Indulge in some delicious, creamy and cheesy pasta with this easy One Pot Creamy Mac and Cheese made on the stovetop!
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Homemade Simple Macaroni And Cheese
You can count on the eternally timeless macaroni and cheese to always be a crowd pleaser. And it can be indulged at any time too! From whipping up your own bowl of comfort on days you need a pick-me-up to doubling up for a crowd on special occasions and holiday celebrations. You can really do no wrong.
This pasta dish is also very beginner-friendly. And the best part is that it’s a one pot dish recipe! I’ll take the win of less dishes to clean up after cooking any time I can get it.
This recipe is super easy and quick to put together. Once you have all the ingredients prepped, it’s pretty much throwing everything into the pot step by step. And you’ll get it all done within just 25 minutes!
Stovetop Creamy Mac and Cheese
The dish is essentially pasta coated with a perfectly seasoned velvety and creamy cheese sauce. By making it all in just one pot, we get to utilize the starchy pasta water in creating the cheese sauce.
After cooking the pasta, adding in the cheese into the leftover starchy water helps to melt and emulsify the cheese better. You then end up with a very smooth and creamy cheese sauce.
When making my own bowl, I like to serve with heaps of chili oil. Customize your pasta by adding on veggies or any protein of your choice. The sky’s the limit!
Check out my Baked Creamy Mac and Cheese recipe for a more luscious cheese sauce, with instructions on how to bake for a cheese crust topping.
Mac and Cheese Holiday Sides
Mac and cheese is a holiday side dish staple, especially for Thanksgiving. Here are some other dishes for you to pair it up with for the holidays:
- Crispy Miso Smashed Potatoes
- Garlic Butter Roasted Potatoes
- Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole
- Sweet Potato Mash With Miso Butter
- Bang Bang Brussels Sprouts (Air Fryer)
- Burrata Bruschetta With Tomatoes
Ingredients You’ll Need
(For full ingredient measurements, please proceed to the recipe card below.)
- Uncooked pasta: The traditional pasta of choice for this dish would be macaroni, but you can substitute it with any pasta of your choice! You could go for penne, rigatoni, fusilli, or even shell pasta.
- Water
- Heavy whipping cream
- Cheese: I love the combination of sharp cheddar and mozzarella for mac and cheese. But feel free to substitute with your favorite cheese combination. You can also choose to just use sharp cheddar. Another cheese combination that I like is cream cheese, sharp cheddar and smoked gouda. The important thing is to freshly grate your cheese so that it easily melts.
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Paprika
- Mustard
- Sugar
how to make stovetop one pot creamy mac and cheese
- Grate the cheese and prepare all the ingredients.
- To a pot, add the dried macaroni pasta and pour in water. Over medium high heat, bring the pot to a boil and once boiling, turn the heat down to medium low.
- Cook the pasta per package instructions or until al dente then turn heat down to low. You want most of the water to evaporate but still a little bit left in the pot.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot and stir until well combined and all the cheese melts. Adjust to taste. Best served while hot and enjoy!
notes for one pot creamy mac and cheese (stovetop)
- Freshly grated cheese: Very important to grate your own cheese for a better tasting mac and cheese and for it to melt better. The pre-shredded cheeses have a coating that prevents it from melting and clumping together, which leads to a grainy sauce.
- Amount of water: The amount of water used to cook should be at least 1-2 cups more than the amount of pasta.
- Combination of cheese: Feel free to adjust to taste and use your favorite combination of cheese.
- Sugar addition: Adding sugar balances out the flavor– it won’t make the dish sweet.
- Water addition: If the pasta water completely evaporates before the pasta is full cooked, add a bit more water and turn the heat down
more Pasta recipes
- Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta (With Sausage)
- One Pot Gochujang Pasta
- Creamy Chili Oil Pasta
- Creamy Bacon Kimchi Pasta
- Shrimp Scampi Pasta (Without Wine)
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One Pot Creamy Mac and Cheese (Stovetop)
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked macaroni/pasta of your choice
- 3 cups water see notes
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2.5 cups sharp cheddar freshly grated
- 2 cups mozzarella freshly grated
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1.5 tbsp paprika adjust to taste
- 1 tsp mustard
- 1.5 tsp sugar
Instructions
- Grate the cheese and prepare all the ingredients.
- To a pot, add the dried macaroni pasta and pour in water. Over medium high heat, bring the pot to a boil and once boiling, turn the heat down to medium low.
- Cook the pasta per package instructions or until al dente then turn heat down to low. You want most of the water to evaporate but still a little bit left in the pot.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot and stir until well combined and all the cheese melts. Adjust to taste. Best served while hot and enjoy!
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