Mmm, do you like mac ‘n cheese as much as I do? How about your kids? Uh hum, I thought so. Today I am finally sharing my super delish recipe for the best homemade creamy mac ‘n cheese ever (yes, I said EVER) It’s comfort food at it’s finest, really. If you follow me on good ‘ol facebook then you know this has been coming, yes folks, today is the day!
I love me some creamy mac ‘n cheese, there is just something so good about smothering noodles shaped in ways that were just meant to be a vehicle for creamy, melt-y cheese (ahhh, have I painted a pretty picture for your head yet?) Sorry blue box I find you kinda icky. This recipe is from my momma…love her so much! It is so delicious and easy and once you eat this you will never need to go buy that processed pre-packaged food stuff again. For serious.
Have at it folks!
Creamy Homemade Mac ‘N Cheese
Recipe Type: Main Course
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- Creamy Homemade Mac ‘N Cheese -Print this recipe HERE-
- 8 oz macaroni, shells, farfalle, you name it…it’s all good!
- 1 cup milk
- 2 Tbsp corn starch
- 1 cup of shredded cheese (I like sharp cheddar but any kind or a mix of cheeses will do!)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil water in a medium saucepan and cook noodles to package directions, set aside.
- Warm one cup of milk in a small saucepan, add two tablespoons of cornstarch to warmed milk and stir together with a whisk.
- Then add one cup of shredded cheese to the warm milk mixture and whisk until completely melted and smooth.
- Continue whisking while allowing cheese sauce to simmer and then pour over noodles, stir until combined.
- Let the mac ‘n cheese stand for a few minutes and the sauce will thicken and become nice and creamy.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
Okay, so first boil up your noodles and while they are cooking away go ahead and start your cheese sauce.
Take one cup of milk…wanna know a little secret? Of course you do! I microwave mine in a pyrex cup to help the warming process speed up. Say whaat? Yup, it totally makes this recipe super quick to make, no waiting for ice-cold milk to heat up!! My momma’s such a smarty!
Then add 2 Tbsp of corn starch to the warmed milk and whisk together. You are making a roux by doing this. A roux is basically a thickening agent for sauces that usually combines equal parts flour and fat…so this is really stretching the definition of a roux but it still does the same thing for this cheese sauce!
Pour your milk/cornstarch mixture into a small saucepan and continue warming on med-low heat.
Next add in about 1 cup of shredded cheese. I like Cheddar but I believe that most pre-packaged mac ‘n cheese that you buy at the store use American cheese. You can also use a combination of cheeses to give your mac ‘n cheese a more gourmet flavor. Good combos to try are Gruyere and Sharp Cheddar or try adding half Cheddar and half Pepper Jack for a mac ‘n cheese with a nice kick!
Add in the cheese…it should melt rather quickly.
And whisk everything together until the sauce is nice and smooth.
Yup, just like this. Can you feel the love?
Now go ahead and pour all that glorious cheese over your noodles. Mmm, hmmm this is where it all goes down.
Side note y’all! If your sauce seems a bit runny DO NOT FRET! Just let it stand for a few minutes and it should thicken up nicely. On the other hand if you make this ahead and it seems to clumpy then just add a little bit of milk and stir over low heat…easy peasy!!
Boom!
Check out all that creamy deliciousness.
Fan-freakin’-tastic.
Now it’s time to sneak a little taste and add salt and pepper as needed…oh it’s so hard to be the cook, ah well someone’s gotta do it! 😉
Now serve up all that comfort food goodness to the ones you love…
Ugh, these pictures are killing me!
How long until dinner?
Enjoy!!
XOXO,
Oooh, that just looks só delicious! I know what I’m going to make for dinner tonight 😉 Thanks for the recipe!
I want to try this one for sure! I have tried two out of our FAVORITE cookbook and both my loves wouldn’t eat it 🙁 Thanks!
Thanks for the recipe! Mac and Cheese is my favorite!! Can’t wait to make this 🙂
Another one of my favorites. Love it! I never thought about corn starch before but that makes since! Thanks
My recipe is similar, but I use flour instead of cornstarch. I might have to try the cornstarch though. My kids always devour homemade mac and cheese – they prefer it over boxed any day.
One other change is using white pepper instead of black pepper. The taste of white pepper blends better with the cheese. Just a thought.
