I have something really fun (and delicious) for you today!! I’m so excited about this, guys. My friend, Daniel Shumski, released his second book yesterday and it’s a gem! The book is called Will It Skillet? (a follow up to his first book, Will It Waffle?, LOL, I love his book titles!) and it contains 53 easy recipes that can be made in a cast iron skillet. Not only is this great for easy weeknight cooking, but if you’re an avid camper, this book will probably serve you well. Anyway, he’s letting me share one of the recipes from the book with you, so I chose the Mac and Cheese Recipe.
Let me just tell you, THIS is my new favorite mac and cheese. When you don’t quite have the time or energy to make a true cheese sauce with a roux, like in our extra cheesy Homemade Mac and Cheese recipe, this one skillet method is a winner! I’ve made it twice this week and already want more!
This recipe has been reprinted with the permission and generosity of Danial Shumski and Workman Publishing.
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
Why This is My New Favorite Mac and Cheese
So what’s so special about this mac and cheese? Wellllll let me count the ways.
- It doesn’t require making a roux or béchamel sauce, so it’s super fast, easy, and fool-proof.
- It’s incredibly silky and rich! And it doesn’t get grainy as it cools like other “miracle” or one-pot mac and cheeses. It’s just rich cheesy perfection.
- Because the cheese sauce doesn’t use a butter and flour based roux, you could potentially make this gluten free by using a gluten free pasta. Everyone can be in mac and cheese heaven!!
- Seriously, there are only seven ingredients. And that’s counting salt.
Just be careful, because like I said, this mac and cheese is just so easy and delicious that it’s also very dangerous. I can see myself keeping the very few ingredients needed to make this on hand and just making mac and cheese all the time. Pandora’s box has been opened.
P.S. You can absolutely make this in a regular sauce pot. You don’t need a cast iron skillet for this recipe. But for reference, I use this 10″ Lodge cast iron skillet.
Skillet Mac and Cheese
Servings 2Ingredients
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 2 cups elbow macaroni* ($0.70)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.27)
- 3/4 cup evaporated milk ($0.55)
- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard ($0.03)
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- 1.5 cups shredded sharp cheddar ($1.00)
Instructions
- Fill the skillet two-thirds full of water, add the salt, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Add the macaroni, turn the heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until just shy of al dente. This should take about 10 minutes, but check the pasta package for recommended cooking times and aim for the lower end if a range is given. (The macaroni will continue to cook a bit in the sauce.) When the macaroni is ready, biting into a piece should reveal a very thin core of uncooked pasta.
- Drain the macaroni and return it to the skillet. Turn the heat to low. Add the butter and stir until it melts.
- Add the evaporated milk, mustard, and cayenne and stir well to combine. Add the cheese in three batches, stirring frequently as each batch is added and waiting until the cheese has melted before adding the next batch. After about 5 minutes total, the sauce will be smooth and noticeably thicker.
- Serve hot. Leftovers can be refrigerated in a covered container for up to 2 days.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
How to Make Skillet Mac and Cheese – Step by Step Photos
Here is Daniel’s book, for reference. Seriously so many yummy things in here!
To begin the mac and cheese, fill your skillet about 3/4 full with water and add 1/2 tsp salt. Bring it up to a boil over medium-high heat. Add 2 cups (or about 1/2 lb.) of elbow macaroni or any shape of similar size. Boil the pasta just until it is al dente. Leave it slightly under done because it will continue to cook and soften in the sauce. Make sure to stir it often as it boils if you’re using a shallow skillet like this. Once cooked, drain the pasta in a colander.
Turn the heat down to LOW and return the cooked and drained pasta to the skillet, along with 2 Tbsp butter. Stir the butter into the pasta until it is completely melted.
Add 3/4 cup evaporated milk and let it begin to heat through.
Make sure you buy “evaporated milk” and not “sweetened condensed milk” because they are two very VERY different things. ;) Luckily, the 3/4 cup needed for this recipe was 1/2 of this can, so I saved the other half to make a second batch a couple days later (see? DANGEROUS).
Also add 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard and a pinch of cayenne.
