High Five Recipe: Creamy Mac and Cheese
By
I’ve been searching my whole life (give or take) for a good homemade mac and cheese recipe. The recipes I’ve come up with in the past are decent….but not great.
A couple of months ago, a friend told me how she makes it. I adapted it a bit and now we can’t seem to get enough! It is THE creamiest mac and cheese ever.
Here’s the secret: Cook your pasta in MILK instead of water. The milk makes it super creamy. The starch from the pasta thickens the milk into a sauce. Add your cheese after the pasta is finished cooking.
Uh-huh…comfort food at it’s best.
Creamy Mac and Cheese
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pasta
3 cups whole milk
1/2 t. sea salt
1 cup shredded cheese (I use white cheddar)
Mix pasta, milk and salt in a large sauce pan. Cook over medium-high heat STIRRING ALMOST CONSTANTLY until the pasta is tender (10-15 minutes). Remove from heat. Add cheese and stir until melted. Serve immediately.
You can use any shape of pasta you want. I have found that elbow noodles cook quite a bit faster so I use those when I need a quick lunch.
Everytime I make this, we can not believe how creamy and delicious it is. My lifelong search for awesome homemade macaroni and cheese has come to an end. We should have some sort of mac and cheese ceremony.
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Which High Five Recipe would you like to see next?! Lime Avocado Dip…or Justus’ Shaved Ice?
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Has anyone tried this with rice pasta? DO you get the same results?
Thanks so much!
~cynthia
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Laura Reply:
November 9th, 2011 at 1:00 pm
I have actually tried this with Tinkyada Rice Pasta when we were doing a gluten free experiment and it worked great!!!
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Leslie Reply:
January 25th, 2012 at 12:16 pm
I did too. I only buy Tinkyada. It is the best!!! :) …good luck, it is delicious.
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Stramel Reply:
February 20th, 2012 at 5:22 am
Personally, I love Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta! Texture and taste resemble Wheat pasta imo.
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Oh I am soooo excited! I have been looking for a GF mac and cheese recipe that didn’t ask for a bunch of processed cheese. I’ll be trying this one this weekend!
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What an awesome recipe! I cannot wait to give this a try! I have tried so hard to make a whole wheat pasta macaroni without success. This is sure to be a hit!
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mmmmmmm I just made this with salsa and olives. yum. I was wondering if your recipes freezes well.
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LindseyforLaura@HHM Reply:
December 7th, 2011 at 8:15 pm
Unfortunately, it does not. :(
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Following directions is important. I had to make this twice because the first time I added the cheese while the milk was boiling and I added mozzerella cheese, as well as cheddar. Whether it was the Moz. or the fact that I didn’t remove the pot from the heat, everything clumped up nasty. I threw that out and tried again, adding the cheese after the pasta was done, and just added cheddar and it turned out great!!!
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Yummm this is great!!
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Can I sub 2% milk instead of whole?
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Laura Reply:
December 28th, 2011 at 7:15 am
I think it should work fine, but I’ve never tried it myself to know for sure.
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Lori Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 6:26 pm
This is my first recipe of Laura’s to try. I made it with 2% and it worked great. I am so thankful for this recipe. I had almost written mac n cheese off!
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How does this do as leftover is it still as creamy? I’m trying this recipe tonite
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Laura Reply:
January 12th, 2012 at 7:20 pm
I find that it works best to reheat if I add a little milk to it on the stove and heat it up that way. Then it stays creamy, or rather, becomes creamy again. :)
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Wow, that’s a lot of milk all at once for my family of 7. We’re cheap with milk since the good stuff is so expensive. What do you think of half milk half water? I think this looks like a great special treat – we haven’t had mac n cheese in a long time.
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Laura Reply:
January 13th, 2012 at 10:58 am
I’ve never tried it that way but I think it might work!
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Laura Reply:
January 23rd, 2012 at 4:32 pm
I water mine down all the time and it works just fine.
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Any idea if almond milk would work?
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Laura Reply:
January 16th, 2012 at 10:42 am
I can’t say for sure since I’ve never tried it, but I think it would probably work if you’ve had success subbing almond milk in other recipes.
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Michelle Reply:
February 11th, 2012 at 8:51 am
Julia,
I just wondered if you attempted with almond milk and how the results were.
