This Homemade Creamy Mac and Cheese recipe is a spectacular, creamy, cheesy one-pot dish! Ready in 30 minutes it’s the perfect comfort food.
Serve with my Perfect Garlic Bread or Seasoned Baked Potato Wedges for the perfect easy midweek feast or even on special occasions.
The epitome of comfort food!
I’ve been making this dish for so long that it never occurred to me that it would be worth sharing. I thought it was just an everyday side dish until I had a friend over for a casual dinner with the kids and she raved about it and insisted I include it as a main course on this site. I think once you’ve tried this you’ll never go back to that little blue box again!
Why This Recipe Works
- The combination of cheeses gives the perfect blend of creaminess and flavor.
- The Mustard Powder adds a little kick of extra flavor.
- Making it on the stovetop keeps things nice and simple.
How do you make homemade mac and cheese easy?
The simple answer? Skip the oven and make it a one-pot dish! I make the pasta in the pot, drain it, make the sauce, mix it together and it’s on the table in no time!
I just love how easy this recipe is to make. You’d think something so easy couldn’t end up so rich and flavorful! Once you try this, you won’t buy a box mix again!
How To Make Homemade Creamy Mac and Cheese
- Melt butter, flour and mustard powder to make a paste.
- Pour in the milk and stir until thickened.
- Add the cheeses until melted into the sauce.
- Season to taste.
- Pour onto pasta.
- Serve and enjoy!
What Cheese is Best
You can use whatever cheese you like best! For my recipe, I use sharp cheddar cheese, Gouda, and Parmesan. Cheddar is the classic flavor, but I like the peppery taste of the Gouda and the sharpness you get with the Parmesan. It’s the perfect marriage of creamy, flavorsome indulgence!
That said if swiss cheese is your thing – go for it! Love the mild creaminess of Mozzarella – What’s stopping you? Hey, use Velveeta cheese! I won’t judge!
Just make sure you use cheeses that melt well and you can swap them out like for like in the recipe.
Ingredient Notes
- Cheese: I use a combination of cheddar, gouda and parmesan but feel free to experiment (swapping like for like) with different cheeses such as pepper jack or mild cheddar. It all depends on your personal taste.
- Milk: I used whole milk in this recipe but it works equally well with half fat or semi skimmed.
- Butter: My usual choice of butter when cooking or baking is salted butter, but unsalted butter works well too, just remember to season accordingly.
- Pasta: I use macaroni, elbow pasta, penne, in fact any pasta I have on hand, I’m not a mac n cheese snob.
Step By Step Instructions
Cook the pasta about a minute less than to the package instructions (you want it just underdone), drain well, and set aside.
In a medium saucepan melt the butter and then add in the flour and mustard powder. Mix well to form a paste (this is called a roux).
While mixing constantly, slowly pour in the milk.
Let cook until it’s smooth and thick. Mix in the Parmesan cheese
Add in the cheddar and Gouda cheeses.
Mix until melted and the sauce is smooth.
Add to the almost cooked pasta and coat well, allow to simmer until the pasta is finished cooking.
Serve with fresh ground pepper.
What You can Add to Mac and Cheese to Make it Better:
It’s hard to improve on mac and cheese, but here are just a few suggestions you can easily add to make it even better!
- Chopped Bacon (because what’s not better with bacon?)
- Steamed Broccoli
- Tabasco Sauce or Hot Sauce
- Sauteed Garlic
- Hamburger Meat
Erren’s Top Tips
- For best results, salt your pasta water well. The best cheese sauce in the world can’t make up for bland pasta.
- Choose a pasta shape that will have plenty of areas to catch the sauce.
- Be sure not to overcook the pasta. You want it with a little bite to it instead of soft.
- When making your white sauce, cook the flour well, stir constantly, and don’t allow the milk to boil.
- Swap out the cheeses for any cheese you like that melts well.
- For an extra cheesy dish, mix in some extra shredded cheese when serving.
- Why not sprinkle bread crumbs over the finished dish and finish for 10 minutes in the oven for a crunchy topping?
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Let’s Make Homemade Creamy Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 lb pasta of your choice
- 3 tablespoons Butter
- 3 tablespoons Flour
- 1 teaspoon Mustard Powder
- 4 cups Milk
- ¾ cup Parmesan Cheese grated
- 1 cup Cheddar Cheese Shredded
- 1 cup Gouda Cheese Shredded
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta about a minute less than to the package instructions (you want it just underdone), drain well and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan melt the butter and then mix in the flour and mustard powder to form a paste. While mixing constantly, slowly pour in the milk until smooth and it starts to thicken.
- Mix in the Parmesan cheese until combined.
- Mix in the cheddar and Gouda cheese until melted.
- Add the salt and pepper to taste.
- Mix in the pasta until well coated and serve.
Tips + Notes
- Salt your pasta water well. The best cheese sauce in the world can’t make p for bland pasta.
- Choose a pasta shape that will have plenty of areas to catch the sauce.
- Be sure not to overcook the pasta. You want it with a little bite to it instead of soft.
- When making your white sauce, cook the flour well, stir constantly, and don’t allow the milk to boil.
- Swap out the cheeses for any cheese you like that melts well.
- For an extra cheesy dish, mix in some extra shredded cheese when serving.
Can you freeze Mac and Cheese?
To freeze Mac and Cheese, cook the pasta until just underdone, drain and rinse well with cold water to stop the cooking process. Add a half cup of cooled cheese sauce to every cup of pasta, coat evenly and pack in an airtight container or a freezer bag.Nutrition Information:
Update Notes: This post was originally published in May of 2014, but was republished with an updated recipe, new photos, step by step instructions, tips, and FAQs in January of 2019.
Shelly Berris says
Awesome!!! Just like Mom used to make!!! I have never rated a recipe before but, had to let you know!
Erren Hart says
So great to hear and thank you for taking the time to comment! 🙂
Jayme Silvestri says
Those meatballs sound so delicious!! White chicken chili sounds good, too. It’s funny how the week that I can’t meal plan (due to traveling) I’m itching to do so!!
Kim says
I pinned this a few years ago and my family loved it! I made it so much had it memorized. I just logged in because I haven’t made it in about a year and its definitely a different recipe that whst I had pinned and then I saw you updated the recipe. Can you send me the original please? I’m sure this is good but we loved the original. Thanks
Erren Hart says
Sure! I’ll email it to the email address you provided!