Making Mac and Cheese has never been this easy! With just 10 minutes of prep and 45 minutes in the oven you can make the best simple Mac and Cheese without flour - in one pan, without boiling, no flour and no roux. With both Cheddar and Gruyere this is as cheesy & flavor packed as it gets!
Making Mac and Cheese Has Never Been This Easy!
Who doesn't love a good Mac and Cheese? I, for one, have always been partial to this queen of comfort foods. But, I seldom made it myself - because all the good recipes required boiling the pasta, making a roux... and that's just too much work for me.
So instead I created this simple recipe. It's got all the flavor, perfectly cooked pasta, and the is cheesy to a fault. But there's no flour, just one pan, and you don't need to precook anything.
Try it, and you will never go back to making Mac and Cheese the old-fashioned way!
You can find the complete recipe here.
Macaroni + Cheese, and Not Much Else
I recommend using 2 types of cheese: one creamier and one more flavorful. But, you can also use just one cheese. Choose your favorite or favorites! Just make sure they melt well.
I used Gruyere cheese for my flavorful one. This can be switched for another cheese with a lot of flavor: Comté, Emmental, Jarlsberg, Raclette and Parmesan cheese are all great options.
I used a basic Cheddar cheese for my creamy cheese. Other good options are Edam, Gouda, American cheese, and, of course, Mozzarella.
You can find the complete recipe here.
You Can Make This Gluten-Free
One of my recipe testers is gluten-free and reported that this recipe works beautifully with gluten-free noodles as well.
She tested it twice: with regular gluten-free noodles and 100% corn noodles, and they both turned out great.
You can find the complete recipe here.
Does Mac and Cheese Need Flour?
The short answer is - no, mac and cheese does not need flour. It does, however, need starch, but this is in ample supply in pasta.
This starch is released into the milk and cream as the pasta cooks. We stir the mac and cheese after 30 minutes to release even more starch and make sure it comes out super creamy and sets well.
Allowing the mac and cheese to rest for 10 minutes before serving then allows the sauce to thicken and set further.
You can find the complete recipe here.
1. Macaroni + Cheese + Spices
Start by mixing together macaroni, cheese and spices. This ensures all those flavors will be evenly spread out throughout the dish.
2. Add Liquids
Pour over the milk and cream, then use a spoon to make sure all the pasta is well submerged.
3. Bake
Bake 30 minutes, then mix everything well to release some more starch, before baking 15 more minutes. If you don't think it's getting enough color, you can raise the temperature for the final 5 minutes.
If, on the other hand, it starts to brown too much, you can tent with aluminum foil instead.
After it's done baking, remove it from the oven and let it rest 10 minutes to let it all set a bit more. If you're in a hurry, you don't have to do this - but it does make it more creamy and less runny.
More Quick & Easy Dump-and-Bake Pastas
Looking for more dump-and-bake pasta recipes?
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Kim Boxer
I still cannot find your macaroni and cheese recipe without all the video and stuff. Don't you have a Jump to Recipe button so I can quickly get to what I am looking for. The recipe sounds wonderful, but I don't want to have to hunt for it. You have them for the other pasta dishes but not the mac and cheese.
Thank you
Emmeline Kemperyd
Hi Kim! You're right, that was weird. Here is the full recipe: https://alwaysusebutter.com/simple-mac-and-cheese-without-flour/ /Emmeline