Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese

This easy Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese is creamy, cheesy, and ready in minutes, no oven needed! A quick, comforting weeknight dinner everyone will love.

Ingredients to Make Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

It would be difficult to find a hungry eater who doesn’t light up when you mention mac and cheese. It’s consummate side dish that goes with a myriad of entrées. This stovetop variation allows you to skip the blue box and make creamy macaroni and cheese on the stovetop from scratch.

This easy Southern stovetop mac and cheese recipe is my answer to boxed macaroni and cheese. It’s much more delicious and made with real ingredients. My sons love it as much as they do classic baked macaroni and cheese, so that’s a win for me.

Key ingredients you’ll need to make Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese: (Scroll down for full printable recipe card.)

• Pasta – One pound of elbow macaroni.
• Liquid – Whole milk and water to cook the macaroni and make the sauce.
• Butter – Salted or unsalted butter for richness.
• Cream Cheese – Cream cheese adds a creamy texture plus it binds and thickens the sauce.
• Seasonings – Salt, black pepper and ground mustard powder amps up the flavor.
• Spice – A few dashes of hot sauce.
• Cheese – Colby cheese or a blend of cheddar cheese plus easy melt cheese such as monterey jack, fontina or queso quesadilla.

Tips for Thickening the Sauce for Creamy Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese

• Thicken the Cheese Sauce to Taste – If after adding the cream cheese, butter and shredded cheese to the cooked macaroni you can adjust the thickness of the sauce by adding more cream cheese in small amounts, if it’s too thin.
• Thinning the Cheese Sauce – The starch from the macaroni combines with the cooking liquid and becomes the sauce. If you need to thin the sauce, add more milk in small amounts mixing until the desired consistency is reached.
• No Eggs Needed! While I do use eggs in baked macaroni and cheese recipes, there are no eggs in this recipe made on the stovetop.
• Cream Cheese Thickens the Sauce – This stovetop mac doesn’t require making a flour roux to thicken the sauce. Apart from the starch from cooking the elbow macaroni, the cream cheese is what thickens the cheese sauce, so there’s no flour needed.

How to Make the Best Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

• Liquid – In a large deep pot, heat milk, water and salt until steaming, just before boil. Watch carefully so it doesn’t boil over.
• Boil Macaroni – Add dry macaroni, stir to prevent sticking to bottom.
• Simmer – Cook over medium-high bubbling for 12-15 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Do not drain. Turn heat to low.
• Sauce – To the cooked pasta pot add butter, cream cheese, pepper, mustard, hot sauce (if using). Mix until fully combined and melted. Add shredded cheddar and monterey jack cheese, mix again until cheese melts.
• Serve – Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Kitchen Equipment to Make Southern Stovetop Mac and Cheese

• Deep large pot.
• Small bowl.
• Cheese grater. For the moist creamy macaroni and cheese, use freshly grated cheese.
• Balloon whisk.
• Measuring cups and measuring spoons and large spoon for stirring.

Recipe Variations, Tips and Substitutions

• Pasta – I use classic elbow macaroni in this stovetop mac recipe, but you could adapt using medium shells, penne or any other shape that you enjoy.
• Cheese – The sky’s the limit with variations of cheese. You can adapt this recipe using monterey jack cheese, sharp cheddar cheese, fontina, mozzarella cheese, gouda, queso quesadilla, gruyere cheese, swiss cheese, colby jack cheese or pepper jack cheese for spice.
• Pre-Shredded Cheese – You can use bags of shredded cheese for a timesaver, but please note they do include anti-caking ingredients to keep the cheese shreds from sticking together. These can make the cheese sauce grainy when melted.
• Hot Sauce – The hot sauce is completely optional and may be omitted without any other adjustments.
• Protein – You could add crispy cooked bacon, rotisserie chicken, pulled pork or cubed ham to the mac and cheese for a one pot meal.
• Vegetables – You could add vegetables such as sautéed onion, spinach, roasted asparagus, mixed vegetables or steamed broccoli.

Storage and Leftovers

• Dishes to Serve with Mac and Cheese – Serve this as a side dish with homestyle meatloaf, fried chicken, pork chops, pulled chicken sandwiches, cheeseburgers or my kids favorite, chicken tenders.
• Storage – Store leftover Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese in an airtight container chilled in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
• Reheating – Reheat in single servings in the microwave or in a saucepan over medium heat. You may need to add a splash of milk or heavy cream to thin the sauce when reheating.
• Freezer – You can freeze leftovers for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge and reheat just before serving.

More Macaroni and Cheese Recipes to Make

• Make it fancy with my Crab Macaroni and Cheese.
• Cheeseburger Macaroni Casserole is a real crowd-pleaser!
• Once a year we feast on 5 Cheese Holiday Mac and Cheese.
• Simple baked Southern Style Macaroni and Cheese.
• Turn it into a savory pie with this recipe for Macaroni and Cheese Pie topped with plum tomatoes and crispy panko breadcrumbs.
• If you’d like to add a little kick to your macaroni menu, checkout my recipe for Nacho Beef and Macaroni.
• You’ll love this delicious BLT Macaroni Salad.
• You may also enjoy this Italian Sausage Macaroni and Cheese from Eating on a Dime.

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Helpful Kitchen Items:

• Dutch Oven
• Measuring Set
• Kitchen Utensils
• Knives and Chopping Board