Easy Creamy Mac And Cheesy Recipes

CREAMY BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Set an oven rack 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook until it is al dente, about 6 minutes. Strain, reserving 1 3/4 cups of the pasta water. Set aside.
• Heat the half-and-half and cayenne in a large saucepan over medium heat until it just comes to a simmer. Continue simmering until the half-and-half is reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 15 minutes. Add the cream cheese and stir until melted. Whisk in the Cheddar and Gruyere until all the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth.
• Add the macaroni and the reserved pasta water to the saucepan and stir to combine. (It will look very loose, but the pasta will suck up a lot of the sauce as it bakes.) Season to taste with salt if needed. Pour into a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Toss the bread crumbs with the butter and a sprinkle of salt in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the top of the macaroni and cheese. Bake until the cheese is bubbly and the bread crumbs are lightly browned and crispy, about 10 minutes.

CREAMY STOVETOP MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• In a large pot, bring about 4 quarts of water to a boil. Bring the water to a boil and then add 2 tablespoons of salt (trust me on this, salted water makes ALL the difference when cooking pasta.) Add the pasta. Cook the pasta to al dente, being careful not to overcook. The pasta should still have a nice chew to it. Drain and do not rinse.
• In the same pot used for the pasta, add half of the milk and cream over medium heat. In a separate bowl or glass measuring cup, whisk together the remaining milk and cream with the flour and spices. Whisk until smooth.
• When the milk on the stove begins to steam (not boil!) add the flour mixture and whisk to combine. Continue whisking until the milk thickens slightly, about 4-5 minutes.
• Add the shredded cheese, a handful at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon to melt. Remove from the heat once all the cheese has melted. Add the pasta to the cheese sauce and stir to coat. Taste and add salt, only if needed.

SIMPLE MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, 8 minutes. Drain.
• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat; stir in flour, salt, and pepper until smooth, about 5 minutes. Slowly pour milk into butter-flour mixture while continuously stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbling, about 5 minutes. Add Cheddar cheese to milk mixture and stir until cheese is melted, 2 to 4 minutes.
• Fold macaroni into cheese sauce until coated.

EASY CREAMY MAC 'N CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook pasta in large pot according to package directions.
• Meanwhile, whisk milk, Country Crock® Spread, and flour in large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking frequently. Reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in cheese until melted; remove from heat. Drain pasta and fold into the sauce.

ULTRA CREAMY BAKED MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• For baked macaroni and cheese, heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and butter a 3-quart casserole dish or spray with non-stick cooking spray. For stove-top mac and cheese, move on to the next step.
• Grate the cheeses and set aside. For baked mac and cheese, reserve 1/2 cup for topping the pasta before baking in the oven.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, add the pasta then follow package directions, but cook 2 minute less than the recommended cook time. Drain then rinse pasta with cold water and set aside.
• Add milk to a large microwave-safe measuring jug and microwave 1 to 3 minutes until warm. Alternatively, you can add milk to a large saucepan over medium heat then heat milk until warm.
• While the milk warms up, melt the butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. When the butter begins to bubble, add the flour. Cook, constantly whisking until the butter smells fragrant and nutty - the color of the butter-flour mixture will be light brown; 2 to 3 minutes.
• While whisking, slowly pour the warm milk into butter and flour mixture. Continue to cook, constantly whisking until the sauce bubbles and thickens. Remove the pan from the heat. and then stir in mustard, black pepper, cayenne, nutmeg, 4 cups of cheddar and all of the Romano cheese. Stir until the heat from the sauce melts the cheese.
• Taste the sauce for seasoning, and then adjust with additional spices or salt (we usually start with 1/2 teaspoon of fine salt and go from there).
• If the drained and rinsed pasta will fit into the pan, add it to the cheese sauce. If the pasta will not fit, add both the pasta and sauce to a separate large bowl and stir well.
• For a stovetop mac and cheese, cover with a lid and set aside for 5 minutes. In this time the pasta will absorb some of the extra cheese sauce. Serve.
• For a baked mac and cheese, pour the pasta into the prepared baking dish. Top with the reserved 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese.
• Bake, uncovered, until bubbling, about 30 minutes. For browned cheese on top, turn the oven to broil, and then broil 3 to 5 minutes until the top has blistered and lightly browned. Let stand about 10 minutes before serving.

CREAMY MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook macaroni according to package directions. , Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°. In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add 1-1/2 cups milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in sour cream, Velveeta, Parmesan cheese, salt, mustard and pepper until smooth and cheese is melted. Add additional milk to reach desired consistency. , Drain macaroni; toss with cheddar cheese. Transfer to a greased 3-qt. baking dish. Stir in cream sauce. , Bake, uncovered, 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

VELVEETA MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook the macaroni in a large pat of salted water according to the package directions and drain well. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. When melted, stir in the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, and dry mustard, until smooth and incorporated.
• Pour the milk into the pan in a thin stream while whisking, until smooth. Keep on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce bubbles and thickens, 3-5 minutes.
• Add the cubed Velveeta and shredded cheddar and stir until melted and creamy.
• Add in the drained macaroni, mixing until evenly coated, taste and season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

VELVEETA MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Cook macaroni al dente according to package directions. Drain.
• Melt butter, flour, mustard powder, and onion powder in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook 1-2 minutes.
• Add milk a little at a time whisking after each addition. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook 2-3 minutes.
• Stir in cubed Velveeta and continue stirring until melted and creamy. Remove from heat and add sharp cheddar. Stir in macaroni.
• Spread macaroni into a 2QT baking dish. Combine topping ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle overtop.
• Bake 20 minutes or until hot and crumbs are golden.

CREAMY HOMEMADE BAKED MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and grease a 3 qt baking dish (9x13"). Set aside.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When boiling, add dried pasta and cook 1 minute less than the package directs for al dente. Drain and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil to keep from sticking.
• While water is coming up to a boil, shred cheeses and toss together to mix, then divide into three piles. Approximately 3 cups for the sauce, 1 1/2 cups for the inner layer, and 1 1/2 cups for the topping.
• Melt butter in a large saucepan over MED heat. Sprinkle in flour and whisk to combine. Mixture will look like very wet sand. Cook for approximately 1 minute, whisking often. Slowly pour in about 2 cups or so of the milk/half and half, while whisking constantly, until smooth. Slowly pour in the remaining milk/half and half, while whisking constantly, until combined and smooth.
• Continue to heat over MED heat, whisking very often, until thickened to a very thick consistency. It should almost be the consistency of a semi thinned out condensed soup.
• Remove from the heat and stir in spices and 1 1/2 cups of the cheeses, stirring to melt and combine. Stir in another 1 1/2 cups of cheese, and stir until completely melted and smooth.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine drained pasta with cheese sauce, stirring to combine fully. Pour half of the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheeses, then top that with the remaining pasta mixture.
• Sprinkle the top with the last 1 1/2 cups of cheese and bake for 15 minutes, until cheesy is bubbly and lightly golden brown.

HOMEMADE MAC AND CHEESE CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Cook macaroni al dente (firm) according to package directions. Drain and run under cold water.
• Melt butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Whisk in flour and let cook 2 minutes while stirring. Slowly whisk in milk, cream, mustard powder, onion powder, salt & pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat while stirring until thickened.
• Remove from heat and stir in parmesan cheese & 3 cups cheddar cheese until melted. Add soup if using.
• Toss cheese sauce & macaroni noodles together. Pour into a greased 9×13 pan. Top with remaining cheese.
• Bake 18-24 minutes or until bubbly. Do not over cook. Cool 10-15 minutes before serving.