Forget cakes and cookies, mac and cheese is my comfort food of choice. And luckily, there is no shortage of variations on classic homemade mac and cheese, so it just never gets old. :) This White Cheddar Mac and Cheese is incredibly simple, fast, easy, and a little more well rounded than plain mac and cheese, so it’s totally meal-worthy and perfect for busy weeknights. The flavor is a little smoky, a little garlicky, and full of that wonderfully sharp white cheddar. In other words, soooo good!
Do I Have to Use White Cheddar?
You can definitely use yellow (orange) cheddar in place of the white cheddar in this recipe, if you need. They both melt beautifully into a silky sauce. Yellow cheddar is usually much more budget-friendly, as well.
Can I Substitute the Evaporated Milk?
No, unfortunately, you can not substitute the evaporated milk in this recipe. This unique composition of evaporated (low moisture, high protein) is what allows the cheese to emulsify into a smooth sauce without using a roux (flour and butter mixture). It will not work with regular milk or dairy milk substitutes.
Other Substitution Ideas
Low Carb – Substitute the pasta with cauliflower florets.
Vegetarian – Substitute the chicken with tempeh, or cauliflower florets.
Cauliflower is a pretty versatile ingredient and just happens to go great with cheese sauce (see my Spicy Roasted Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce recipe).
White Cheddar Mac and Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. pasta (any short shape) ($0.67)
- 1/2 lb. frozen broccoli florets ($1.30)
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 2/3 lb.) ($2.00)
- 1 pinch salt and pepper ($0.05)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.26)
- 1 cup evaporated milk ($0.53)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 8 oz. extra sharp white cheddar, shredded ($1.75)
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Once boiling, add the pasta and continue to boil until tender. Add the frozen broccoli florets to the pot of boiling water and pasta, and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Drain the pasta and broccoli together in a colander.
- While the pasta is cooking, prepare the chicken. Season both sides of the chicken breast with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add one tablespoon cooking oil to a large, deep skillet and heat over medium. Once hot, swirl the oil to coat the surface of the skillet, add the chicken breast, and cook on each side until golden brown and cooked through (about 5-7 minutes per side). Remove the cooked chicken to a clean cutting board and allow it to rest for five minutes, then chop it into small cubes.
- Turn the heat under the skillet used to cook the chicken down to medium-low, and add the butter. Allow the butter to melt, and use a whisk to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Pour in the evaporated milk and continue to whisk to dissolve the browned bits completely off the bottom.
- Whisk the garlic powder, smoked paprika, and salt into the evaporated milk. Once the evaporated milk is hot, begin adding the shredded white cheddar, one handful at a time, whisking until it is fully melted before adding the next handful. Once all the cheese has been whisked into the hot sauce, turn the heat down to low.
- Add the cooked and drained pasta and broccoli, and the chopped chicken to the skillet with the cheese sauce. Stir to combine and fully coat the pasta, broccoli, and chicken in the sauce, then enjoy!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
How to Make White Cheddar Mac and Cheese – Step by Step Photos
Start by cooking the pasta and broccoli. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then once boiling, add 1/2 lb. pasta. Continue to boil until the pasta is tender, then add 1/2 lb. frozen broccoli florets and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Drain the pasta and broccoli together in a colander.
While the pasta is cooking, prepare the chicken. Season one boneless skinless chicken breast with a pinch of salt on each side. Add 1 Tbsp cooking oil to a large deep skillet and heat over medium. Once hot, swirl the oil to coat the skillet, then add the chicken. Cook the chicken on each side until golden brown and cooked through. Remove the chicken to a clean cutting board, let it rest for five minutes, then chop into small cubes.
Turn the heat under the skillet used to cook the chicken down to medium-low and add 2 Tbsp butter. Allow the butter to melt and use a whisk to begin scraping up the browned bits from the bottom.
