If you’re looking for more pasta and cheese, try my White Cheddar & Peas Macaroni & Cheese Quesadilla or Creamy Garlic Butter Pasta!
I didn’t feel right posting something yesterday. I don’t feel like we can just gloss over the events in Boston on Monday; however, I don’t feel that I’m the most qualified, or eloquent, person to discuss it. Perhaps the world doesn’t need another analysis of the situation, so I won’t attempt. I do think it’s worth saying that you are not alone, runners and Bostonians. You’ve been in my thoughts, and will continue to be for quite some time, I’m sure.
Perhaps it comes as a result of my having just finished, and qualified for Boston in, my first marathon. The feelings — overwhelming feelings of joy, exhaustion, love, and gratitude — I had at the finish line were a unique blend I’ve never felt before. I know I’m not the only one, and it’s a powerful connection to think of all those finishing a marathon having some version of these feelings as well. Nobody runs, watches, supports, or volunteers at a marathon with any idea that something might happen to them. I hope it stays that way.
I was busy working (cooking) Monday when I heard about the explosions. I spent most of the afternoon watching the news on TV, abandoning all further cooking plans for the day. As with any emotional situation, comfort food seemed appropriate. My general plan of attack when it comes to comfort food is: mac & cheese. And brownies. But seeing as I needed lunch, mac and cheese it was!
This recipe is so easy to throw together, and doesn’t require you always have a box of mac n’ cheese in the pantry (although we usually do anyways!). It’s also really easily tweaked — throw whatever cheese you have/want into the sauce and you’re good to go! You can easily make the sauce in the time it takes to boil water and cook pasta, and throw in veggies if wanted, top with hot sauce, pepper, etc. The sky is the limit with this one!
{Edit: A lot of people have been having trouble with this recipe (either curdling or not thickening) — I personally have never had either issue, but will try experimenting a bit and then update this recipe!}
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This Quick Stovetop Mac and Cheese recipe is easy to make, quick, and kid-friendly — this dinner will be a family favorite!
Ingredients
- 8 oz dry pasta
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 3 Tbsp flour
- 1 1/4 cups milk, heated
- 1 cup shredded cheese (any, I used 1/2 gruyere 1/2 cheddar)
- salt + pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook pasta according to directions.
- As pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Once the butter is completely melted, add the flour and whisk it into the butter. Continue whisking and cooking for 6 minutes. The mixture will darken a bit.
- Pour 1/2 cup of the heated milk into the saucepan and whisk vigorously to break up the butter and flour mixture.
- Add the rest of the milk and continue whisking. Cook until the sauce has thickened substantially, or to your liking. You can thin it with more milk if necessary.
- Reduce the heat to low, and mix in the shredded cheese. Stir until completely melted and smooth. Remove from heat and pour over the cooked noodles.
- Toss noodles and sauce together, adding salt and pepper to taste.
elizabeth says
There is no need to analyze it. We all feel it. Heartbreaking. Something so pure and extraordinary tainted.
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says
Love the ease of this recipe. Macaroni and cheese is a comfort food at it’s finest. Thanks for sharing!
Barb says
Just made this dish. It was a flop. when I poured the heated milk into the butter and flour into the saucepan, I stirred for more than 10 minutes but it never thickened in the slightest. I later added another teaspoon of flour and stirred, but still it was not thickening. I went ahead and added the cheese. When I poured it over the noodles, it all looked “curdled”.
Mary says
Sorry it was a flop for you! There are a number of reasons that could have been (heating or timing issues), so I won’t take a stab at it… But hopefully it works next time! I make this about once a week and it always works for me! Sorry it didn’t for you!
leenn says
I make a simple cheese sauce by melting American cheese in a little milk and butter in the stove top. No flour at all and very little milk. Add a little cheese at a time. My kids love american, but I’m sure it would work with the cheese in the recipe here. Add a little milk if it gets to thick. Cook on low heat.
emmelle says
mine looked curdled too so I just poured it into a cassarole dish, sprinkled it w panko & baked it for about 20mins. turned out delish & the family loved it. I made sure not to let the milk boil & I added a little of the pasta water to see if that would help but it didn’t. I used yellow & white cheddars & a smidge of smoked Gouda. Could be because I used smart balance instead of real butter. But like I said, baking it totally salvaged it & it was one of the best flavored macs I’ve ever made.