Once the evaporated milk has heated up a bit (this shouldn’t take more than a minute or so), begin adding 1.5 cups shredded sharp cheddar, one handful at a time. Make sure the cheese is fully melted in before adding the next handful. I added my cheese in three batches.
As the cheese melts in the sauce will thicken into the silkiest, cheesiest skillet of goodness you’ve ever eaten. It’s so perfect.
And that’s it! You’re done! Now just try not to eat it all yourself. ;)
I hate to be a negative Nancy, but OMG — 1018 calories and 1375 mg of sodium in a single serving? This is a seriously unhealthy recipe. Either eat half a serving with a big salad or else have it once in a blue moon as a special treat, and only if you have no atherosclerosis (unlikely in America). I’ll be sticking with Miracle Mac & Cheese, and thank you very much for that much healthier recipe!!
I was craving perfectly creamy mac and cheese so I made this for dinner tonight and OH. BOY. I had absolutely zero issues and it came together in less than 30 min! I made mine in a regular pot and used an 8oz block of sharp orange cheddar, regular yellow mustard, and skipped the cayenne in exchange for cracked black pepper. Husband and I ate ours with our respective hot sauces over the top. I absolutely cannot wait to make this again!
🌼 No grains in the sauce.
🌼 I used bean pasta so no grains in the dish.
Winner . Winner.
Please post more pasta recipes that have no-grain sauces. I can always make the pasta be a garbanzo bean or red lentil pasta.
🌼🌼🌼
Delicious, simple, and quick to make! To make it extra creamy, I used 1.5 cups of pasta instead of 2.
So freaking good!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was looking for a yummy, goooey stove top Mac and cheese and my daughter, who loves your recipes, recommended this one. We loved it…so good and creamy!
Yes! I can finally make homemade Mac & Cheese. I have tried to make the roux cheese sauce several times but it always comes out grainy and not good. I’ve tried mac & cheese, broccoli cheddar soup, and the nacho sauce – and I’ve tried each at least twice – but it’s never right. So, I obviously am not doing something correctly. (I can make the roux because I’ve used that with several recipes, like the mushroom gravy at Christmas which was perfect, but when I try with milk it’s never right.) But this turned out perfectly! Plus, I love the added bonus of the shelf stable pantry milk. Winter comfort food that I control the ingredients of for the win! For those saying it isn’t flavorful, I thought it was perfect. I did use a block of Vermont white sharp cheddar, so maybe the good cheese made a difference. It was delicious, easy, and quick…a perfectly Budget Bytes dish.
Add some roasted peppers, onion, garlic, and smoked sausage and it makes an excellent family meal. The sauce is still plenty, but you can add a bit of the pasta water if it needs some thinning/stretch.
Made this to go with some fishsticks as I had a craving for macaroni and cheese, but never keep the boxed stuff on hand. A few notes to help others:
1) As written, the recipe is bland. I added kosher salt, pepper, more cayenne, a little garlic salt, and some MSG. It kicked up that cheesy flavor well.
2) I used extra sharp cheddar, which is my go-to for any cheese sauces as I find it has more of a cheesy flavor once sauced. I didn’t measure, but ended up using almost an entire 8oz block (maybe 6-7oz? I added to taste).
3) I used a regular skillet pan, not my cast iron, and it worked perfectly. The cheesy build-up was easier to clean in the nonstick and, as others mentioned, didn’t ruin the cast iron’s seasoning.
Definitely going to make this again and keep evaporated milk in the pantry now.
I split this into four servings, and it was still enough for the main dish. Two servings would be a giant bowl of pasta per person.
I think I’ve made every mac and cheese recipe on this site but this isn’t a favorite. It dried out quickly. I think the Rice Cooker Mac recipe is the best, I just make it on the stovetop.
Hi Beth! just made homemade pasta for the first time using your recipe. It came out fantastic! Thank you so much for your fabulous tutorial and recipe. I am hooked!
