It’s a MIRACLE. Macaroni and cheese that’s smooth, creamy, and gooey, is made in one pot, with only a few ingredients, and is every bit as easy as the blue box. I’m serious. I’m seriously serious about this Miracle Mac and Cheese.
I’ve seen versions of this recipe around the internet for a while and I really don’t know what took me so long to try it out, but thank god I finally did. This is going to be a new staple in my house and if you’re a fan of mac n’ cheese then you MUST try this today.
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Why this works:
If you try to melt cheese into milk, you won’t get very far. The water in the milk repels the fat in the cheese, and everything will just clump up instead of creating a creamy sauce. To get a creamy sauce you need an emulsifying agent. By simmering the pasta in milk for this recipe, you create a starchy milk slurry that helps emulsify the cheese into a smooth, creamy sauce.
Why I love Miracle Mac and Cheese
- It’s SUPER fast. Just as fast as the blue box, in fact.
- No unusual ingredients are needed (just milk, macaroni, cheese, and whatever you want to season it with)
- No flour-based béchamel sauce needed
- Easy to memorize
- Great for last-minute meals, uses only pantry staples
- The sauce is rich and creamy with less cheese than other mac and cheese recipes
Why I don’t love Miracle Mac and Cheese
- You really need to eat this one fresh because it doesn’t stay creamy when reheated
Since first discovering this Miracle Mac and Cheese method, I’ve found a new easy mac and cheese method that I like even better. The new method uses evaporated milk to emulsify the cheese, and the creamy texture holds up much better. To check out the newer version, see the Will it Skillet Mac and Cheese recipe.
If you’re looking for a traditional mac and cheese recipe that uses a roux-based cheese sauce, be sure to check out my Homemade Mac and Cheese recipe.
Miracle Mac and Cheese
Servings 4Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups milk, divided ($0.70)
- 2 cups dry macaroni (about 1/2 lb.) ( $0.65)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese ($1.25)
- 3/4 tsp salt ($0.04)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard, optional ($0.04)
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika, optional ($0.02)
- 10-15 cranks fresh cracked pepper, optional ($0.02)
Instructions
- Combine the dry macaroni and 2 cups of milk in a medium pot. Place a lid on top and bring it up to a boil over medium/high heat while occasionally stirring.
- As soon as it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to low and let simmer, stirring often, until the pasta is tender (about 10 minutes). Make sure to stir often during this process to keep the pasta from clumping or sticking to the bottom of the pot. Promptly replace the lid each time you finish stirring to help hold in the steam.
- Once the pasta is soft and has absorbed most of the milk, season with salt, pepper, paprika, and dijon, or the spices of your choice. If the mixture begins to look dry, add the remaining 1/4 cup of milk.
- Turn the heat off and stir in the shredded cheese until melted and creamy. Serve immediately.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!More Mac and Cheese Recipes:
- Oven-Baked Mac and Cheese
- Creamy Pesto Mac with Spinach
- One Pot Bacon Broccoli Mac and Cheese
- Jalapeño Popper Mac and Cheese
- White Cheddar Mac and Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli
How to Make Miracle Mac and Cheese – Step By Step Photos
First, combine the dry macaroni noodles and 2 cups of milk in a medium pot. I prefer whole milk, but 2% also works.
Place a lid on the pot and bring it up to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often. As soon as it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer until the noodles are soft and have absorbed most of the milk (about 10 minutes), then turn the heat off. It is VERY important to stir often during this process and replace the lid as soon as possible after doing so. Once the pasta is tender, there should be a bit of starchy, milky sauce in the bottom of the pot.
I like to season the mixture before adding the cheese because I feel like it dissolves in easier. Season with whatever you like. A little bit of salt (.5 to 1 tsp) is pretty necessary, but after that just go with it. Even just a touch of onion powder would be great. The type of cheese you’re using will also dictate what seasonings to use. If the mixture begins to look dry here, add a splash more milk.
Add the shredded cheese and stir until it has melted in and created a smooth sauce. The residual heat should be enough to melt it into the seasoned milk mixture. I love that this recipe only needs 1 cup of cheese… most macaroni recipes require 2 cups, plus a béchamel sauce made with butter.
And then, like magic, you have a smooth, creamy, super cheesy macaroni and cheese! In less than 30 minutes! And no more steps are required than with a box mix… it’s a miracle.
