Creamy Weeknight Macaroni and Cheese

By Alison Roman

Updated February 28, 2024

  • An overhead image of creamy mac and cheese in a Dutch oven.
    Karsten Moran for The New York Times
Media 1 of 2
Total Time
25 minutes
Rating
4(2,937)
Comments
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Just as quick as the boxed variety, this creamy macaroni and cheese skirts the traditional butter and flour roux with assistance from cream cheese. While the cream cheese adds an important lusciousness, it doesn’t do the macaroni and cheese any favors when it comes to its flavor, so it’s important to use the sharpest, tangiest Cheddar you can get your hands on. For perfectly coated noodles, make sure to cook the pasta in the sauce for a minute or two.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 1 pound elbows, shells, cavatappi, farfalle, fusilli or other short, tube-shaped pasta

  • Kosher salt

  • 2 cups whole milk

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, cut into 1-inch pieces

  • 12 ounces sharp or white Cheddar, grated

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • Freshly ground pepper

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

97 grams carbs; 177 milligrams cholesterol; 1116 calories; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 36 grams saturated fat; 62 grams fat; 1 gram trans fat; 4 grams fiber; 905 milligrams sodium; 42 grams protein; 12 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water until just barely al dente; drain.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, bring milk up to a simmer in a large pot. (The pot should be large enough to hold all the pasta when cooked.) Reduce heat to low, add cream cheese, and whisk until it’s completely blended and no lumps remain. Add Cheddar cheese and butter, whisking until everything is completely melted. Season with salt and a generous amount of pepper.

  3. Step 3

    Add cooked pasta and stir to coat. Continue to cook over medium-low heat until the sauce has thickened and is coating each piece of pasta nicely, 2 to 3 minutes; sauce will continue to thicken as it cools. Season again with more salt and pepper before serving.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
2,937 user ratings
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Comments

Suzan

Wouldn't this be better with some dry mustard and paprika?

Ozark

Hey, this is my Mac and Cheese recipe! As in, I'm sure someone else put the same things together at some point, but when I posted it on my blog several years ago, I could find nothing else like it. Well, at least more people will learn that, while old-fashioned cheese sauces are great, easy is okay too.

George Hicks

Heavily salt the pasta water (perhaps a quarter cup of salt), then use one cup half-and-half and a cup of the pasta water instead of two cups milk.

LK

Great easy recipe when you don’t feel like making a bechamel and baking. When I added the pasta to the milk, there was so much liquid, I thought it was going to be soupy. But patience won out, and it thickened up nicely. Agree with addition of some paprika and dry mustard for a little tang.

Rene L

12 oz of cheese corresponds to 3 cups of in volume according to Wisconsincheese.com. We used half that and it was sufficiently cheesy in my opinion. Or unless the recipe called 12 oz in volume in which case it should have made that clear.

Kaoru

Followed the recipe to the T. It’s delicious, but a bit grainy. Any tips to fix this?

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