Did not like at all. It has no flavor, no depth to it at all and making it with evaporated milk makes it tastes like boxed macaroni & cheese. Loose the evaporated milk and use regular milk and if using sharp cheddar you need another cheese to go with it or else it’s just blah. The 3 main Mac n cheese cheeses are mild cheddar, Swiss and mozzarella. You get the flavor, creaminess and stickiness that encase the pasta so it doesn’t dry out. If camping add a little paprika for smokiness. I use salt, pepper, garlic, onion, ground mustard and parsley
This is sooooo good! I kept skipping this recipe because evaporated milk seemed weird, but I’m glad I tried it! This will be my go to Mac from now on.
This was great and easy, as promised, but it also appears to have killed the seasoning on my cast iron skillet. I’ll make it again, but in literally any other pan. (A pot would have been way easier to stir, too).
Even better with a few cloves of garlic and a handful of peas.
Yum!!
This is one of my favourite mac and cheese recipes! It’s so easy to make (some might say dangerously easy). I think the texture is silkier and creamier than a roux-based mac and cheese which sometimes tastes a bit gluey.
I’ve made it a handful of times in a regular pot since I don’t have a skillet. Today, I have some extra assorted cheeses so I’ll see how well a 3-cheese mac and cheese turns out. I’ve also doubled the recipe with good results.
What happened to the original miracle Mac and cheese recipe? I do not like this version at all, please bring back the old recipe.
What was the old recipie
Miracle Mac is still on the site. Totally different recipe.
This was beyond delicious – so indulgent and so easy. I used half white cheddar and half yellow cheddar, and in the spirit of Budget Bytes, I cooked and crumbled a couple pieces of leftover bacon to throw in, which I would highly recommend as well.
ah so cheap and easy – thank you. Made this when I was home alone all week. topped it with roasted broccoli and was a happy gal.
This was great! I ended up using a little extra evaporated milk to get it nice and thin since my plan was on heating it up for lunches. I haven’t used mustard in mac and cheese before and the one I chose gave it a kind of odd taste but it’s fine.
Next time I’ll follow the recipe closer. Still love my roux based mac best but this is a good quick alternative!!! I made 6 servings out of it! More than enough for a meal with the garden veggie turkey meatloaf meal prep!
Not sure if I did something wrong as I have never had a bad recipe from Budget Bytes, but this turned out very odd. It tasted like chemicals and I was very surprised, because again, everything from this website is delicious. I think I would use different types of cheese next time. Not sure what happened here!
It’s the evaporated milk. Some people (I’m one of them) can really detect an off note when using it. Switch it out for milk, half and half, or cream. I wouldn’t use nonfat milk here.
Thanks for the tip about evaporated milk. I can’t stand the taste. I will sub out half and half.
I made it with almond milk & it tasted very good.
Do you think Homogenised milk would work well? Thanks!
Yes, that will be fine.
Thanks Beth, It did work well, I also added a bread crumb topping and baked it for a few minutes after and it was very good.
Glad to hear it turned out!
This was super easy and really tasty, but it ended up being a little dry. Do you know what I did wrong? Did I add too much cheese? Is there a way to help make it more saucy again if it gets thick?
You could probably stir in a splash more of the evaporated milk to help loosen it up a bit. :)
I love how easy and delicious this is, and fast – I don’t have a good reason to buy boxed macaroni and cheese anymore! The second time I made it I used three cups of dry shell pasta, and added a drained can of tuna at the end, which stretches the servings, but I find there’s still enough sauce. I will make this again for sure.
I put this in MyFitnessPal and, oh, it’s off limits for me. 1138 calories per serving is what I got. Youch :(
That’s vastly incorrect. I just put it in mine and 2 servings (I would split this up to 4 not 2 servings) and even for 2 servings it was 764 cal and for 4 it was 382. Might want to check your numbers.
Woah! This was amazing! I used good sharp cheddar cheese and was definitely impressed. I think next time I’ll add a little more than a pinch of cayenne, but I had to hold back since the little one was eating this tonight!
Brilliant. I was raised on baked mac & cheese and still like it best that way, but my kids discovered Kraft in boxes when they were in college and find this recipe perfect. I must say that the convenience and taste have convinced me that this is a perfect fast solution for a great comfort food
This recipe is great and SO EASY! I am a huge fan of this mac and cheese!
