An easy, homemade creamy, mac and cheese made on the stovetop, a simple mac and cheese recipe without flour, and no roux required!
To be honest, I didn’t even know that macaroni and cheese even was supposed to be made with a roux until a few years ago. Yeah, it makes sense looking back, but when I was growing up it was never made that way. There was a very simple process that my mom used: boil your pasta, strain your pasta, stir in milk, butter, and cheese (American cheese, only), and voila, you’re done! No flour whisking required.
As far as I’m aware, there never was a real “recipe”, just a brief eyeballing of ingredients as they went into the pot.
But, when I decided on a whim make Macaroni & Cheese the other day and was in a hurry trying to cook three other things at the same time and not burn any of them, I didn’t want to just eyeball things, I wanted it to come out tasting right and I just wanted to follow a really simple recipe.
Every single recipe that came up in Google used flour. I had no time for flour or for a roux.
So I did what my Mom did and I eyeballed things. It came out great.
And the next day I decided to make an actual easy stovetop mac and cheese recipe to share. One that didn’t require whisking flour into milk for a roux (don’t get me wrong, I appreciate a recipe with a nice simple roux, but not when I’m in a hurry for some quick and easy mac & cheese).
I tweaked this recipe many times (seriously, I still have several pounds of edible reject batches in my fridge — batches that didn’t quite make the cut) and finally settled on a nice, simple recipe that I think you’ll like.
I do use American cheese here. If you’d prefer, you can use just cheddar (I included notes in the recipe), but I love the creaminess that the American cheese offers. Plus it felt like an appropriate nod to the macaroni and cheese of my childhood.
I also added a few extra spices — a dash of ground mustard and a sprinkle of smoked paprika, but these are totally optional. Feel free to add any extras into the pasta that you see fit (bacon comes to mind).
And there you have it, the simplest, best macaroni and cheese recipe.
Enjoy!
Easy Macaroni & Cheese (no flour/no roux)
Ingredients
- 8 oz dried macaroni about 2 cups (227g)
- 1 cup milk (235ml)
- 2 Tablespoons butter (30g)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika optional
- ¼ teaspoon ground mustard optional
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (113g) Shred your own cheddar off the block, don't buy pre-shredded which is often tossed with a powder that will keep the cheese from melting properly and can leave you with mac & cheese that is both clumpy and runny.
- 4 slices American Cheese (if you don't have American cheese, you can substitute another cup (113g) of cheddar cheese, but the macaroni will be less creamy)
Instructions
- Bring 3 cups of well-salted water to a boil in a medium-saucepan over high heat.
- Once water comes to boil, add pasta, return to a boil, and cook 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Strain pasta, leaving the pasta in the strainer and returning the saucepan to burner over medium-low heat.
- Combine milk, butter, salt, pepper and paprika and mustard in the saucepan.
- Stir frequently until butter is melted and increase heat to medium.
- Once mixture comes to a simmer, return pasta to saucepan and stir well.
- Reduce heat to low.
- Add cheeses, allow to sit about 30 seconds until slightly melty and then stir until all noodles are coated. Don't turn up the heat too high or the cheese will not melt properly.
- Serve immediately. Sprinkle with additional smoked paprika, if desired. Stir in any desired add-ins (such as bacon) immediately before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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Elisa
I’ve tried a bunch of Mac n cheese recipes in the past, some of them called for way too much butter, milk, or cheese. I’d end up with a stomachache and an angry family (they hate the smell of Mac n cheese). I just made this and I’m eating it right now. I halved the ingredients and I’m eating this right now. It tastes great and different from all those other recipes out there. No one has even complained about the smell!
I didn’t have a block of cheddar cheese so I sliced a defrosted block of pepper jack cheese, as I prefer spicy flavors. And for the slices of American cheese I substituted it with kraft cheese slices, and it tastes perfectly fine.
I’ve always wanted to cook for some time and I’ve always been discouraged because somewhere I’d mess up and ruin the flavor of the food. I’ve also made your oatmeal cookies and they turned out awesome! The recipes are so simple, I’m going to be making more dishes from Sugar Spun Run in the future. Thank you~
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Elisa! 🙂
Sabrina
Best recipe I have found for homemade stove top Mac n cheese! My kids love it! Thanks for a great recipe.
