Is there anyone that doesn’t love a creamy Stovetop Mac and Cheese? If there is, we’ve never met them. Seriously though, we LOVE an extra creamy mac and cheese!
Our recipe today is so simple and it’s a little special bc it doesn’t involve a roux! That’s right! No roux needed for the silkiest, smoothest, creamiest stovetop mac and cheese ever!
How to Make Our Creamy Stovetop Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
Process
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add a small handful of salt and stir in the pasta. Boil, stirring occasionally, until pasta is fully cooked, 7 to 8 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 2 tablespoons pasta water. Set aside.
- Combine evaporated milk, pasta water, egg, dry mustard, salt, and pepper.
- Whisk together.
- Place a large saucepan over low heat and melt butter.
- Stir in milk mixture and bring to a gentle simmer. Whisk together for about 2 minutes.
- Whisk in small handfuls of the cheese mixture at a time, making sure not to add more cheese until the previous addition had been fully incorporated to the sauce.
- Continue to whisk and add cheese over low heat until all the cheese has been added and a creamy and smooth sauce forms (make sure not to rush this process or your cheese sauce will be gritty).
- Once the sauce has been made, stir in cooked pasta.
- Add more salt and pepper as needed and serve.
Tools You Will Need
Variations
- We use a blend of white cheddar and Oaxaca cheeses because they’re both great melting cheeses with a nice flavor that isn’t too strong or overwhelming. Use other great melting cheeses to mix things up or based on preference! Some of our other favorites are: sharp cheddar cheese, fontina, gruyere, gouda, provolone, manchego, asiago, and havarti.
- Add some vegetables! We like to stir in wilted spinach (or kale), steamed broccoli florets, and peas to bulk the mac and cheese up a bit and to sneak some extra greens into our meal. This is especially great to do with kids!
- Use a different shaped pasta! We love using the pipe rigate, because the ‘snail’ shaped pasta maximizes the amount of cheese sauce that fills each piece. If you can’t find it or prefer to use another shape, go for it! There are so many amazing pasta shapes that would work perfectly for this stovetop mac and cheese! Some of our other favorites are: fusilli, rigatoni, elbow macaroni, and shells.
- If you want to spice things up, add some extra ingredients to your cheese sauce! On occasion we like to add a couple dashes of hot sauce for a kick. We also like adding a pinch of cumin and smoked paprika to the sauce for a slightly smoky and earthy flavor.
Tips and Tricks for Success
- Low heat is key for making the cheese sauce. The egg in this recipe really helps to thicken the sauce, so you want to make sure not to scramble it to too high heat.
- Use evaporated milk! Evaporated milk contains protein micelles, which help to keep the cheese sauce silky smooth and creamy!
- Only stir small amounts of shredded cheese to the sauce at a time – and make sure the added cheese is fully melted and incorporated before stirring more cheese into the sauce. This will help prevent the sauce from becoming gritty.
- Shred your own cheese! Although this adds an extra step, it’s totally worth it! Pre-shredded cheese packs have anti-caking agents in them (like potato starch), which aren’t great for creating a smooth sauce. It really does make a world of difference in the quality of this stovetop mac and cheese, we promise!
More Mac and Cheese Recipes You Will Love
Stovetop Mac and Cheese
A simple and delicious recipe for our creamy Stovetop Mac and Cheese! There's no roux needed in our recipe, which produces a silky smooth cheese sauce!
Servings:
INGREDIENTS
- 12 ounces pipe rigate
silky cheese sauce
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 10 ounces evaporated milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 12 ounces shredded white cheddar cheese
- 4 ounces shredded Oaxaca cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add a small handful of salt and stir in the pasta. Boil, stirring occasionally, until pasta is fully cooked, 7 to 8 minutes.. Drain pasta, reserving 2 tablespoons pasta water. Set aside.
- Combine evaporated milk, pasta water, egg, dry mustard, salt, and pepper and whisk together.
- Place a large saucepan over low heat and melt butter.
- Stir in milk mixture and bring to a gently simmer. Whisk together for about 2 minutes.