This was great! Kids proclaimed best mac and cheese ever and it was just as easy as the processed box stuff because I preshredded the cheese on my “prep day”. Definitely use good sharp cheddar.
Another mac n cheese winner! Super easy weeknight meal my entire family enjoyed. I liked it with whole wheat pasta, peas, and tuna added in. Thanks for loving mac n cheese as much as I do!
I followed this recipe to the letter. It was horrible. There was no taste to it despite using sharp cheddar cheese. I did add salt to it while it was doing it’s milky magic. I added hot sauce, pepper and more salt (and I’m not a big salt user) but couldn’t get it to taste anything more than meh.
CAN ROTEL TOMATOES BE ADDED TO THE RECIPE WITHOUT DILUTING THE SAUCE? THANKS.
It would probably make it a bit runny, unless you drained them.
This was great, super easy to make. I used extra sharp cheddar . I almost made it again the next night with the leftover evaporated milk it was that good!
Have you tried reheating this in the microwave? Wondering if it gets that typical greasyness or retains its creaminess?
I found it to stay pretty creamy. Slightly drier because the pasta will absorb some more of the moisture, but the cheese didn’t separate into oil and solids.
Made this with whole wheat macaroni, delicious and very filling. Thanks for another great, easy recipe!
Oh, I am so conflicted. I grew up being told that the only thing you must never do with a cast iron skillet is boil water- something about compromising the seasoning? Was I lied to my entire life? Is anything I know actually true? Is mac n cheese what I’m having for dinner tonight?
I sincerely hope the answer to all three questions is “yes.”
You can make this in a regular pot and it will work out just as well. :) If your cast iron is well seasoned it won’t hurt much, but you definitely want to rub with oil and heat again after you clean it.
Did this in a regular pot, and it turned out fantastic! I would use a stronger cheese than my usual old cheddar as the flavour was not that strong. But when I added a bit of ketchup it brought out more of the cheesy flavour. Will make again!
This was probably one of the best meals I have ever made. Thank you, Beth! I was nervous about cooking pasta in a cast iron skillet, but it worked! I sprinkled some panko breadcrumbs on top and then put it under the broiler for a few minutes for an added crunch. Absolutely amazing!
I had to make a couple substitutions, the big one being powdered milk instead of evaporated. I blended a 1:1 ratio of powder to water, just a teeny bit scant on the water. I didn’t have quite enough cheddar for 1.5 cups, so I used kashkaval cheese for the rest, which is a great melting cheese–I think of it as a Bulgarian cheddar.
It came out…fine. Oddly sweet, maybe because of the powdered milk. A generous amount of black pepper helps, but I wish I’d just done a half batch to try the substitutions. Overall, I didn’t think it was much easier than a roux-based stovetop mac & cheese, so I will probably just stick to that since I have no problems with gluten.
Four stars since I had substitutions, but the way my result tasted was really a three.
Wow I just made this and I’m not sure I can save any for leftovers. So cheesy and delicious! I added a little cooked ground turkey to make it a little more filling and I’m still gorging myself. 10/10 will definitely make again.
Two words for the perfect mac & cheese = Instant Pot.
Just made this with GF pasta – and I am SO HAPPY! The packaged, powdered GF mac and cheese things are awful, and I so miss good, creamy mac and cheese. While it wasn’t up to my younger son’s taste (he’s 11), my 14YO son surprisingly liked it – and he’s not a mac and cheese eater! Thank you Daniel and Beth – I can enjoy mac and cheese again!
I grew up with cast iron skillets and could not / will not cook for any length of time without them.
When my hands can not handle the weight of moving cast iron I will probably quite cooking!…lol
I think I’m going to need to pick up a copy of this book! I’m a cast-iron convert, and have been cooking most everything in my 10″ Lodge skillet. That thing just lives on my stovetop :) can’t wait to try this, my kids will never eat my homemade mac and cheeses. I think it’s that grainy thing.