Kim
Loved it 🙂
Ann
Hi! I don’t have a cheese grater so is there anything else I could do to properly melt the cheese? Thank you
Sam
Hi Ann! You can just use a knife to cut really thin slices. 🙂
E
This came out so well! I wanted a simple mac and cheese recipe that didn’t call for a roux or crazy ingredients and this was perfect and to the point!
Sam
I’m so happy to hear it was such a success for you! Thank you so much for letting me know how it turned out for you, I appreciate it!
Heidi
Thank you for posting this recipe! I love not having to make a roux, and love how creamy this is, and how easy it is to throw together. Bonus – my husband loved it, too! Thanks again.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Heidi! 🙂
Book
Can’t get it to work with just cheddar despite following instructions, including shredding the cheese off the block. We don’t usually keep american cheese around.
Sam
Hmmm I wonder if the liquid was too hot.
Fredicia
I am so glad to see someone who knows how to make bake Homemade Macaroni & Cheese! When I grew up watching my grandmother make it…She never used a flour to make a cheese sauce. She told me that the flour takes away the creamy natural cheese flavor. I am so confused by everyone making this roux. Why do you need a roux? No one can tell me the answer to this question. Thanks again for sharing your recipe…It really reminds me of my childhood!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Fredicia! 🙂
Sharyn Boudreau
The roux is supposed to thicken the cheese sauce to give it more bulk. I have had it both ways. If the roux is made correctly it will not be to notice the gritty taste of flour. My preference is without, I do a mix cheese in my sauce using up all the leftover cheeses so the sauce is never the same twice.
Cathy
Excellent. I used three kinds of leftover white cheese and it was delicious and easy. I’ve added to my favorites.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed, Cathy! Thank you so much for commenting and for trying my recipe! <3
Rita
I was also glad to find a recipe without flour and the first time I made it it turned out great but today it was clumpy and runny. I used old white and orange cheddar and it just wouldn’t melt!
Sam
I wonder if the cheese was just your issue here. 🙁
Rita Tuck
Hmmm, maybe although I always buy “Old Cheddar”. Perhaps I’ll try it again. Thanks.
Yasmin S Wardlaw
Really great recipe and so easy to make. My sauce was watery when I finished cooking the mac & cheese but it set by the time I served it. I will make this again! Yasmin S Wardlaw, 8.4.2020
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Yasmin! 🙂
Sylvia
I modified this recipe a little for my daughter’s taste (she doesn’t like too much cheese) and she loved it! I used diluted heavy cream since I didn’t have milk on hand. I also used Boar’s Head American Cheese, a cheese my daughter loves over Kraft. She’s a somewhat picky eater and for her to ask if I could make this again, is a win in my book!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Sylvia! 🙂
Julie K
This is very similar to the eyeball-it way I make homemade mac & cheese; I’ve even used velveeta for the processed-cheese part and it works fine.
The magic is the presence of sodium citrate in American cheese and other processed cheeses. Anyone who’s ever made disappointing mac & cheese with ONLY cheddar may have noticed that it tends to separate and get clumpy and oily, and is hard to reheat to a nice creaminess. The sodium citrate emulsifies all the fats in the cheese you use, and prevents those proteins from clumping together, so the sauce stays silky and creamy.
You can buy sodium citrate powder, but it’s just as easy to throw in a few slices of American cheese – it’s the secret of a really silky homemade mac & cheese sauce that is never grainy or oily.
(Works great for making your own smooth nacho cheese dip as well)
Keelie Joy
Made this for my husband and I and we both loved it! I used sharp cheddar and Gouda instead of the American cheese and it made it really smoky and creamy. This recipe was so quick and easy and it was the only one I could find without flour! Such a lifesaver since we found we had completely run out of flour LOL. Thanks so much for sharing such a nice and approachable recipe that anyone can try! This was my first ever homemade Mac n cheese and I would highly recommend it- great for scoring brownie points with your spouse! 😀
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Keelie! 🙂
Gail Oakes
Hello, I made this tonight, nice flavour, what did I do wrong, because it curdled. So disappointed.
Sam
O no! This can happen if you didn’t shred the cheese yourself. There are things added to shredded cheeses so they don’t clump together. This can also happen if the heat is turned up a little too high. I hope it goes better next time. 🙂