Miracle Mac and Cheese

$2.72 recipe / $0.68 serving
by Beth Moncel
4.33 from 85 votes
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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.

A big bowl full of easy and creamy Miracle Mac and Cheese

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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.

A forkful of rich and creamy Miracle Mac and Cheese
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Miracle Mac and Cheese

4.33 from 85 votes
Miracle Mac and Cheese is a quick and easy way to make creamy macaroni and cheese, in one pot, with only a few ingredients, and no processed cheese! 
A forkful of rich and creamy Miracle Mac and Cheese
Servings 4
Prep 5 minutes
Cook 20 minutes
Total 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 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)
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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

Adapted from Revolutionary Mac & Cheese from Macaroni & Cheesecake

Nutrition

Serving: 1ServingCalories: 409.48kcalCarbohydrates: 50.3gProtein: 18.4gFat: 14.78gSodium: 784.28mgFiber: 1.88g
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More Mac and Cheese Recipes:

How to Make Miracle Mac and Cheese – Step By Step Photos

Add Milk to Macaroni
First, combine the dry macaroni noodles and 2 cups of milk in a medium pot. I prefer whole milk, but 2% also works.

Macaroni simmered in milk in the sauce pot until tender
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.

Season Macaroni
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 Cheese to Macaroni
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.

Finished Miracle Mac and Cheese
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.

Bowl of Miracle Mac and Cheese ready to eat
Really easy miracle mac and cheese, made with just a few ingredients.

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  1. OMG!! Miracle Mac n cheese, indeed! My family loved this! Wasn’t grainy at all. To others that want to try this recipe, watch it like a hawk and it will turn out perfect (literally only took 10-15 mins). Shamefully, we did double the amount of cheese. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe.

  2. I’ve just finished eating this – YUM! I made a few alterations – halved the recipe to make 2 portions (but instead made 1 greedy portion!) swapped macaroni for spaghetti as that’s all I had in the house, added some crispy smoked bacon and raw spinach at the end. I added a bit of water while it was cooking to loosen it up a bit. Incredibly sticky and gooey, perfect winter comfort food!

  3. Waste of cheese. Much simpler to make a basic cheese sauce and turns out way better. Made it and threw it out. Didn’t even eat it.

    1. What is a “basic cheese sauce”? The one made here seems pretty simple to me.

      1. A real cheese sauce, I guess I should say. :) It starts with a flour-butter roux, then milk, then cheese. This one is MUCH easier.

  4. I made this today, totally craving. Came out well. Used soy milk and it was great! You need to watch the pot because it will overflow, so keep stirring! I love this site, every time I need something quick and inexpensive to eat I come here and type an ingredient I have in my apt, never disappoints. Thank you again for helping a NYC gal eat more than just cereal all day!

  5. I was craving some comfort food the other day and Mac & Cheese strongly appealed to me only I didn’t have the boxed kind and didn’t feel like making a roux. So I did a little research and found this recipe. Made it at ounce. It was very good although it had to be eaten very quickly (not a problem!) because it hardened up pretty fast. Then 2 days later, I was feeling like Mac & Cheese again but had no milk left in the fridge. I thought about the way this recipe come together and improvised. Came up with the most simple thing ever: adding 2 TBS of cream cheese (the softer kind) and all the seasonings to the barely drained pasta (so that there’s a tiny bit of water left to amp up the creaminess factor) and then stirring in the cheese. The texture wasn’t 100% the same as M&C but it was a pretty good dupe and so easy to make :)

  6. I have made this many times, it always comes out so creamy and everyone loves it. We double the recipe and it only serves 6 here!

    The only change I make is I use evaporated milk, and a few drops of tobacco.

    1. Oh and for those who find it grainy, if you are using pre-shredded cheese the cellulose (the anti-caking agent, which is made of wood pulp) adds to that.

  7. Since I have found this recipe I make it all the time when my friend comes over. She is a lover of cheese and yes, this recipe is ridiculously easy.
    I love the paprika and dijon. Just. Wow. I also love to add onions and garlic, because they may or may not be my favorite foods (I do like 4x the garlic you usually do in your recipes and onions are the best) :P
    Lastly, I just wanted to share that I love making this recipe with almond milk. It adds this nuttiness that is so subtle and delicious. Also, I usually use this recipe as guidelines. My friend and I usually add a lot more milk and cheese, oops :)

  8. Omg. This is delicious. I made this recipe for myself, and it turned out wonderful. :] I didn’t use the paprika or the mustard. Super delicious, and full of comfort. Thank you!

  9. Made this as a comfort food brunch. It will never serve 4 in this house :-) But that’s okay. I was over-generous with my “cup” of cheese, as I am wont to do with cheese in general.

    Had to add more milk, and it was a bit grainy, but still stellar. I find most homemade mac’n’cheese will get grainy, so it doesn’t bother me and it’s not just this recipe that does it.

  10. This is probably the only recipe of yours that I’ve tried that really didn’t work for me. :( I found that the cheese sauce was very sticky/clumpy and not creamy at all, even after I added more milk and even a little butter to try to loosen it up. It was edible, but not at all what I was looking for in a mac and cheese. I’ve had better success with this recipe (http://www.thekitchn.com/weeknight-recipe-easy-homemade-82588), which requires a bit more work but gave me better results.

  11. Amazing!
    Made two batches tonight. By the book is amazing with tuna fish.
    With pizza cheese blend?
    Add diced tomatoes, and pepperoni….pizza mac n’ cheese!

  12. So good, but so far I haven’t been able to pull off the perfect texture. Gotta keep practicing with this one.

  13. I’ve made this with almond milk! and it still turned out great, highly recommend it to lessen the fat content. I’ve yet to try it vegan cheese

  14. I tried this and our whole family loves it! Even my husband who is very picky keeps asking for this. I did add in some additions to make it even better.

    I added bacon and onions. In the same pot (dutch oven I used) I fried the onion with the bacon, took it out but didn’t remove the fat. then I stuck to this recipe and added in the bacon and onion along with the cheese.

    Thanks again for your awesome site!

  15. the only problem is i am eating the whole pot of mac and cheese. Better only make 1/4 of this recipe next time.