How to Make Restaurant Quality Macaroni and Cheese in 10 Minutes

Perhaps, like me, you were upset to learn, during your first forays into cooking, that making homemade macaroni and cheese would rival your favorite things in a boxIt wasn’t as simple as just melting your favorite cheese over your favorite cooked noodles. With go-to cheese drawer options like cheddar or mozzarella, this approach only results in a stringy, greasy blob, not the creamy, flaky, evenly coated noodles you were looking for. Even with something like American cheese, which is specially designed to melt, the result still leaves you wanting something more… complex.

Perhaps, like me, you were just as upset to learn that trying to approach homemade macaroni and cheese like the adult cook you want to become requires a lot of work, possibly involving homemade bĂ©chamel sauce, toasted breadcrumbs and using both the stove and oven. That’s a lot of steps (and subsequent dishwashing) to make “simple” comfort food.

As a cheese educator and lifelong lover of the product, I’m not willing to sacrifice quality when it comes to mac and cheese. What if there was another way? A secret ingredient which bonds noodles and cheese from scratch in a way that makes you feel like an accomplished, grown-up cook, but takes no more than 10 minutes or uses more than one pan.

ingredients for mac and cheese on the table

If you want creamy macaroni, add cream cheese to the mixture.

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You will always find it in the dairy aisle…

Enter: cream cheese. I mean, it’s kind of right there in the name, right? What we look for in a homemade stovetop mac and cheese is mostly creaminess and cheesiness. So cream cheese isn’t so much a secret ingredient that we’ve overlooked because of its inextricable association with bagels and little else. (While we’re here, heavy cream can also do a big job for the “longevity” of homemade macaroni and cheese, which worries us slightly, right?)

For those who doubt, cream cheese is considered a cheese, being made from coagulated milk curds, and has pedigree and precedent from other soft and spreadable cheeses of Europe such as robiola and Neufchâtel.

Why Cream Cheese Is the Key to Stovetop Mac and Cheese

ingredients for mac and cheese on the table

Grating cheese is the only real prep work you’ll need to do for this recipe.

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Cream cheese brings several things to the pot when it comes to homemade mac and cheese. This is an FDA regulated product that requires certain characteristics to be called out by its name, making it extremely desirable in potential use in macaroni and cheese.

Learn more: Mold growing on cheese doesn’t mean you should throw it away. Here’s what to do instead

Legally, the term “cream cheese” refers to a pasteurized, unaged dairy product that contains at least 33% milk fat (usually consisting of milk and cream), with a moisture content of up to 55 % and a pH between 4.4. and 4.9. Its milk fat and moisture content add to its richness and spreadability, respectively, and this pH gives it a distinct flavor that cheese alone generally can’t achieve: even some of the sharpest cheddars only achieve a pH around 5. This is the key. Consider that your favorite boxed mac and cheese includes both citric acid and lactic acid among the ubiquitous sauce packet ingredients. This necessary flavor is integral to the nostalgic mac and cheese experience.

Cream cheese also includes an emulsifier, locust bean gum, which prevents it from separating into its protein and fat components when heat is applied. Some cheeses do this naturally better than others. Alpine-style cheeses such as Gruyère and Raclette have built-in melting ability, but cream cheese provides a base that will help emulsify your mixture, no matter what type of cheese you have on hand. Additionally, using cream cheese avoids some of the grainy texture that béchamel-based cheese sauces can sometimes have, and is not absorbed as quickly by the noodles.

How to Make Creamy Homemade Macaroni and Cheese in Under 10 Minutes*

boiling noodles in a pan

Use your favorite short pasta.

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For all your typical short noodles that typically have a cooking time of 7-9 minutes, you can assemble everything you need while the pasta is boiling and have creamy homemade mac and cheese in less than 10 minutes. *Any type of noodle with a cooking time longer than 10 minutes will take that number of minutes, but regardless, you get the goods in less time than the boxed version would typically require.

pot cooked noodles

Drain the pasta well after cooking.

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Another benefit of the cream cheese approach to mac and cheese is that it’s as easy to make for one as it is for many, since its ingredients are simple to put into individual portions. It’s less about a specific recipe and more about ratios and its wings, but for each serving you will need:

  • 2 oz short pasta
  • 1 oz cream cheese, cubed or cut for faster melting
  • 1-2 oz grated cheese or cheeses of your choice (it’s always best to grate yourself, but it’s up to you)
  • Salt and pepper to taste, other seasonings of your choice

That’s it. Cook and drain the noodles, add everything to the pot while it is still hot and mix. Most of the time I don’t even use a colander to drain the noodles, instead I use a skimmer to hold them while I drain the water. If there is a little water left for the pasta, it doesn’t matter. This will help loosen the finished sauce and add seasoning.

ready to stir

Cooked noodles, cheese and spices, all ready to mix together.

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Variations on a cream cheese/mac and cheese theme

The method above is as simple as it gets, but you can riff on it in several ways, none of which necessarily add extra time or dishes to the process. Want a silkier texture? Add a knob of butter. Want more fluidity? Add a little milk or cream. Want to add complexity? I swear by onion powder, which, for me, creates a depth of flavor and savory quality that complements any cheese choice. Trying to lighten the calorie load? Feel free to use low-fat cream cheese and/or shredded cheese. Everything is working. Do you want the result to be more orange? Make sure to use orange cheese, add paprika or (do it anyway) hot sauce.

mac and cheese spices

A pinch of onion salt and paprika will give the macaroni even more punch, but you can use nutmeg, garlic salt, or any other spice of your choice.

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You can also up the ante with any number of mix-ins, all of which require little preparation. I often mix broccoli, asparagus or peas with the pasta for the last minute of cooking, because… balance. Like a meat macaroni? Add cooked bacon, roast chicken or ground beef. (Balance, too.) Once you get started with this simple preparation, you’ll discover that there are an endless number of ways to personalize it, and it’s sure to become a staple in your menu rotation.

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