This stovetop mac and cheese is a one pot dish of tender macaroni simmered in an ultra creamy sauce with two types of cheese. The best macaroni and cheese recipe of all time!
After you try this homemade one pot mac and cheese, you’ll never turn to the boxed version again. Serve your mac and cheese with roasted broccoli or glazed carrots for a complete meal.
There’s nothing better than homemade mac and cheese, and there are so many different ways to prepare it. I have a really great slow cooker mac and cheese that the family loves, but when we want dinner in a hurry, I turn to this stovetop mac and cheese recipe.
Mac and cheese ingredients
The ingredients in this recipe include butter, flour, water, milk, macaroni, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, pepper, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese and parsley.
How do you make stovetop mac and cheese?
Start by whisking flour and butter together to make a thickener. Add water and milk to the pot, then stir in uncooked pasta and a variety of spices. Let the pasta simmer until it’s tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Add two types of cheese, then stir until the cheese is melted. Serve immediately, with a sprinkle of parsley for extra color and flavor.
Tips for the perfect dish
- You can use any type of short pasta, just be sure to adjust the cooking time accordingly. If you use a larger pasta such as penne, you may need to add more liquid to the pot.
- Skip the bags of pre-shredded cheese and grate your own. The prepared shredded cheeses often contain preservatives and anti caking agents and do not melt smoothly.
- This is a thick and cheesy mac! If you prefer a thinner sauce, add more milk, one tablespoon at a time until you’ve reached your desired consistency.
- The dish will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
Recipe FAQs
Cheddar cheese is my favorite choice for macaroni and cheese. It’s flavorful, melts great and gives the mac and cheese its traditional orange color. That being said, make sure you’re using a regular mild, medium or sharp cheddar cheese and not a cheddar cheese that’s extra sharp or aged. The aged cheeses can separate when melted and you won’t get a smooth and silky sauce. I often add in small amounts of other types of cheese for extra flavor, like parmesan, jack cheese or mozzarella. For this recipe, I’ve added some mozzarella because I love the creamy flavor it adds to this dish.
I am a purist, and I love my mac and cheese simply with the noodles and cheese sauce, with a little parsley for garnish. But there are countless ways to dress up your macaroni and cheese. Some suggestions include bacon, grilled chicken, chives, broccoli, hot sauce or jalapenos.
Spices are a great way to accentuate the flavor of the cheese sauce. I typically add salt, freshly ground black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and smoked paprika to my macaroni and cheese. You could also use regular paprika, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, garlic salt, or chili powder.
I typically serve this stovetop mac and cheese as a side dish, but my kids often eat it as a main course! Here are some entree and side dish suggestions to go with your mac and cheese.
- Slow Cooker Whole Chicken
- Brown Sugar Pork Chops
- Baked Lemon Chicken
- Honey Roasted Carrots
- Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
- Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
I hope your family enjoys this dish as much as mine does!
Stovetop Mac and Cheese Video
Stovetop Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups water
- 3 1/2 cups milk
- 1 pound elbow macaroni uncooked
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the flour, then whisk until combined, about 30 seconds.
- Pour in the water and whisk until smooth and just thickened.
- Add the milk and whisk until combined.
- Stir in the macaroni, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika and pepper, then bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is done.
- Turn the heat to low, then stir in the cheeses. Keep stirring until the sauce is smooth. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Notes
- Skip the bags of pre-shredded cheese and grate your own. The prepared shredded cheeses often contain preservatives and anti caking agents and do not melt smoothly.
- This is a thick and cheesy mac! If you prefer a thinner sauce, add more milk, one tablespoon at a time until you’ve reached your desired consistency.
I substituted rotini for the macaroni in this recipe, and even though I increased the cooking time of the pasta by 2 minutes, the pasta was still very undercooked. I highly recommend adding several minutes of cooking time for any pasta larger that macaroni. The sauce, however, was great, the blend of cheeses creates a wonderful creaminess that does not come with many homemade mac and cheese recipes.
