This super creamy macaroni and cheese recipe creates a simple and rich dish that’s perfect as a side dish or main course. It does not use fancy ingredients like onions or bacon or gourmet cheeses. It’s just good ol’ classic mac-n-cheese.
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Delicious Homemade Mac and Cheese
For such a classic dish, I’ve had quite a time trying to perfect my homemade macaroni and cheese. For some reason, the recipe never turns out quite right. It’s either too floury, too stringy, too liquidy…you get the picture.
But I was determined to figure it out this weekend. The first step? The roux—a cooked mixture of equal parts butter and flour—serves as the base of your creamy sauce. I found that I didn’t cook my roux long enough in the past, which is why it tasted floury. Today, I burnt my first batch, but round two went smoothly.
Once my roux was perfect, I added a little bit more milk than normal. The additional liquid helped fix the stringy cheese issues I’ve had in the past. Then, to pump up the creaminess, and because I think I’m just addicted to the stuff, I tossed in two tablespoons of cream cheese followed by shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese.
The cheese sauce was perfectly creamy and, more importantly, not floury at all. But it did need some seasoning. Many recipes call for mustard powder to add tang, but since I didn’t have any on hand I opted for French’s yellow mustard, which added just the right zip to the recipe.
Then add some STP (salt, Tony’s creole seasoning and pepper) to taste. I used white pepper this time, but feel free to use black pepper, too!
The only thing left to do was stir in the noodles and put my perfected recipe on its well-deserved pedestal.
Super Creamy Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 2 tbsp. whole wheat flour
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tbsp. cream cheese
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 1/4 tsp. white pepper
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning
- 1/2 tsp. yellow mustard
- 4 cups cooked whole wheat macaroni noodles
Instructions
- BROWN: Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until just golden brown.
- ADD: Slowly add milk to the flour and increase heat to medium-high.
- WHISK: Stir sauce until it begins to thicken and all ingredients are fully combined.
- ADD: Add cream cheese and cheddar cheese and stir until melted.
- SEASON: Stir in the seasonings and mustard.
- COMBINE: Add in the cooked macaroni noodles.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients for homemade creamy mac
- Butter
- Whole wheat flour
- Milk. Try whole milk for extra richness, but any milk you like will work great here too.
- Cream cheese
- Cheddar cheese. Shredding your own cheese is best if you’re trying to achieve that ultra-creamy cheese sauce consistency.
- White pepper. White pepper has a more mild flavor than black pepper, but either option works beautifully in this recipe.
- Kosher salt
- Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning. This classic seasoning can be found in the spice aisle.
- Yellow mustard. You can also use dry mustard which is found in the spice aisle.
- Whole wheat elbow macaroni noodles
Substitutions: The beauty of mac and cheese is that you can easily riff on it! Don’t have milk? Try heavy cream. I used whole wheat flour and whole wheat pasta in this recipe for a healthier and nuttier flavor, but you can use regular all-purpose flour and pasta, too. While I went with a classic cheddar mac, you can swap in different types of cheese depending on what you have on hand.
See the full recipe card for servings and a full list of ingredients.
How to make creamy stovetop mac
- Brown: Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until just golden brown.
- Add: Slowly add milk to the flour and increase heat to medium-high.
- Whisk: Stir sauce until it begins to thicken and all ingredients are fully combined.
- Add: Add cream cheese and cheddar cheese and stir until melted.
- Season: Stir in the seasonings and mustard.
- COMBINE: Add in the cooked macaroni noodles.
✔️ PRO TIP
Cook your pasta al dente before adding it to the sauce. This will ensure that your noodles don’t turn mushy in the final step while also infusing them with more flavor.
You can also save a small amount of pasta water when draining your noodles and add it to the sauce with the cooked pasta. The leftover starch from the cooking water will add richness to the dish while also thickening the sauce.
How to serve super creamy macaroni and cheese
If you can resist eating this straight from the pot, more power to you! This mac is best served right away while it’s still fresh and super creamy, so scoop it into your favorite bowl and go. I love to sprinkle a little extra cheese on top for good measure. While this is a classic homemade mac, you can easily switch it up by adding hot sauce, crumbled bacon, or mixing in cooked broccoli, too. This is good enough to be a main dish, but if you’re looking for a more well-rounded meal, serve this alongside oven smoked turkey breast or a rib-eye steak.
Storage
If you have leftover mac, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days or a couple of months in the freezer.
Frequently Asked Questions
While elbow noodles are the classic choice, you can use any short pasta. I recommend something with ridges or twists so that the cheese sauce gets into all the nooks and crannies.
I love extra sharp cheddar, but mild cheddar, pepper jack or parmesan could be added for a more complex flavor profile.
I love how simple this is to make on the stovetop, but it could easily be turned into a creamy baked macaroni. I recommend adding some panko bread crumbs for a little crunch and texture and then baking for a short amount of time until the bread crumbs get a little color. Be sure to check in on your dish to ensure it doesn’t dry out, but I think the extra milk I added to the recipe will combat any potential dryness.
More Comfort Food Recipes
- Grilled Mashed Potatoes
- One-Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Low Country Grits with Seasonal Roasted Mushrooms
this looks perfectly creamy & flavorful… perfect job!
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