Easy Mac and Cheese Recipe
Published 11/11/2019 • Updated 8/27/2024
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Mac and cheese is a dish that always makes people so happy. No matter how old you are, mac and cheese is always a good idea! This is the most popular mac and cheese recipe on our site — it’s creamy, flavorful, and so easy to make!
Everyone Loves Mac and Cheese
If I’m being honest, I’ve never met someone who didn’t like mac and cheese. If you are one of those people, it’s ok, but this recipe is for all of the creamy, cheesy noodle lovers of the world!
What makes our mac and cheese recipe so great? This mac and cheese recipe is made with real ingredients. There is no powdered cheese, no velveeta, and no microwave necessary. Is this mac and cheese the healthiest recipe on FFF, no. Do we believe in balance? Yes. We are also big believers in MAC AND CHEESE.
How do you make mac and cheese healthier?
This is the million dollar question for all mac and cheese lovers. Our answer is eat your favorite mac and cheese (whether it is healthier or not!) in moderation (classic Fit Foodie Finds answer).
Honestly, if you love noodles in homemade cheese sauce go for it! Just listen to your body. Don’t restrict yourself from things you love! If you do want to make a mac and cheese recipe a bit healthier here are a couple of options —>
Add less cheese! If you are worried about the amount of cheese in a mac and cheese recipe, decrease the cheese and add a couple tablespoons of nutritional yeast.
Change up the milk: We use 2% milk in this recipe. If you are looking for a lower fat content use skim milk!
Use your favorite noodle: The noodle options in the grocery store are endless! If you are gluten free, use a gluten free noodle! If you want to add a bit more protein and fiber to your mac and cheese try a garbanzo bean or black bean noodle!
Add veggies: Serve this mac and cheese with a healthy serving of vegetables! Roast or steam broccoli and have a larger serving of vegetables than mac and cheese.
We recommend serving mac and cheese with our roasted brussel sprouts or our superfood detox salad. Such a delicious combination!
Mac and Cheese Ingredients
Once you’ve decided what you are going to serve your mac and cheese with, it’s time to whip up a big batch of creamy noodle deliciousness. Once you have all of your ingredients this mac and cheese recipe takes less than 40 minutes to prepare!
Here is what you will need:
- Your favorite noodles
- Gouda cheese
- Cheddar cheese
- Your milk of choice
- White whole wheat flour
- Butter
- Hot sauce
- Dried mustard
How to Make Mac and Cheese
This mac and cheese recipe is pretty straight forward! Some mac and cheese recipes are prepared and then baked with a crunchy top. While those recipes are delicious, the goal of this mac and cheese recipe is to be the creamiest mac and cheese recipe that you can make in under an hour. BOOYA.
There are two separate things you have to make for this recipe; the noodles and the sauce. Let’s break down each section:
Mac and Cheese Noodles
The noodles are the easiest part of this recipe! Choose your favorite noodle and prepare the noodles by following the directions on the package. We like to cook our noodles so they are al dente.
If you aren’t into noodles, feel free to use quinoa, farro, or any other grain!
Here are our favorite noodle options:
- Classic Elbows Noodles
- Whole Grain Elbows
- Banza Shells (chickpea noodles)
- Fusilli Noodles (try something fun!)
Here’s a tip–> Remember the noodles are going to cook a little bit more when you add them to the cheese sauce, so cook them more al dente than usual.
Mac and Cheese Sauce
Ahhh, the mac and cheese cheese sauce. It doesn’t get much better than delicious cheese sauce (in my opinion). This mac and cheese recipe is based on a classic cheese sauce made from a roux.
Don’t be afraid of making this cheese sauce, it’s a heck of a lot easier than you think!
Top Tips for Mac and Cheese Success
One of the most helpful tips for making this cheese sauce it to be sure that you have all of the ingredients you’ll need ready to go.
Have your shredded cheese ready and measured out, your butter sliced, flour measured, and milk ready to be poured.
From there, heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium/high heat. Add butter. When the butter is melted add the flour and use a whisk to whisk the flour and butter together until it forms a crumble (this is your roux).
Do not keep the pot on over the heat when mixing in the milk – you do not want it to burn!