- Whisk in small handfuls of the cheese mixture at a time, making sure not to add more cheese until the previous addition had been fully incorporated to the sauce.
- Continue to whisk and add cheese over low heat until all the cheese has been added and a creamy and smooth sauce forms (make sure not to rush this process or your cheese sauce will be gritty).
- Once the sauce has been made, stir in cooked pasta. Add more salt and pepper as needed and serve.
NOTES
Tips and Tricks for Success
- Low heat is key for making the cheese sauce. The egg in this recipe really helps to thicken the sauce, so you want to make sure not to scramble it to too high heat.
- Use evaporated milk! Evaporated milk contains protein micelles, which help to keep the cheese sauce silky smooth and creamy!
- Only stir small amounts of shredded cheese to the sauce at a time – and make sure the added cheese is fully melted and incorporated before stirring more cheese into the sauce. This will help prevent the sauce from becoming gritty.
- Shred your own cheese! Although this adds an extra step, it’s totally worth it! Pre-shredded cheese packs have anti-caking agents in them (like potato starch), which aren’t great for creating a smooth sauce. It really does make a world of difference in the quality of this stovetop mac and cheese, we promise!
Calories: 940kcal Carbohydrates: 73g Protein: 46g Fat: 51g Saturated Fat: 32g Trans Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 217mg Sodium: 1475mg Potassium: 527mg Fiber: 3g Sugar: 10g Vitamin A: 1323IU Vitamin C: 1mg Calcium: 848mg Iron: 2mg
CUISINE: Amercian
KEYWORD: mac and cheese, no roux mac and cheese, stovetop mac and cheese
COURSE: dinner, lunch
Did you make this recipe? We want to see!
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I honestly just want to know how many servings this will give me or if I’ll have to double the recipe for my family
Hi! It’s stated in the recipe card it serves 4. You can also guess based on the pasta amount. 12 ounces – so typically you cook around 3 ounces per person depending on appetite.
This is the BEST mac & cheese recipe I have ever tried – and I have tried MANY! Non-gritty cheese sauce has long evaded me and this recipe was the answer to all of my mac & cheese troubles. I always shred my own cheese and I’ve used evaporated milk in past recipes but I’ve never achieved a non-gritty cheese sauce. The egg is an unusual addition and I can’t help but wonder if it’s what made the difference?! Also, I do think the low and slow method is key. Just be patient – it’s beyond worth it! I did end up adding a bit more pasta water to my mixture – probably 1/4 c. total to get a looser consistency. In any case, this is the only mac & cheese recipe I will ever use again. I used a mixture of smoked cheddar cheese and fontina and the texture of the sauce was similar to the mac & cheese at Panera Bread (an all-time fav of mine). Just out of this world! By the way, pairing a smoked mac & cheese with BBQ pork is the most – to say the very least!
I was surprised how thick mine became. We sadly couldn’t eat it because the ratio of liquid to cheese created an overly stretchy, gluey and fondue-like texture that didn’t adhere to the pasta. I tried to use some more pasta water and even the remaining evaporated milk to help loosen it up but we ended up needing to discard. I’m curious if it could have been my choice of cheese? Gruyere as primary and low
Moisture mozzarella (which obviously will cause stretch) based on another baked recipe I use.
Anyway it was dry and stretchy like a wet dough. Very disappointed and a little embarrassed!
Hi Charlie! I’m so sorry this recipe didn’t work for you, especially since its one of my favorite mac and cheeses! I’m wondering if you used pre-shredded cheeses? I really don’t recommend using those for this recipe since they have anti-caking agents in them which will alter consistency of the sauce. Also, the cheese really does need to be added in small handfuls and fully melted before more cheese is stirred in, to prevent the sauce from getting too thick. I hope this was helpful!
Looks delicious!! My son has an egg allergy? Any substitute you’d recommend here?
Hi Cara, Sorry we don’t know. Maybe you can google egg substitutions from people who have more experience with that kind of substitution.
will this freeze? I want to make it and save in small portions for my grandchildren
Yes! This can be frozen and thawed in the refrigerator overnight before being reheated over low heat while stirring. You may need to add a couple tablespoons of milk to the mixture.
