The 20 Best Mac and Cheese Recipes Ever
So many ways to make mac and cheese—all delicious.
Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
When my boys were little, we always checked a restaurant's menu to make sure they had mac and cheese before going. At home, I turned to boxes of Annie's Shells and Aged Cheddar for a quick side dish or easy weekend lunch. Mac and cheese was always such a hit that I decided I needed to start making it from scratch—it's not that hard anyway! With cheese and milk always on hand, all I needed was a box of pasta and a go-to recipe.
No matter how many times I make macaroni and cheese, it's never boring. I can use up leftover cheese, vegetables, and meat. I can make it the main dish or a side. I can add breadcrumbs and turn it into a casserole or serve it right out of the pot on the stove. Plus, leftovers make coveted lunches.
Below are 20 mouthwatering mac and cheese recipes for feeding all the hungry people at your table.
One-Pot Mac and Cheese
Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
The streamlined technique keeps the dishes to a minimum but doesn’t sacrifice on flavor. Cream cheese and two types of shredded cheeses work together to make it silky smooth.
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Chili Mac and Cheese
Ground beef, chili powder, onions, and tomatoes all bring bold flavors to this cheesy macaroni. If you don't have a 12-inch cast iron skillet, you could use a Dutch oven or transfer it to a casserole dish when it's time to bake.
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DIY Macaroni and Cheese Mix
Simply Recipes / Photo by Sara Bir / Photo Illustration by Wanda Abraham
How many boxes of mac and cheese does it take to feed a hungry family? More than I have in my pantry, that’s for sure. With cheese powder and tapioca starch, you can make a supply to last months.
Get Recipe: Homemade Macaroni and Cheese Mix
Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese
The addition of cream cheese makes creamy mac and cheese possible without béchamel. You can keep the unbaked casserole in the freezer for up to one month.
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Cauliflower Pasta Bake
Roasting the cauliflower and onion is a hands-free way to add extra flavor—you don’t want to skip this step.
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Vegan Mac and Cheese
Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
This recipe takes a whole new approach to “cheesy” vegan mac and cheese. You’ll purée potatoes, carrots, and soaked cashews, along with a flavorful mix of spices, for the sauce. Turmeric gives it the yellow color so no one is the wiser.
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Ham and Cheese Pasta Bake
I’ve made this recipe more times than I can count. If you use a Dutch oven, you can boil the pasta first and then use the same pot for the sauce. I add all the spices at one time and it’s always perfect.
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Civil War Macaroni and Cheese
Get a history lesson along with dinner. This recipe is similar to what would have been made in the 1860s. Instead of boiling the pasta in water and then making the cheese sauce, you boil the pasta in the milk and add in a mixture of melted butter and cheese.
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Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese
This is the kind of slow cooker recipe I’m into: set and forget. Pasta cooks relatively quickly, so it takes about two hours from start to finish.
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Easy Chicken Mac and Cheese
Exactly what I want to make on a busy weeknight. You can use leftover cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken.
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Creamy Basil Artichoke Mac and Cheese
Basil is more than a garnish in this easy recipe. It is steeped in the milk and cream mixture and adds a subtle fresh flavor to the sauce.
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Creamy Cavatappi
Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
This spiral pasta dish is decadent, quick, easy, and uses pantry staples. If you can’t find cavatappi, a different spiral or macaroni pasta will work!
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Pesto Havarti Mac and Cheese
Level up your mac and cheese by adding spinach pesto and creamy havarti to the sauce.
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Broccoli Cheddar Mac and Cheese
Broccoli is my favorite vegetable to eat with mac and cheese. Instead of taking up more space on the stove, the broccoli is placed in a steamer basket and set over the same pot of boiling water for the pasta. Genius!
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Quick Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese
Dinner is on the table in 20 minutes when you make this unfussy mac and cheese.
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Spinach Mac and Cheese
Simply Recipes / Alison Bickel
This mac and cheese uses three boxes of frozen spinach, but doesn’t overwhelm the comforting, cheesy dish.
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Green Chile Mac and Cheese
Use up your stash of chiles from the garden or raid the pantry for a few cans of diced green chiles for dinner tonight.
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Chorizo Mac and Cheese
Spicy chorizo and pepper jack cheese wake up this baked mac and cheese and turn it into the star it was meant to be. You’ll get rave reviews when you serve it at your next BBQ.
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Green Goddess Mac and Cheese
Skip the side salad and stir puréed spinach and parsley into the cheese sauce for this green mac and cheese.
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Trinidadian Macaroni Pie
Simply Recipes / Alica Ramkirpal-Senhouse
"Caribbean macaroni pie is a beloved baked macaroni and cheese dish that no gathering can go without," writes contributor Alica Rampikpal-Senhouse. "Once it’s done baking it should hold its shape when cut, even when right out of the oven. This firmness is a big part of what distinguishes macaroni pie from macaroni and cheese found outside of the Caribbean."
Get Recipe: Trinidadian Macaroni Pie
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