Really easy miracle mac and cheese, made with just a few ingredients.
Gah. Terrible. We ended up having cheese toast. Much better.
I made this many times and it’s great ! But I tried boiling the pasta in water first for 10 minutes , drain then added one cup milk let it boil for another 5 minutes then added two kinds of cheddar , mustard , salt and paprika . I find this way the texture is better also less time stirring and watching the milk ! And my daughter loves it . Thank you for this recipe .
Twice I’ve made this and twice I’ve said the same thing, “Why did I make this?” and then the leftovers get thrown out. I don’t know if it’s because I used whole wheat pasta, but it was not smooth at all, just clumpy and tasted very starchy.
The whole wheat pasta is your problem most likely, as the cook time is different.
I just made this, and it didn’t turn out very well. I don’t know if maybe I screwed something up, but while what I got certainly looked just like mac ‘n cheese, it was almost tasteless, with just the bite of the sharp cheddar indicating that there was cheese in it at all. We tried adding more cheese and even butter, but it couldn’t be saved. Not giving a low rating because so many other people here seem to like it and that makes me think I did it wrong.
Maybe try a little more salt next time. Sometimes all you need for flavor to really “pop” is a pinch more salt.
I made it and it turned out great. I didn’t have any graininess, but I am wondering if that might come with using pre-shredded cheeses as they sometimes add anti-clumping agents and it might make it grainy. I forgot the dijon, but will try it next time.
I don’t think that it’s because of using pre-shredded cheese, I think it’s more because this isn’t a traditional cheese sauce. When you take short cuts the texture is a bit different. For me it was pretty smooth when it was fresh and hot, and the graininess only happened as it began to cool.
Just made this with some broccoli and Italian sausage. The mac and cheese texture is a little grainy, but for the low effort it took to make this, I don’t mind at all! Tasted awesome.
Pretty good. Left out the Dijon because it just sounded weird. This is a simple and plain basic macaroni. You really have to stir often or it will stick, and you’ll most likely need to add additional milk at the end to keep it moist and creamy. Inexpensive and quick.
What add-ins would you suggest to make it a more well-rounded dinner-meal or just get a few more vitamins in? It sounds absolutely delicious!
Broccoli florets would be awesome, or maybe some cooked chicken (or both!). :)
We love this stuff at our house! Definitely toddler approved! We’ve made it many times and have changed just a couple minor things to suit our taste. We only add 1/2 t salt – 3/4 t is just a tad bit too salty for us. We also leave out the optional ingredients (dijon mustard, paprika), but that’s mostly because I made it once with those ingredients while I was very sick with first trimester morning sickness. (BIG mistake!) For some reason that taste now brings me right back to those two months I spent over the toilet and it makes me sick just smelling it. Won’t be a problem for most people, but we just like it best plain and simple at our house.
I tried this last night but it didn’t turn out well for me. The texture wasn’t bad but I wished I hadn’t added the mustard, it gave it a really strange taste. I may attempt again in the future.
Hello! This is genius, cooking the pasta in milk!!! It looks amazing!!! I would however like to add more cheese and bake it so the top gets brown, will it mess up the recipe if I add extra cheese and just broil it till it gets brown?? I can’t wait to try a lot of your recipes!!!
If you’re just broiling it for a minute or two to make it brown, it should be okay. I’m not sure how this type of “quick” sauce would hold up to longer baking, though.
Would using whole grain pasta affect the recipe at all?
It may, but I haven’t tried it. Whole grain products tend to absorb more moisture, so that could affect the texture.
This was great! I added some parmesan cheese to it and it tasted gourmet.
I took a page from Beth’s book and added some feta to this too. The cheddar, Parmesan, and feta were wonderful together!
This was great. Not at all the consistency of traditional Mac n cheese, but delicious in its own right. I used half cheddar, half gruyere. It tasted like pasta mixed with fondue. yum!
For some reason, I’m unable to give it a star rating. For a quick and easy (and yummy) dinner, I’d give this five stars
Very clever with the makeshift bechamel sauce. And you’re lightening it up a bit as well, by not using the butter which is traditionally used in making a bechamel sauce. A few slices of plain old American cheese (I use Land O Lakes brand from the deli) thrown in before adding the cheddar (and letting it melt completely into the sauce first) will further help emulsify everything, if you’re having problems with any graininess.