Hi! This looks amazing and can’t wait to try it! Can you clarify for me? In the ingredients it doesn’t mention anything about starch and lemon juice, but in step 2 it’s asking to combine them to the cheese. How much starch and lemon juice should I add?
Hi! That’s an error from an older version of this recipe. I just updated it so everything should be good!
Is that orecchiette that is in the photo ?
It’s actually pipe rigate (a snail shaped pasta) :)
This dish is delicious! And easy! I’ve already made it twice!
I’m planning on making your mac and cheese this week! I love the idea of adding Oaxaca. We use it a lot in our house, but I never thought to use it in mac and cheese. I’m curious, is there a specific brand of white cheddar that you use? I’ve found that when I make stove top mac and cheese versus baked mac and cheese, I am lacking flavor. I’m wondering if I’m just not picking good cheddar to use and I’d love to know which one you use.
Hi! I don’t usually use a fancy brand or anything, but I generally enjoy using an extra sharp white cheddar or something like Tillamook’s ‘reserved white cheddar’, for the flavor. I know mild Cheddar is know to melt the best, but in my experience, I’ve never had an issue with any cheddars not melting well. I hope this was helpful!
Thoughts on making this in a slow cooker? Any advice?
I’m actually a bit of a slow cooker novice myself, so I’m not too sure about that!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was so, so good! I used muenster instead of the oaxaca as I couldn’t find it, but next time I’ll search harder. :]
Yay!! So glad you enjoyed it! Ooo, I love the mild taste of muenster cheese! Great sub!
I sure do wish that you would embed a photo in the “save recipe” tool. Soooo irritating. At least give the option to include a photo….THe recipes are delightful and your pics are so good. Pretty Please won’t you fix this???? :-)
Oh, thank you for this feedback. We will look into this immediately! I always thought that if you saved it, you would be printing it, and I always got annoyed at wasting ink on a photo. But yea, we will for sure look into adding a thumbnail! Thank you for mentioning this!
I love your blog! (and the name of it) It’s really inspirational. I don’t see any nutritional info. It would be really helpful. Thank you!
This is very good and very rich, but I found the sauce entirely too thick. I had to add nearly 3/4 cup to loosen it up. Perhaps I let the egg thicken too much, but it turned out fine in the end! I also liked the addition of tapioca starch as opposed to flour (my gluten-free tummy did too ;) ).
Yes, I usually begin adding the cheese when the evaporated milk-egg mixture is still on the thinner side bc the sauce tends to thicken quite a bit and continues to thicken as it sits. I will make a note of it at the bottom of the recipe though so others don’t run into the same issue! Thanks for your feedback!
It turned out really good though and we generally really like a more “saucy” pasta, do it was probably for the best that I added the extra liquid – more sauce! :)
This looks heavenly! Love shells too!
Mac and cheese belongs to my favourite meals :D I am always open to new recipes, I like it soooo much.
What other cheeses can I substitute? I’m in New Zealand and we don’t really have typical American or Mexican origin cheese… We don’t have many processed cheeses with food colouring etc.
White cheddar isn’t a processed cheese. It’s an aged cheese with no added coloring and Oaxaca cheese is similar to a salted, part-skim mozzarella. Any semi-hard or hard, mild flavored melting cheese should work just fine for this recipe, depending on your preferred taste…think Gruyere, fontina, etc.
I would love it if you offered a direct link to pin recipes to our Pinterest boards! Thanks.
Perfect seasonal timing. I love the use of Oaxaca cheese. I’ll be sure to make this! Thanks.
I don’t know what Oaxaca cheese is, but I am assuming it might be Mexican? I will probably try this as my grandchildren LOVE mac and cheese.
Thanks. Jill Mervis
Oaxaca cheese is indeed a Mexican cheese, but it’s most similar to a good quality, salted, part-skim mozzarella cheese and is very stringy like string cheese. I hope you and your grand-kids enjoy it!