Jennifer says
Despite the simplicity of this recipe, it didn’t work out for me at all. I think that the ingredient amounts don’t make sense. I was expecting a roux of some sort, but all I got was burned, liquidy butter because of the lack of flour – no amount of stirring would help – the milk would not thicken as a result and the chese curdled. I am sure this recipe would be lovely if I increase the flour next time 1 tbsp to 1bsp ratio butter/flour as is traditional roux recipes.
Cheers and thanks
Amy says
Her recipe has correct measurements, a roux is equal parts of butter (or a fat) and flour. The higher the quantity of fat/flour the more liquid you will have to add. You have to stir it continuously for 5-7 minutes and heat should be at about medium. If its too high then yet it will burn the roux and the rest will follow suit. If you have never made a roux then its probably user error that this didnt come out right not the writers error.
Mary says
Thanks, Amy! Xo
Sharon says
Just made this and doubled it for a full pound of pasta. Came out fabulous!! Thanks for recipe!!
★★★★★
Louise says
Thank you for the easy recipe. This turned out really well. I had to let the milk, butter and flour mixture come pretty close to a boil for a few minutes before it really started to thicken. But once it did it had a really smooth texture. My husband and daughter loved it.
MOMOFTRES says
Worked great for us. My kids said it was better than Noodles and CO! Thanks.
Samantha says
Thank you!! This recipe turned out perfect and my kids loved it! It was so creamy and would go great as a stand alone dish or added to a meal! We did have to double the recipe for our family of 5.
Mary says
Thanks for the comment, Samantha! I’m so glad this worked well for you!
Veronica says
We love this recipe! My husband rarely requests I make a dish a second time. He asks for this frequently! We have made it with cheddar, colby jack and today we used parmesan, to go with our italian season chicken. So very yummy! Thank you for sharing!
Mary says
Thanks for the comment, Veronica! So glad to hear it! Xo
Joanne says
I am poor as I cannot afford the pot can you do it in a medium bowl in microwave
Mary says
Hi Joanne! I don’t think this would work (the roux!) in the microwave — but whatever pot you can get on the stove should do the trick! Good luck! xo
LaceyB says
I have to say, I was nervous to try this recipe as I am somewhat a newbie to cooking and have delivered more failed/burnt meals than good ones. But WOW, I followed your measurements to a T, used organic milk, organic salted sweet cream butter, made sure I was on the lower side of your heat recommendations (I am reallllllyyyyyy good at burning things 😉 ) and I used a combo of shredded mexican 4 cheese, mild cheddar and havarti. YUMMM!!! The taste reminds me more so of an alfredo than a traditional mac’n’chz so next time I will downplay the white cheese and up the cheddar! Thank you!
Mary says
I’m so glad this worked for you, Lacey! It’s always nice to hear from a “newbie” that they could successfully complete a recipe I have — so thanks!! Enjoy!
Amelia says
For the people who find it curdling and such, this is what I did;
Basically for the flour, I put it in a cup little by little, adding small amounts of milk to make a paste (consistency of Hummus), and with a spoon making sure there are no flour lumps.
I then put that into a jug with the rest of the milk and stirred and then popped that in the pan. It should thicken up, if not do the same with a tad more flour, before adding that to the pan. When you find it thickening add the cheese until it melts and you find it thick enough.
I find that if you simply throw milk and flour together the flour will form lumps and float around in the milk so that when you break the lump you just have a load of untouched flour.
This is how I did it after plenty of experimenting, try it if you have curdling or the sauce wont thicken. Hope this helps!