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Kevin Reply:
February 20th, 2012 at 12:16 pm
Almond milk should work, hypothetically, because the principle behind the thickening is the starch that’s in the pasta being released into the liquid rather than the liquid performing some function
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I think, for those wondering about lower fat recipes, that if you add some butter or margarine it should make the sauce just as great. I do this when I make recipes with milk that need to be rich and creamy, like alfredo or scalloped potatoes, because its cheaper than buying whole milk, which we never drink.
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Do you use raw milk and cheese from raw milk when you make a recipe like this or just organic milk? What would you recommend for someone who doesn’t have access to (that much) affordable raw milk? Thanks in advance for your response. I am new to healthy eating, trying to make a change or two a month. I am guess that just switching from a processed, box mac & cheese to making this with organic products would be a start!
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Laura Reply:
January 17th, 2012 at 3:46 pm
I do use raw, organic milk in this recipe, but if that isn’t available to you, I would use store bought organic milk instead. :)
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Laura Reply:
January 23rd, 2012 at 4:31 pm
I’ve made this with regular milk and cheese when I wasn’t able to get raw milk and raw cheese. It worked out just fime.
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Made this tonight. LOOOOOVED it! Thanks so much!
~bree~
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Have you ever tried this with a Quinoa Pasta? I use the Quinoa pastas with most every other pasta recipe I make and would love to use it for Mac N Cheese. My kids love Mac N Cheese and I would love for this to be our go to alternative to even the organic whole wheat boxed stuff!
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Laura Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 1:04 pm
No, I haven’t. But I have used rice pasta and it worked great!
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Deborah Reply:
April 17th, 2012 at 3:51 pm
I just made it with the quinoa pasta and it was SSOOOOO good!!! I used more cheese than called for in the original recipe, and I think it needed more salt that I put in.
I didn’t use whole wheat pasta because I think the store-bought kind just tastes like cardboard. Maybe I’m doing something wrong, but the quinoa pasta was truly awesome. It’s my first time making it at all, and it was so similar in taste and texture to regular semolina pasta, that I was thoroughly impressed.
Very tasty.
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Do you heat the milk first, like you would with water, or start it all cold from the start?
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Laura Reply:
January 29th, 2012 at 9:39 pm
Nope, just start it all cold and let it heat/cook together!
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This is just like those store-bought hamburger helper/rice-a-roni things, but much better. They always have you add milk and water. I had to keep adding more and more water, because for some reason with the milk it took the pasta twice as long to cook and it got way too thick. I think next time I’ll do 1/4 milk and 3/4 water and see how that goes. Even after adding all that water, as soon as it cooled down just a little, the sauce was thick and sticky, not creamy and smooth at all. Second time’s the charm, I hope!
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I just made this tonight and my boys loved it. The cheese didn’t get grainy like other recipes I’ve tried.
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Made this tonight and added seasoned ground beef to make your Hamburger Helper. Turned out perfect!
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Made this last night, it was good, but the milk got super thick. Should I add more milk or maybe just some water in addition to the milk?
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LindseyforLaura@HHM Reply:
March 20th, 2012 at 11:11 am
adding more milk should do the trick!
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I’m not sure what I did wrong, but mine didn’t turn out creamy at all. I think next time I’ll go back to making a roux.
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Hi,
I was just wandering, is it possible to put pasta ( not cooked) with milk and cheese in the oven and that way avoid stirring on the stove?
Thanks!
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Laura Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 8:19 am
Yes, I’ve done it this way before, but have a hard time not curdling my milk this way.
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We made this tonight and enjoyed the flavor.
just curious: Does whole wheat pasta cook faster than regular. I was using up some white penne that we had in the cupboard and it took over 20 minutes for the pasta to cook. It was still firmer than we normally would have made it, but we were tired of stirring and it was thickened.
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hipsterhousewife Reply:
February 28th, 2012 at 11:49 am
Typically, whole wheat takes longer than white pasta, actually. But penne in any form takes a notoriously long time to cook. I think Laura mentioned in the recipe that elbow macaroni cooks up quickly, and that’s been my experience, too– maybe try that next time. (Whole Foods has a store-brand whole wheat macaroni I love!)
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Since pasta is different sizes and shape, how exactly do you determine 2 1/2 cups? Is that a whole box? 1/2 a box?
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Laura Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 8:25 am
Well….I never really measure ingredients exactly – I’m a “dump it in” kind of cook. The 2 1/2 cups of pasta called for in this recipe is rough. I’d measure it in a measuring cup, but not worry too much if it’s a little under or a little over the needed amount.
