Creamy stovetop mac & cheese for two perfect for a budget friendly and cheesy date night.
Nutrition Facts
Serving size: about 1¼ cups · 1 of 2 servings
- Calories ~480
- Protein 20 g
- Fat 26 g
- Carbohydrates 42 g
- Fiber 2 g
- Sodium ~620 mg
All nutrition facts are AI generated and approximate.
🧂 Ingredients
- 2 Tbs of butter
- 2 Tbs of flour
- 1 cup of macaroni
- 1 cup of Colby-Jack cheese
- 1 tablespoon of prepared mustard
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1 cup of milk
👩🍳 Instructions
- In a medium-sized pot, bring water to a boil.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter.
- When the butter is melted, add the spices.
- Add the flour and brown.
- When the roux is brown, add the milk and mustard.
- Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.
- When the water boils, add the macaroni and cook for 8 to 9 minutes or until al dente.
- When the sauce starts to bubble, set a timer for one more minute and keep stirring constantly.
- Turn off the heat and add the cup of cheese, stirring until melted.
- Stir the cooked pasta into the golden sauce.
Notes
- Cheese off the heat: Turn off the burner before stirring in the Colby-Jack so it melts smoothly instead of turning grainy.
- Shred your own: Freshly grated cheese melts more evenly than pre-shredded, which is coated to resist clumping.
- Brown the roux: Cook the butter and flour until lightly golden for a nutty flavor, but stop before it scorches.
- Cook to al dente: Pull the macaroni at 8 to 9 minutes so it holds its bite in the sauce.
- Scales easily: Built for two—double the amounts for a family-sized batch.
Why This Works
- Roux thickens the sauce: Cooking flour into the melted butter creates a base that thickens the milk into a smooth, glossy sauce.
- Off-heat cheese: Adding cheese away from direct heat keeps its proteins from seizing and the fat from separating into an oily mess.
- Mustard does double duty: The prepared mustard adds tang and helps the sauce emulsify into a cohesive, creamy coating.
- Al dente absorbs: Pasta cooked just to al dente soaks up the golden sauce without going mushy.