for the elbow mac?
LyubaB says
Hi, Susan! Yes, I think that would be fine but I have not tried it,
AMJ says
This is amazing! Usually I make a Mac and cheese recipe that goes in the oven but this is perfect for when that’s just too long to wait to eat some good macaroni and cheese! At this point my husband and I are using this recipe more and more because we’re just that impatient. It’s now one of our go to’s!
LyubaB says
Hi, I am so glad you both like it so much!!! 🙂
Carol says
Mine came out just a bit too thin. More like noodles in a cheese soup! How can I thicken it ?
LyubaB says
Hi, Carol! Did you add the flour? It’s the thickener in this mac and cheese.
Tonya says
Mine had very little flavor. I used all Colby jack instead of the sharp cheddar, so that might have made all the difference. Also, don’t use mozzarella. Way too stringy. Lol!
LyubaB says
Hi, Tonya! I hope you will make it again using the sharp cheddar as it gives it more flavor! 🙂
Cath says
Try using apple smoked Gruyere and extra sharp cheddar. I made it Christmas day and my family of 10 went crazy for it.
LyubaB says
Sounds so yummy! 🙂