Can this be made a day ahead and reheated the next day or will it get a little dry?
This mac and cheese will firm up quite a bit when it’s cooled. I would recommend reheating it on the stove over low heat, then add a little milk or cream to thin the sauce back out.
I made this dish and it’s super tasty and sooo delicious thank you so much!
Delicious!! Thanks for this recipe! I modified it slightly, based on the ingredients I had on hand. It turned out so creamy and so yummy!
I look a LOT and have never had good luck with cheese sauces. This is such a game changer! Cooking the pasta in the sauce is so smart! I didn’t realize that perfectly smooth texture was even possible for a homemade cheese sauce. Thank you so much!
So glad you enjoyed it, I really appreciate you reporting back!
Good , solid recipe. The sauce always comes out right for me and I like how the recipe actually seasons the sauce , rather than just adding cheese. I added a bit of Worcestershire to mine and it was really good. I also used shells one of the times I made it and I think next time it would be better to boil the noodles separately then add them because the sauce was cooking out of the pot before the noodles were fully cooked but I think that’s because I used shells instead of elbow macaroni .
My husband is a picky eater. He loves everything I’ve made with your recipes. Thank you so much for sharing!!! I can’t wait to see you post next!! Thanks again!!
So happy to hear he’s enjoying the recipes!! Thank you for following along!
Hello, could you still bake this recipe?
You could bake it at the end after it’s cooked through?
I usually make Ruth Reichl’s baked mac n cheese or some variant, but wanted a stove top version that’s quicker/ or geared for kids…this worked great! It’s so cheesy and creamy since the the pasta releases the starches in the actual sauce, that really makes the dish!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it, thanks for coming back to comment!
Loved the explanation of how the starches released made it creamier. I can’t wait to try this recipe!
I live in Nigeria. Our food is usually a bit spicy and so that is what I am used to. I modified it to suit my Nigerian vibe by adding a bit more pepper. It was divine. My siblings couldn’t believe what they were tasting.
Thank you.
This was my first time making homemade mac & cheese and it came out great; super easy and delicious. The only issue was I should have read the serving information, because I did the full recipe for only my wife and me and I suspect we will be eating the rest of it over the course of the next week.
So glad to hear you enjoyed it, thanks for coming back to comment!
I usually do baked mac but was in a hurry. The kids loved it!!
Im picky and I loved it.
Thanks
So happy to hear you enjoyed it, thank you for reporting back!
My son requested stovetop mac and cheese for Christmas dinner, being I usually only do the baked style. I did a quick Google search and after reading ingredient list decided to try your recipe. My whole family loved it and had seconds. I may never go back to backed again!!! I followed to a t using a combo of sharp cheddar and pepper jack. Thanks for such a great recipe!
I’m so happy to hear everyone enjoyed the mac and cheese, I hope you had a great Christmas!
Thank you for the recipe. My son loves mac and cheese and he only eats this particular frozen brand or in a particular restaurant. I made these last night, and he loved it. He said, “Mama, this is the best mac and cheese ever and healthier because you don’t have to buy the frozen ones.”
I’m so happy to hear he enjoyed it! My kids love this one too!
This turned out so good! My little one loved it! I should add that I ran out of milk, so i added 1 cup of buttermilk to make up the 3 1/2 cups of milk. It was so creamy. We had it with oven baked chicken and broccoli!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Oh yummy! I love the edea of the toppings!
YUM! Macaroni cheese is my kids favourite meal if all time! I love this version, I will try it!
Mac and Cheese is one of my absolute favorite foods! I am always trying new versions. Adding this one to my menu next week!
As much as I LOVE Mac and cheese I have never made it homemade before. That’s just a SHAME!! I need to try this recipe ASAP!!
Yum! That mac and cheese does sound fantastic. My kids love adding peas to theirs, but like you I don’t need anything other than cheesy goodness in mine.
My kids could live off nothing but mac and cheese, but it gets old for us adults so I am always looking for new twists on our recipe. I will be making this for sure!