Slowly add the milk to the pot, stirring constantly until the milk thickens. Remove the pot from the heat and slowly whisk in the cheese, mustard, and hot sauce.
When you are ready to serve the mac and cheese, add noodles to the cheese sauce, mix, and serve! Feel free to place the pot back on very low heat to keep it warm once everything has been mixed together.
Mac and Cheese FAQs
How do I keep my mac and cheese sauce from getting lumpy?
Usually a cheese sauce turns lumpy when the milk or cheese in the sauce is burning. Be sure to remove your cheese sauce from heat when you are adding in cheese.
If you are reheating your mac and cheese be sure to warm the mac and cheese up over low heat and slowly add a tablespoon of milk at a time until the cheese sauce is creamy again.
What is the best cheese for mac and cheese?
We love using gouda and cheddar cheese in our mac and cheese! We love the sharp flavor of cheddar and the smokey flavor of gouda. However, any shredded cheese will work in mac and cheese. Just be sure that the cheese is shredded!
What can I serve with mac and cheese?
You can serve this mac and cheese with so many things! Use it as the main dish and serve it with some vegetables or serve it as a side with any of your favorite main dishes! Our personal fav? Chili Mac, made with our Beef Chili Recipe! Here are some great options!
Serve mac and cheese with one of these main dishes:
Serve mac and cheese with one of these veggie sides:
Can I make mac and cheese gluten free?
Yes, you can make this mac and cheese recipe gluten free. Substitute the noodles for gluten free noodles and the white whole wheat flour with a gluten free flour blend.
Looking for a dairy-free mac and cheese option?
Give our vegan cheese sauce a try! It is also absolutely delicious.
Healthier Mac and Cheese Recipes
Best Mac and Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 oz. macaroni noodles
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
- 3 cups 2% milk
- 1 cup shredded gouda cheese
- 1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Frank’s Red Hot, or another vinegar-based hot sauce
- ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the uncooked macaroni noodles to the water and stir.
- Let pasta cook until al dente. Strain noodles and set aside.
- Next, prepare a roux by heating a large pot or dutch oven over medium/high heat. Add butter.
- When the butter is melted add flour and whisk until the butter and flour form a crumble.
- Slowly add milk to the pot, whisking constantly. Continue to whisk the roux over medium/high heat for about 4-6 minutes or until the roux thickens.
- When the roux is thick, remove from heat and add the cheddar and gouda cheese. Whisk until the cheese has melted.
- Add mustard powder, hot sauce, and salt and pepper to the cheese sauce. Mix well.
- Finally, add the cooked macaroni noodles to the cheese sauce and mix until the noodles are covered in cheese sauce.
- Enjoy immediately.
Tips & Notes
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I make this once a week with BBQ pulled pork for the family! I love making it in the instapot as well 🙂
Have you frozen this before? Was hoping to find a recipe to make in large batches to freeze…for Mac and cheese emergencies 🙂
Wonderful! I wound up serving the chili on top of the Mac and it was delicious. The Mac by itself was a hit with the 4yo, which is a huge win. She proclaimed “this is delicious!” And that it is.
Update to original post: I used smoked gouda the first time I made this recipe, and unsmoked the second time. I liked the smoked gouda a bit more. I think next time I’m going to try 1/2 a cup smoked gouda and 1/2 unsmoked gouda.
Hey! I’m making this recipe now and I realized there is a typo on step 4. It says milk when it should say butter and flour form a crumble. Not a big deal, but wanted to let you know! Looking forward to trying this for Thanksgiving today! Happy Thanksgiving FFF ladies!<3
Thank you so much!!!
Do you use ground mustard or mustard powder? Both are listed. Ground mustard in ingredients but mustard powder in directions.
It’s the same thing!
This is going to be my new go-to mac and cheese recipe! It was ready in 20 minutes (I cooked the pasta as I made the sauce in a separate pan) and so flavorful thanks to the mustard powder and hot sauce!
My sauce took a while to thicken, so I was a little nervous but the final product came out great. Thank you!!!
I love this recipe! It is so easy yet so delicious! Thnx
YAY! SO glad you liked it!!!