Pour in 1 cup evaporated milk and continue to cook and whisk until all the browned bits are dissolved off the bottom and the evaporated milk is hot.
Season the evaporated milk with 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp smoked paprika, and 1/4 tsp salt.
Now that the evaporated milk is hot and well seasoned, begin adding the 8oz. shredded extra sharp white cheddar, one handful at a time. Whisk the cheese into the sauce until fully melted before adding the next handful.
Once all the cheddar has been added, the sauce will be smooth and thickened.
Add the cooked and drained pasta, broccoli, and chopped chicken back to the skillet with the sauce, then stir to coat.
And that’s it! White Cheddar Mac and Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli is served!!
No idea what is evaporated milk and never in my life saw it anywhere. But substituted it with four and regular milk. Not sure if it tasted as it should, but it was delicious!
I just made this and followed the recipe exactly. I didn’t find the 1 cup of evap milk enough. I bought a 12oz can and a 5oz can because I was at the store and couldn’t remember how much the recipe said. SO GLAD I got the 12oz can because after I added everything, the pasta absorbed the cheese sauce instantly leaving this a touch dry. So I added the other 4oz and that was fine. I didn’t know what I would have done with the leftover milk anyway. I also wish i would have looked at the broccoli bag because the frozen florets were huge! I wanted much smaller pieces as in the video. But potato potahto. This is great. If you don’t have smoked paprika, get it just for this recipe! It adds so much flavor! In true ‘sweep the fridge’ style, next time I will cook mushrooms with the chicken, maybe some onion, colorful peppers would be good.
Yum! I used reduced fat (2%) evaporated milk and cheese, and it worked fine. (I’m sure it’s not as rich as with the full-fat versions, but it’s still good!) Also threw in a bag of frozen peas. And because I just thawed some cooked chicken instead of cooking it fresh, it worked fine to do all of this in one pot: drain the pasta/veggies into a colander, then use the same pot to cook up the sauce.
I subbed half the white cheddar with smoked fontina. Have never regretted a choice less. Great recipe, and reheats well!
I made this tonight for dinner and it was delicious! Thanks for the great recipes!
Sounds easy and delicious. Think I’ll add 1/4 tsp. dry mustard for some ‘zip’
Making this as I type this— would really appreciate a more specific measurement for the white cheddar cheese. I couldn’t find any pre grated in a bag so I bought a 10 oz block, measured 8oz from it using a food scale. I grated it myself but I only have a microplane which changes the volume of the cheese. Maybe a cup measurement in addition to ounces? Or explain proper way to ensure correct amount of cheese when you are hand grating.
Thanks!
Your method of weighing off 8 oz with the scale then grating was the at to go. Weight is indeed the better way to measure, since volume can vary as you stated.
You didn’t ask me, but I think weight is the most precise measurement possible for any recipe. My family would never complain if I upped the cheese by 20%–they think if some cheese is good, more is better. If you don’t want to do that, eye ball your 10 oz block of cheese, cut off 1/5 for another use, and grate all the rest. Nor would I worry much if I had to use yellow cheddar instead of white (white cheddar is usually sharp), which I can’t find grated, either–the closest being a mixed cheddar blend which was more white than yellow. It may not be as white and beautiful, but it will still taste terrific.
My substitution in this recipe was the broccoli, which I adore, but my husband won’t eat–I used some leftover sliced and sauteed mushrooms and green beans cut in 1″ length. Peas would have been good, too.
Cup measurements would actually be less accurate than ounce, since it can vary with how tightly packed the shredded cheese is in the cup, and would probably end up with a larger error. That being said, this recipe is quite flexible, so if you aren’t able to measure 8 oz. from your 10 oz. block, it will still work fine. :) I probably should have added a note about it being flexible! :P
I might try this as it sounds really good. Cheese, especially white sharp cheddar costs triple what you show though! I might have to sub the usual cheaper store brand yellow sharp cheese which still costs more than what you list here. I didn’t realize there could be such a big difference in price due to where you live.
