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Say goodbye to boxed mac and cheese with this Homemade Mac and Cheese recipe. This classic family favorite comes together on the stovetop in less than 30 minutes with simple ingredients. The homemade cheese sauce is made with freshly grated cheeses, giving a thick, creamy, and rich flavor.
Looking for more family dinner recipes? You’ll love our Swedish meatballs, cheese quesadillas, and cheeseburger sliders.
Why I Love this Recipe:
- Nostalgia: As an adult, enjoying a classic mac and cheese brings me back to childhood.
- Family Favorite: It’s well-known that mac and cheese is a family favorite meal and a huge hit with the younger ones.
- Easy: This quick and easy recipe requires simple ingredients and only 30 minutes. This stovetop mac and cheese is based on the classic blue box version and doesn’t require any baking.
How to Make Mac and Cheese
Cook the macaroni: Use any noodle you prefer for this recipe, but elbow macaroni is classic, and the shape holds the cheese sauce in all the nooks and crannies. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to directions, being sure to salt the water. Drain the noodles when they have reached al dente, and set aside.
Make the Cheese Sauce: Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour, then add the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, ground mustard, and white pepper. Let this mixture cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add Milk: Pour the whole milk, whisking to incorporate the milk and flour mixture into a smooth sauce. Continue heating this mixture while stirring. It will thicken as it cooks. Don’t bring it to a boil since that will make the sauce too thick.
Add Cheese: Once the sauce is silky and thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, remove from the heat and add the freshly grated cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese. Stir the sauce while the cheeses melt. Then add the cream cheese, stirring until the cheese sauce is smooth.
Serve the macaroni and cheese as an easy lunch, dinner, or a side dish alongside some smoked pulled pork or brisket.
Variations
- Vegetables: Sneak some extra vegetables by adding steamed broccoli, green peas, or bell peppers.
- Meats: Add some protein with crumbled bacon, sliced hot dogs, grilled chicken, or some birria.
- Spice: Heat things up by mixing in some grilled or sautéed jalapeño. Or you could stir in your favorite hot sauce.
- Cheese: My preference for the cheese sauce is a combination of sharp cheddar and fresh parmesan. Other options would be Gruyere, Monterey Jack, and Pepper Jack.
Storage & Make Ahead Information
- Make Ahead: Prepare the cheese sauce and store in a sealed container for up to 2 days. Mix with cooked noodles when ready to serve.
- Leftovers Store any leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Reheating: The best way to reheat is in a pot or skillet on the stovetop over medium heat. The mac and cheese should reheat without the roux separating because of the cream cheese added to the sauce.
- Freezing: Yes, this mac and cheese can be frozen. Store in a freezer-safe container. For best results, freeze for 1-2 months.
Stovetop Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- water
- 1 tbsp salt
- 12 ounces dried elbow macaroni noodles
Cheese Sauce
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp ground mustard
- ¼ tsp ground white pepper
- 2½ cups whole milk
- 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese grated
- 2 ounces fresh parmesan cheese grated
- 2 ounces cream cheese
Instructions
- Bring a medium size pot of water to a boil over medium heat. Stir in 1 tbsp salt. Add macaroni noodles and boil for about 5 minutes until noodles are al dente (still have a slight bite).
- Strain the noodles and set aside.
- In a large pot melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour.
- Add the seasonings. Stir to combine. This will be a thick paste. Cook for 3-5 minutes to cook the flour.
- Pour in milk. Whisk to combine. Cook at just below a simmer for about 5-7 minutes, while continuing to stir occasionally. Sauce will thicken and be able to coat a spoon.
- Remove from heat, then stir in cheeses while they melt. Then add in the cream cheese and stir until that is completely melted.
- Add the cooked macaroni noodles to the cheese sauce. Stir to coat the noodles.
- Serve warm and enjoy.
Video
Equipment
Notes
- Make Ahead: Prepare the cheese sauce and store in a sealed container for up to 2 days. Mix with cooked noodles when ready to serve.
- Leftovers Store any leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Reheating: The best way to reheat is in a pot or skillet on the stovetop over medium heat. The mac and cheese should reheat without the roux separating because of the cream cheese added to the sauce.
- Freezing: Yes, this mac and cheese can be frozen. Store in a freezer-safe container. For best results, freeze for 1-2 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Post first published March 2020. Updated October 2023.
Is it 12OZ or 16 OZ of elbows?
I can only find 16 OZ boxes
The recipe is written using a 12 ounce bag of elbow macaroni. I typically find them at Walmart, but I imagine other markets would sell the bags instead of boxes of noodles. You can also make this with a 16 ounce amount, just increase the other ingredients to make more sauce 🙂 I hope that helps!
Its small but I have a cooking stream on Thursdays on twitch and tonight we are demo-ing your recipe! Thanks for such a well put together recipe/article/tips. Going to use this to help other learn to use their kitchens. We will be giving you and HouseOfYumm shout outs at the beginning and end of the episode to send interested folks your way.
Yummy recipe!!!! And, super easy! My daughter loves it.
Not my fav, but decent. I’d probably cut back on the garlic and onion powders.
My house hold loved it thanks, from Tx.
Amazing recipe! We LOVE it. I used the recipe plus I added jalapenos and onions chopped to the sauce when making and threw in bacon and broccoli at the end.