I have 3 Mac and Cheese recipes and all of them serve their own purpose. My Ultra Creamy Mac and Cheese is my absolute favourite. It’s baked into creamy perfection with the crunchy topping, while being an absolutely perfect make-ahead dish and such a crowd pleaser. But it is the most time consuming and the heaviest on the calories.
My Regular Stovetop Mac and Cheese is great also. But it requires making a roux (which take a bit of practice to perfect) and definitely more dirty pots.
This is where this Quick Stovetop Mac and Cheese with its unusual technique comes in. I’ve been hearing of the method developed by Melissa Clark, which totally makes sense. You don’t need to worry about making the roux or dirtying a ton of pots. You add your cheese to a bit of cream reduced for a couple of minutes and there you have yourself creamy and very quick Mac and Cheese!
This Mac and Cheese is quick, creamy, delicious and simple. And for these reasons, this simple recipe is not a bad one to have in your cooking arsenal!
Cook pasta in a pot of boiling salted water according to the pasta package instructions. Drain in colander.
Return the same pot to the stove and turn the heat to medium-high, add cream. I recommend against using half and half instead of cream as your sauce may break. Add cream and cook for 1 minute exactly (set the timer!!) until it's reduced by about half, thick and bubbling. Remove from heat, stir in cheese and keep stirring until melted into creamy sauce. To prevent the sauce from breaking, add your cooked noodles immediately after the cheese has melted, and stir to combine. Season with pepper, nutmeg and more salt, if needed.
Ingredients
Directions
Cook pasta in a pot of boiling salted water according to the pasta package instructions. Drain in colander.
Return the same pot to the stove and turn the heat to medium-high, add cream. I recommend against using half and half instead of cream as your sauce may break. Add cream and cook for 1 minute exactly (set the timer!!) until it's reduced by about half, thick and bubbling. Remove from heat, stir in cheese and keep stirring until melted into creamy sauce. To prevent the sauce from breaking, add your cooked noodles immediately after the cheese has melted, and stir to combine. Season with pepper, nutmeg and more salt, if needed.
Make it Gluten-Free: replace macaroni with gluten free macaroni, otherwise, the creamy sauce recipe is already Gluten-Free. Ensure all your ingredients are gluten free and not cross-contaminated with gluten.
Happens to be Vegetarian.