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I’m reading all these wonderful replies. Just wondering what cheeses are used for anyone’s mac & cheese. I like ot use kraft barrel x-sharp and sharp chesses. I also use the Tinkyada Rice Pasta. But will also try the Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta.
Will like to see your type of cheeses used.
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Laura Reply:
February 28th, 2012 at 10:31 am
I use Landmark Raw White Cheddar, which is a mild cheddar.
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hipsterhousewife Reply:
February 28th, 2012 at 11:51 am
Gouda and gruyere are two of my favorites for macaroni & cheese, but I’ll usually balance with some cheddar. A little parmesan is nice, too.
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Oops. At high altitude things work a wee bit differently. Needed twice the liquid and the noodles still weren’t done. Will try again though with more/thinner liquid and 3/4 or half the elbows, because rice noodles are hard to cook completely at altitude without cooking them much longer anyhow.
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This is really good!!!
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Making this right now for the day care kids! Hope it is a hit!!
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Verdict is in…….they LooooooooVE IT!!! And I love your web site! So many wonderful recipes!! Thanks a bunch!!
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Tasted pasta after cooking with milk and it really is different! I could eat a whole bowl without adding anything else.
I did forget to take it off the heat when I added the cheese so it separated and got ruined. :( I’ll have to try again the right way!
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So glad to see this. What an easy recipe! Fortunately, I have a Jersey cow and this will be a great way to use up her excess milk.
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So do you use a whole box of pasta? and when using penne should it typically take about 20 minutes?
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Laura Reply:
March 22nd, 2012 at 7:37 pm
I use 2 1/2 cups of pasta. Sometimes when using penne pasta it may take a little longer. Every type of pasta is a little bit different, which means you may need to adjust cooking times and milk amounts.
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Hi Laura, Do you think this could be made in a crock pot? Or could it be made ahead in the same way as your three cheese pasta?
Thanks!
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Laura Reply:
March 26th, 2012 at 1:48 pm
I’m not sure if it can be done in a crock pot, but I think I’d like to try it sometime. It would work to make it ahead, but it may not be quite as creamy as when done right before serving.
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I was amazed at how thick and creamy the milk got as it cooked…but once I took it off the stove and added the cheese, the creaminess was gone and it wasn’t so much a cheese sauce as it was just cheese-flavored pasta. I used the exact amount of ingredients as in the recipe (but subbed in elbow mac for the whole wheat pasta) and cooked it for about 12 minutes, so I don’t know where I went wrong. I guess next time I’ll add more milk.
Should I do this at the beginning so it doesn’t get too thick when the pasta’s finished cooking or at the end to thin out the sauce when the cheese is added?
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Laura Reply:
April 3rd, 2012 at 9:17 am
Yes, start with a little more milk next time, or add more as needed while cooking.
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I just made this again, but with gluten free pasta elbows. Worked wonderfully. Serving with roasted zucchini and homemade breaded chicken strips baked in the oven with homemade BBQ sauce for dipping. Can’t wait for dinner!
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I’m gonna try this for the first time, well, really the Cheeseburger Macaroni
But I’m using straight from the cow milk, and unpasteurized processed Cheddar and I’ll add a little Mozzarella at the end on top… I can’t wait… Oh, and I’m just using regular pasta, ran out of whole wheat.
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how much cooked pasta does this yield? would one recipe of it feed me, my hubby, my 7 year old, 4 year old and 2 year old? Would I have leftovers, should I double the recipe?
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Catherine Reply:
May 15th, 2012 at 3:39 pm
I just made this & added 5 hotdogs (gasp! – sorry Laura!) and it was about 4 adult servings.
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?
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Love the simplicity of this! At first when I was reading this I thought “yeah but how does it taste?” because every single homemade recipe I’ve done, while I HAVE enjoyed, had a floury flavor that my kids picked up on immediately and refused to eat.
I think I will have to try this out IMMEDIATELY!
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Someone had asked if this could be made in a crockpot….I was on Paula Deen’s website looking for a mac n cheese recipe and yes she has one made in a crock pot….takes 3 hrs. to cook tho…….I can not imagine cooking noodles that long…….
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FINALLY got around to making this and I am SO HAPPY! I used skim milk with no problem. I also added a 1/2 tsp of dry mustard powder and 1/8 tsp of black pepper. The consistency was a little grainy, but it smoothed out a bit by the time we had seconds. YUM! For those asking about how much pasta – it was half a box for me. I used Whole Wheat Barilla medium shells.
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