Reyna says
To have everything brown properly and not curdle, etc the heat must be incredibly low and you need a lot of patience. Also near constant stirring or whisking, so as to not burn the roux and allow for the cheese to melt homogeneously. Soft cheeses melt more smoothly than harder cheese. Also, if you find your cheese and milk mixture is not thick enough, adding one egg yolk and whisking immediately upon adding it will work wonders. Another way to avoid curdling is using evaporated milk (can be cut with water) or a mixture of cream cheese and milk. I’ve been making homemade mac and cheese since 2004 and found these tricks to work well. This recipe is also spot on and perfect. Just remember, low heat!!
Austin B says
Delicious! Just found and made this recipe, I’ll have to try it with gouda at some point, I used the inferior mild cheddar this time around.
Mary says
Thanks, Austin! Enjoy!
Sara Ochoa says
Turned out well for me but it tasted a little bland, I’m thinking it was the cheeses I used. But it was so creamy and cheesy, I love this recipe
Mary says
Thanks, Sara! Cheese choice makes all the difference for taste — but glad it was OK anyways! Enjoy!
Ashley says
Because of some dietary restrictions, I had to modify the recipe. I used gluten free pasta (and, therefore, gf flour) and organic goat dairy (milk, butter and cheeses).
The sauce didn’t turn out very well, it tasted very strongly of the gf flour, so after adding the sauce to the pasta, a stirred in a bit more cheese and tossed it in the oven at 350 for a bit.
I think next time I’ll use a bit less flour. Bent I’ll definitely be making this again.
Charlotte says
If it tasted of flour that usually means you didn’t cook the butter and flour together for long enough, leaving the flour tasting a little raw. Whenever I make a cheese sauce I can tell the flour is cooked when it makes a quiet squeaking/popping sound. I wouldn’t recommend leaving flour out, just because if you do the sauce might not thicken properly..
Jo says
There is no reason it should curdle. All you are doing with the butter, flour and milk is making a roux. Heat any fat till its hot (3 tbsp), add some flour (usually 2-3 tablespoons) whisk together and cook for a minute or two to get rid of raw flour taste. Now slowly add milk or cream and whisk as you do this. The more liquid you add, the thinner the roux will be.
Dragana M. says
I am simply amazed. This is the most delicious dish I’ve ever eaten!
Thank you! Greetings from Serbia
Katie says
I am not sure where people are going wrong either- I made it just as you have it (even with almond milk) and cheddar and it turned out perfectly. I added broccoli to the noodles for me and my toddler. Awesome. Thank you so much!
Mary says
Thanks for the comment, Katie! Glad to hear it worked well for you! – Mary
Anna says
This wasn’t good at all. The sauce was pasty and very bland. Couldn’t taste the cheese at all, and I used a 4 cheese mixture. Disappointing.
Mary says
Hi Anna, sorry to hear this! I find that the quality of the cheese makes all the difference, so maybe that was the issue. Thanks for the note!
Abbey says
i just made this dish i don’t know what i did wrong but it was terrible i tried more noodles and more salt and pepper but it was still terrible
Mary says
Hi Abbey! Sorry it didn’t turn out for you — I wish I could help! Assuming you followed the directions completely, it should have worked! Any specifics about what was wrong with it?
Lindsay says
This turned out beautifully for me. I followed the instructions exactly, and used a mix of mozzarella, sharp cheddar and Parmesan. Thank you for recipe that is as quick and definitely more tasty than the boxed stuff!
Mary says
Woohoo! Glad to hear you liked it, Lindsay! Your combo of cheeses sounds fantastic.
Lexie says
I make this all the time and I love it. Quick and easy (and I’m terrible at cooking) and comforting! You can adjust the flavour by using sharper or milder cheeses.
★★★★★
Mary says
Thanks, Lexie! I love using different cheeses, too — definitely a fan of a super sharp white, but combined with something gentle and gooey (like fontina!). Enjoy! xo
Miriam says
I sliced a garlic clove and added it to the milk while warming and put 1 and 1/4 cup cheese. It turned out absolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Mary says
omg BRILLIANT Miriam!! I will definitely have to try this!! xo