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)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika optional
- 1/4 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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Melissa E says
Love this simple and delicious Mac n cheese recipe! Full of flavorful, creamy goodness. This is a keeper!
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that you enjoyed it, Melissa! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Amber says
Love the one pot so much! I only had preshredded and I was worried about separating so I did the butter, milk, spices, and American cheese first and when that was all melted on low I removed it from the heat and added the shredded cheddar. When it was mostly melted I put the pasta back in and some steamed broccoli florets. It was creamy and perfect. I’ll be making again and again, thank you!
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that you enjoyed it and that it made the perfect meal with your broccoli additions, Amber. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Steve says
I searched to see what I could do with just milk, cheddar, and the few other ingredients I had on hand and this simple recipe popped up.
I modified it a little by cooking a finely chopped onion and garlic clove in the butter before adding the milk, and also stirred in a tin of sweetcorn towards the end.
Because I only had British mature cheddar, and know from experience that it doesn’t melt so easily, I grated it into the milk while it was gently simmering and stirred it well until it was properly melted before adding the pasta. I was a little worried about it curdling and separating, but for me it combined nicely into a smooth sauce.
It covered a couple of days waiting for a shopping delivery and saved me having to go out for food during the current lockdown.
Thanks for creating such a simple, easy and tasty recipe!
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that you enjoyed the recipe and you were able to use ingredients you had on hand, Steve. Thanks for trying my recipe and for commenting. Stay safe. 🙂
Helen says
Waste of my ingredients, completely separated and the cheese clumped together. Should’ve just used grated cheese on top and saved myself the milk.
Sugar Spun Run says
Thank you for trying my recipe, Helen! I am so sorry that you experienced an issue. Typically when the cheese starts to separate it is a result of the heating element being too hot or it has been overcooked causing the sauce to curdle. Again, I am sorry that this happened. 🙁
Joley says
Fantastic recipe. Simple and easy to follow. Husband was really happy with it. I used almond milk and it still worked!!
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so happy to hear that it was a hit, Joely! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Reb says
Delicious! Used corn starch to make the sauce thicker and a blend of cheddar and Gouda. Would totally make this again.
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that you enjoyed it, Reb! Gouda was a perfect choice to add too. Thanks for trying my recipe. 🙂
Katelyn says
this was amazing! I’m so glad I found this recipe!!
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that you enjoyed it as well, Katelyn! Thank you for commenting. 🙂
Aidan says
Hi, I’m a bit confused. I followed your instructions to the letter and what I got was nothing like it should be! The cheese has separated into gloppy mess after adding the pasta before the cheese like you said. I have a picture that I can’t upload here so if you could email me so I can figure out what went wrong that would help
Sugar Spun Run says
Thank you for trying my recipe, Aidan! I am so sorry that you experienced an issue. Typically when the cheese starts to separate it is a result of the heating element being too hot or it has been overcooked causing the sauce to curdle. Again, I am sorry that this happened. 🙁
Victoria says
Hi, I think you used the wrong cheese. It happened to me the first time but then I used the right kind of cheese and it worked 😊
Brigitte Couture says
Thank you for this! Super yummy and ready so fast! I can actually whip it up while my son takes a shower after baseball practice 🙂
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that you found the recipe easy to make and enjoyable, Brigitte! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Courtney S says
My husband has somewhat low expectations of my cooking (for valid reasons) but said this was a 10/10. My toddler even had seconds! Definitely a winner.
Sugar Spun Run says
Hooray! I am so glad that the mac and cheese was a big hit, Courtney! I hope that you try more of my recipes. 🙂
Emma says
I do want to try your mac and cheese for my grandson but, just confused a little. In the article that preceded the recipe you say American Cheese Only but the recipe calls for 1 cup cheddar and only 3 slices American. If I use only American. How much and what can I add to make it more creamy. That’s how my grandson likes it so we have to please the love if my life. Thank you for sharing and caring.
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Emma! My mom used to make it with just using American cheese. I prefer mine made with a blend of American and Cheddar that is listed on the ingredient list and in step 8 of the directions. If you use just American I would use 8 slices and add more if needed to get the desired flavor and thickness. I hope that your grandson enjoys it. 🙂
Andrew says
It was yummy!!!!
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that you enjoyed the Macaroni and Cheese, Andrew! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Annie says
Sadly didn’t work for me! Don’t know if I did something wrong or if american cheddar is different from british, but the cheese did not combine with the milk/pasta at all, just clumped together and sat in the milk…
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so sorry that the mac and cheese did not turn out for you, Annie! You are probably right, it could be that cheese itself could be different than what is sold in the US. Again, I am sorry. I hope that you try more of my recipes. 🙂
Mizzy says
So I realised the same thing. I modified it using the ingredients I have and it turned out beautifully! First I half cooked the pasta, drained and left to the side (saved some pasta water). I added finely chopped garlic to mine, or you could use garlic powder! I used lurpak butter and let the garlic sit in the pan until the butter was melted. Added paprika, milk, pepper and salt and let it all simmer. Then I added my pasta and pasta water and let it all boil until the pasta was cooked and then added my cheese right at the end! It was beautiful!
nigel says
It’s a nice easy recipe but is the life story really necessary, seems to be a common theme nowadays.
Sam says
Glad you enjoyed the free recipe, Nigel, but is the comment on how I write my blog really necessary? You can just jump immediately to the recipe and skip my “life story”, after all.
Autoankauf says
After I originally commented I appear to have clicked
on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now whenever a comment is added I get 4 emails with the same comment.
There has to be a way you can remove me from that service?
Thanks!
Sam says
I just went in to remove you from that subscription, sometimes it takes a few hours for it to go through but you shouldn’t receive any more notifications/emails after today (let me know if you still do for any reason). I hope that helps!