Southern Macaroni and Cheese Recipe
Ditch the box! Make delicious, homemade macaroni and cheese from scratch in less than 20 minutes on your stovetop. No baking required! This quick & easy southern macaroni and cheese stovetop recipe can easily be scaled for a crowd.
Ingredients
- 4 cups elbow macaroni noodles uncooked
- 8 oz Colby Jack cheese shredded
- 8 oz Sharp Cheddar cheese shredded
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Cook 4 cups of uncooked elbow macaroni noodles according to package directions. Drain with a colander. Set aside.
- In the pot that you cooked the elbow macaroni noodles, melt 4 tbsp of butter on medium heat.
- Add the flour to melted butter and stir until combined with the butter. Cook for 1-2 minutes then add milk and salt.
- Continue cooking the milk and butter flour mixture on low-medium heat*, stirring regularly until it begins to thicken and bubble slightly.
- Stir continuously as it thickens and add in the cheese. Continue stirring until all of the cheese is melted.
- Add the cooked macaroni noodles to the cheese sauce and stir to coat all of the noodles.
- Serve as a side dish or a main dish (Mac & Cheese Night is a favorite in our house). Enjoy!
Notes
- Cook this recipe between low and medium heat (setting 3 on stovetop)*: cook your milk, butter, and flour mixture on a setting between low and medium on your stovetop. If you cook it on low it will take a long time for the milk mixture to reach the right temperature to thicken and on the opposite end if you cook on medium heat the milk will reach temperature too quickly and could create a gritty texture. The sweet spot to cook this recipe is between low and medium, on my stovetop it is a 3.
- This recipe makes a BIG pot of macaroni and cheese. If you do not want to make a lot of macaroni and cheese or just need enough for a side dish and not a main dish then you can half the recipe.
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