Um yum! I’m totally going to try this. I agree that the boxed stuff is icky. I’ve been making Alton Brown’s mac and cheese and I always cook it a ridiculously long time b/c it has eggs in it. Anyway, I’m excited to try yours and I love your napkins.
Looks delicious. AND easy. In case you want to try mine, here you go: http://nicoleiskeepingitsimple.blogspot.com/search?q=mac
Yum! I have a love/hate relationship with the boxed stuff…this week I kinda like it, but this looks so easy that I’m going to try it very soon! Thx for sharing!
Ooh that looks delicious! I’m lactose intolerant so I have to make my own using lactose-free milk and only hard cheeses like sharp cheddar, but I hadn’t thought of using cornstarch. And I usually just drain the noodles then put the cheese and milk in the same pot, but it makes sense that being able to whisk it with no noodles in the way would improve the texture. Great ideas!
Oh my, I think I need this now!!! So simple and looks soooo good
I am definitely going to try this! SOON! 🙂
OMG that looks sooooooooo good. Thinking that might be on the menu for tonight.
Ummm…. Yum. Seriously… Yum. Just might serve this up tonight!
Thanks for sharing such a yummy recipe. I DID make it tonight. I also shared your link on my FB page. http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Kristis-Kitchen-Kreations/210671225615287 I will be posting it on my food blog too. kjrskitchen.blogspot.com
Oh my! I have to try this!! The little girl Im growing in my belly agrees:)
Just made this for dinner and it was DELISH!!!!! I’ve been looking for an easy and yummy recipe for homemade shells and cheese for awhile, and this one is perfect! Thank you thank you thank you!!! 🙂
Just came across this recipe and had to try it immediately. 😉 Much to my horror, we’re out of milk. So I had to improvise with fat free plain yogurt. I left everything else the same and also sprinkled in some garlic powder. OMG yummmmmmmmm!
I just made this and I can’t believe how simple it was! Can’t wait to try different cheese and milk!
am I able to double this without a problem? I would love to make this tonight. looks soo yummy!!
It was so easy to make and very tasty!
i added a little garlic powder as well and it was so yummy! Thanks for the recipe
It’s Amazing this recipe, my family were happy because I made this recipe for them, Thank you by show yuor recipes,
Hungs and Kisses from Colombia
Maybe you have answered this question before, but I love your napkins! Where did you get them/what fabric did you make them from?
PS: yum!
Maybe you have answered this question before, but I love your napkins! What fabric did you make them from/where did you get them?
PS: yum!
Hey Maggie! Your recipe looks awesome. You should probably put a watermark on your photos though because they’ve started to meander to other sites such as this one with a different recipe! http://inspiredreamer.com/creamy-homemade-mac-n-cheese/#comment-9142
Oh my goodness! Thank your or alerting me to this! I will definitely be writing to them, I don’t understand why people do this kind of thing!!!
Love,
Maggie
Followed the directions exactly, with sharp cheddar cheese, and the cheese just melted into a clump in the pan and wouldn’t mix with the milk! I whisked the whole time! What did I do wrong?
Hmmm, I am not sure? I have never had that happen! I am wondering if it has to do with what kind of cheese you used. Was there any oil in the cheese? that would keep it from melting with the milk nicely.
i just made this and it did not turn out good. The sauce was extremely watery and bland, and it was more starchy than smooth. I followed the recipe exactly and used 2% milk and sharp cheddar. What went wrong?
Oh no, Keri! Are you sure you added in the cornstarch? That is the key ingredient to making the sauce thick, if you forget to add it in you will have a watery cheese sauce!
“It was really good, I made it myself, I added a little garlic salt.” – Nolan, 10 year old. Thanks, Maggie, I knew I could count on your website for a kid-friendly recipe as we are having another family over for dinner tonight & I wanted to have my son make his favorite dish!
Hooray!!!! So glad you liked this Nolan, and that you made it yourself! That is awesome!!!! I hope you come back often and find more fun eats here! Merry Christmas to all of you, Brandi, Nolan and Autumn!!!
Love,
Maggie
This was delicious! I put the sauce over cauliflower since I don’t eat grains (made an exception for the cornstarch) and it definitely satisfied my mac and cheese craving. Of course I doubled the cheese, because I’m from Wisconsin and well…we live off cheese 🙂
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Also, over top cauliflower…why haven’t I done that yet?!?!
I love this. Made it last night and I’m always gonna use this recipe now. 🙂
Hooray! Glad you liked the recipe!!
xo,
Maggie