My Simple Stove Mac and Cheese Recipe is the Creamiestthe most delicious I have ever made. Thanks to a simple homemade cheese sauce (with secret ingredients!), this macaroni and cheese is on your table in 30 minutes.
If you like super creamy Mac and cheese, this recipe is for you! I made a simple macaroni and cheese sauce, but added some cream cheese to make it more creamy and delicious. (I said cream is enough?!)
We love the macaroni and cheese! When I don’t make this stovetop version, I love making our incredibly delicious roasted Macs and cheeses. For the fall style version, try my pumpkin Mac and cheese.
Key Ingredients
- pasta: I used the pasta with the nooks and crannies because they did a great job of grabbing our cream sauce. Elbow macaroni and shells are good choices.
- Butter and flour: A combination of butter and flour thickens our cream cheese sauce. You will cook together on the stove and add the milk. The mixture thickens and you can add cheese. Simple!
- milk: I use all or fat-reducing milk in this Mac and cheese recipe. I will gently heat the milk before adding the cheese sauce to the butter and flour.
- cheese: I like white cheddar with macaroni and cheese. It’s delicious and melts beautifully. I also prefer to grate my own cheese. It melts much better than pre-shortened cheese bags.
- Cream cheese: This is my secret ingredient for the best creamy Mac and cheese. A little cream cheese adds a lovely silky texture to the sauce.
How to make Mac and Cheese easy
We hope this recipe becomes very simple and therefore does not involve baking. See our baked macaroni and cheese for a baked version of this recipe. I still cook pasta separately from the sauce, so I first boil a pot of salted water and then cook the pasta. I lined the pasta for a minute or two before I was ready as it continued to soften and cooked in the cheese sauce.
For cheesy sauces, you will make roux with butter and flour. Then, pour in the warm milk and watch it thicken into a silky sauce. Add the cream cheese (remember, this is the cream cheese that makes this creamy) and add the chopped cheese. Finally, season with salt and pepper and stir the cooked pasta. After sitting in the sauce for a few minutes, it’s ready!
Serve with Mac and cheese
Here is my Weeknight Mac and cheese recipe. I love that you can make it on the stove in 30 minutes. So I usually offer it simple sides like salads, roasted broccoli or broccoli, or these garlic-roasted mung beans.
This is also a great choice for Potlucks and cotogethers. You can place it on the stovetop and place it in a slow cooker on the warm function. Next to the pork, oven ribs, meat patties, Italian meatballs and roasted turkey.
Simple creamy Mac and cheese
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Here is our quick and easy homemade macaroni and cheese recipe. This is the extra sauce, very creamy. It is made on the stovetop and does not require any baking. That’s not to say you can’t bake it. We’ve shared how in the recipe below. Cream cheese is optional, but adds a strong flavor and a higher creamy flavor to the sauce.
*In the video, we add cream cheese after the cheddar, but thanks to sharing and testing again, we now prefer cream cheese before the Cheddar.
8 servings
Watch us make recipes
You will need
1 lb (450g) of dry pasta, such as elbow macaroni, shells or penne
5 tablespoons (70g) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (65g) all-purpose flour
5 cups (1180 ml) milk, warm, all or 2% fat reduction first choice
1 lb (450g) white cheddar cheese, chopped
4 oz (113 g) cream cheese, soft, optional
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, more flavor
1/2 teaspoon fresh black pepper
direction
1Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta, and follow the packaging direction, but it takes 1 minute less to cook than the packaging requirements. Flow away.
2Meanwhile, make cream cheese sauce. Melt the butter over medium heat in a large high-rise pan or Dutch oven.
3Sprinkle the flour over the melted butter and stir it into the butter (which will be very thick). Continue to stir until smelling roasted and looks light brown, 1 to 2 minutes.
4While stirring, pour in one third of the warm milk. Stir until smooth (will thicken), then stir in another third until smooth, and finally stir in the rest.
5Keep cooking, stirring constantly until the sauce starts to cook and thicken. The sauce becomes thicker after it reaches the point of cooking.
6Convert the heat to low and add the cream cheese. When the cream cheese is mostly melting into the sauce, stir the cheddar less at a time until it melts into the sauce. Season with salt and black pepper. If the flavor doesn’t pop up, add more salt.
7Stir the cooked pasta. It looks like there is too much sauce, don’t worry. Pasta absorbs excess moisture while sitting.
8Remove the pan and cover with a lid. Leave for 5 minutes, stir again, and serve.
Adam and Joanne’s Tips
- storage: Cover in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To freeze, transfer to a freezing safe container and freeze for up to 2 months. Bake in a 350°F oven for about an hour. Or melt overnight, heat gently on the stove (add one tablespoon or two tablespoons if it looks dry).
- Sauce: Some of our readers prefer this recipe, with less sauce. Make the recipe as described below and then remove 1 to 2 cups of cheese sauce before mixing the pasta. You can then make more adjustments as needed. You can store the remaining sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. Reheat gently and serve on vegetables.
- Grilled Mac and cheese: Once you add the pasta to the cheese sauce, pour it into a large baking dish, spread over some bread crumbs (optional), and add more chopped cheese. Bake in an oven at 375°F (190°C) until foaming and turning on top for 25 to 30 minutes.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Nutrition per serving
Service size
1/8 of the recipe
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Calories
571
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Total fat
31.9 grams
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Saturated fat
18.2g
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cholesterol
89.6mg
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sodium
564.7mg
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carbohydrate
48.7g
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Dietary fiber
2G
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Total sugar
2.3g
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protein
21.8 grams
We are Adam and Joanne, a couple who are passionate about cooking and sharing delicious, reliable recipes since 2009. Our goal? Inspire you to enter the kitchen and cook fresh and delicious meals confidently.