This looks really tasty! I like the idea of making mac and cheese in a skillet because the edges would be nice and crunchy! My favorite
While this fills a place in anyone’s quick and easy category, I still love oven baked mac and cheese the best, probably because my mom always used eggs to develop a custard based baked mac and cheese, as did the school cafeteria in my childhood.My children, now well into middle age, prefer stove top creamy styles. Ina Garten has used expanded cheese selections to make a sort of bridge version–baked, no eggs. But, if you use enough good cheese, the only bad versions are preprepared boxed varieties with powdered cheese. I haven’t tried eggs in a stovetop version, but suspect I will like that one!
I’m looking forward to making this one soon. I love a creamy Mac and cheese but I usually don’t have the ingredients to make a white sauce. There is a recipe for making a cheese sauce with evaporated milk in my grandmother’s World War 2 Joy of Cooking but I had forgotten about it!
DO YOU HAVE TO USE A CAST IRON SKILLET? I DON’T HAVE ONE AT THIS TIME. THANKS.
She says in the introduction that it can be made just fine made in a regular pot. ;)
I have a cast iron skillet that I love to use. I have never used it to make mac n’ cheese, but I will most certainly will now. What a great idea.
I make a version that’s a combination of this recipe and your one-pot mac and cheese in a large nonstick skillet. I like to add in a can of green chiles or some roasted cauliflower and and smoked paprika to amp up the flavor.
Great suggestions. Thanks.
+1 on the AB egg idea, too!
I tried a similar recipe with skim evaporated milk, and the sauce broke when I stirred in the cheese. It was a total bust because the sauce was already mixed into the pasta so I couldn’t even repair it. If you have to use low/no-fat milk, take it off the heat and let it cool a little bit before you add the cheddar to prevent the greasy/chunky mess.
Can I use cream or half & half instead of evaporated milk?
This looks so good!
No. The high amount of milk proteins in the evaporated milk are what emulsifies the whole thing and keeps the sauce together. Check out the serious eats article on Mac and cheese for more details. Don’t know if I’m allowed to link it here
This is almost exactly like Alton Brown’s Stovetop Mac and Cheese. But he adds eggs with the evaporated milk mixture! It adds such a rich creaminess to the sauce; his recipe calls for 3 eggs but sometimes I do 2 or even just 1. I’d definitely suggest throwing an egg in there next time you try it. I might make it for dinner tonight now that I’m thinking of it… :)
I also was kind of turned off by this seeming to be a ripoff of Alton Brown. Is just leaving out eggs really enough of a departure to make it a unique recipe?
Looking forward to getting the cookbook – I’m a fan of Dan’s writing and he used to be my “fruit guy” at the Green City Market in Chicago
Oh cool!! :D
The basic recipe is not unique to Alton Brown. I’ve been making a very similar “one pot stovetop mac and cheese” dish made with evaporated milk instead of a white sauce since the 1970s that is based on a recipe from one of those ubiquitous local church fundraiser cookbooks that my mom had from the 60s… and who knows where the woman who submitted the recipe first found the idea. I’m also looking forward to trying the version here (I don’t think I’ve ever used dijon in it before… and not having to have eggs on hand every time one has a craving for mac and cheese and don’t want the trouble of making a traditional white sauce is convenient… should be an interesting variation).
I wasn’t familiar with Alton Brown so did a quick internet search before replying here to find out more about him (and confirm that he definitely isn’t old enough to have come up with the recipe that inspired church lady) and his stove top mac-n-cheese recipe. The eggs aren’t the only difference… there are also quantity differences (for example Alton Brown uses more butter and salt) and subtle spicing differences (cayenne powder vs hot sauce, prepared dijon mustard vs dry mustard, no black pepper vs black pepper). If anything, I’d say that Alton Brown is closer to church lady’s recipe than Daniel Shumski is but, despite Alton Brown’s comment re: mac and cheese at church socials in the video instructions accompanying his recipe, I’m not going to even try to guess where either found their inspiration other than pointing out that mac and cheese… and specifically mac and cheese made with evaporated milk both in stovetop and baked variations.. has been around as long as (probably much longer than) either of these men have been alive and I wouldn’t accuse either of publishing a “ripoff” just because their recipes are similar to some that have been around for decades.