My cheese was on sale (by coincidence), but I was prepared to pay more knowing that the other ingredients in this were all pretty inexpensive and the overall cost would likely still be quite low. :)
I can make this even cheaper – leave out the broccoli. Blech! I would probably use the whole can of evaporated milk since it’s doubtful I would have a use for the rest of the can right away! Can you tell me where you can get white cheddar for $3.50 a pound?
It was Kroger’s brand and on sale this week! Yay! If you add more evaporated milk you’ll need to add more cheese, or else the sauce will be too watery.
I don’t even have to try this to know it will be delicious! And you are right, the evaporated milk is the key to creamy, non-gritty mac and cheese! Can’t wait to make this.
Blech…Don’t try to use chicken gizzard as a substitute. I bought some because I was curious to what it tasted like, and I thought since they were small it would basically be like the cubed up chicken already done for me. Well it turns out you have to cook gizzard for like 2 hours. So I kept it on my pan for 30 minutes or so because I didn’t have that kind of time. I didn’t end up using the gizzard in the pasta, but I cooked the evaporated milk part on top of it and I feel like the sauce tastes a little off (bad aftertaste).
Ooh, yes, do not use gizzards for this. Gizzards are organ meat and quite different in both texture and flavor from regular chicken meat.
This is funny–I grew up on a farm and we used everything. My dad loved gizzards, but they are really tough, and I was happy to pass them along to him. I never thought they tasted bad, but I haven’t had one in more than 50 years and haven’t missed them at all! Organ meats, however, don’t taste much like the muscle meat–breast, leg, thigh, wing–and although I really like chicken livers, would never use them in a delicately flavored recipe like this one. I save them for pate.
Hi Beth,
I LOVE your blog. I make your recipes all the time. I love that they are absolutely delicious while not reeking havoc on my waistline! Thanks for that:D Just wondering…..does the fat content of the evaporated milk matter? Should I only use whole fat?
I haven’t tried the low-fat or non-fat evaporated milk yet, so I’m not sure if it will effect the way the cheese sauce emulsifies, but I do know that it will definitely taste better if you use the full-fat type. ;)
Beth,
out of curiosity, what percentage milk fat is in your evaporated milk? I can buy condensed milk at the supermarket (not in the USA) in anything from 4-12% MF. Not sure which would be best for this recipe.
I don’t still have the can, but at my store we had three options: regular, 2%, and fat-free. This was regular (which didn’t say “regular” but didn’t have any qualifying descriptors in the title), so I’m assuming it was made with whole milk. I believe whole milk is 3.5% milk fat.
I have tried low fat evaporated milk in similar recipes to this, and I thought it was awful. It emulsified fine, but the flavor was waaaay off. Tangy in a bad way instead of creamy and cheesy.
Thank you for sharing that! :)
We used fat free tonight (because that is what the shopper came home with), and I thought it worked fine,
Good to know, thanks! :)
I decided to make this for dinner as soon as I saw it posted earlier today! I couldn’t find white cheddar, so I used regular sharp cheddar and it was still super delicious.
Thank you for commenting! I was just wondering if sharp cheddar would work because I am not sure if my grocery store sells white cheddar.
I LOVE macaroni and cheese. Can’t wait to make this recipe!!! :-)
This looks delicious. I think I will swap the broccoli to peas/carrots since we prefer those. Can’t wait to try this.
Made it tonight. Our chicken took twice as long as expected to cook, so I think next time I will take steps to make it thinner before starting. I used half a bag of frozen carrots and a quarter bag of peas instead of broccoli. We enjoyed the recipe and agreed it could be made again (in this house that is high praise). Like other commenters our cheese was very expensive, only one brand at the store carried white cheddar and of course not the one of sale. Also, normally Beth’s servings sizes are on the small side, but not for this meal. I’d say this makes at least 5 servings.