One Pot, Stove Top Macaroni & Cheese Recipe
The key to keeping this recipe creamy is to make sure the flame is low and to consistently stir the pot. The mac elbows need to be cooked slowly in the milk and any high heat will cause the milk to curdle. Don’t leave the pot unattended.
Obviously with the stove top, there won’t be that cheesy crust that forms on top. But toppings of toasted bread crumbs or bacon should be a nice exchange.
Ingredients
- 2 cups large elbow Macaroni, uncooked (about ½ lb)
- 2 cups Milk
- if needed, additional ¼ cup milk or water for final cooking
- 1 tablespoon Butter, for flavor
- ½ teaspoon Mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt, plus additional for final season later
- generous dash of Nutmeg
- 1 cup Grated Cheese, any one or combination of ( jack, cheddar, swiss, mozzarella, gouda, parmesan*, asiago*, pecorino*) *Hard cheeses are best combined with a secondary, softer, better melting cheese.
- additional toppings: bacon bits, bread crumbs, chopped parsley, diced tomatoes (optional)
- black pepper to taste (optional)
Directions
- Place raw elbow macaroni in colander and quickly rinse under water. Let drain.
- In medium sauce pan (about 3.5 qt), add milk, raw elbow macaroni, salt, butter, mustard powder and nutmeg.
- On medium heat, slowly bring milk/macaroni mixture to a simmer, stirring the macaroni frequently as it comes up to a simmer. This will separate macaroni and keep them from sticking together. DO NOT LEAVE THE STOVE! The milk mixture will come to a boil very quickly and leaving it unattended will leave a big mess on your stove stop.
- Once mixture comes to a simmer, immediately turn down heat to LOW. Macaroni will slowly cook in the milk. Having your heat too high will evaporate the milk too quickly!
- Continue to stir the mixture frequently so that macaroni will cook evenly and absorb milk evenly. Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until milk has been fully absorbed.
- If macaroni is not cooked fully, add a little more milk or water to mixture ( in small amounts) until macaroni is fully cooked. This will take about another 5 minutes.
- When milk has evaporated, stir in grated cheese of your choice. Stir the cheese evenly into the macaroni.
- Turn off heat. Place lid on top of pan and cover for about 5 minutes. This rest period will allow macaroni to plump up and absorb any excess milk.
- Take a final taste and add additional salt to taste. Before serving, stir one final time to mix everything together.
Serve immediately. Feeds about 3-4 people.
best stove top macaroni and cheese recipe
Toasted bread crumbs: I love toasted bread crumbs and it’s so easy to make. Just break up some old bread, heat it up on a skillet. Continue stirring until crumbs start to brown and become fragrant. Remove from heat and top off your macaroni and cheese!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups milk
- One 12 oz can evaporated milk (I used skim, evaporated milk keeps the egg and milk from curdling)
- ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled to room temp
- 3 large eggs
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 cups (12 oz) shredded cheese (I used an Italian blend, recipe calls for Italian fontina cheese)
- ½ pound elbow macaroni or mini penne tubes, par cooked and drained (this means cook them for about five minutes until tender but not completely cooked)
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Spray the inside of your slow-cooker with cooking spray or grease it with olive oil. Combine milk, evaporated milk, eggs, butter, and salt in slow-cooker and whisk until until smooth (or you can use an immersion blender to do the whisking for you).
Add the shredded cheese (not the Parmesan) and macaroni, sprinkle with black pepper (and whatever other spices you want to use). Stir gently with a spatula to coat evenly.
Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top. Cover and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, reduce the temperature to LOW and cook for 2 to 2 ½ hours, until custard is set in the center and the pasta is tender. The macaroni and cheese may sit in the cooker on the KEEP WARM setting for 30 minutes before serving. Before dishing it up, I sautéed some bread crumbs with olive oil and sprinkled them over the top to make it a little fancier.
