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5.0 from 54 votes

Super Simple Macaroni Cheese

Crisp on top, oozing with sauce and with perfectly cooked pasta, my Super Simple Macaroni Cheese is totally delicious and so simple to make - perfect for those busy days when you just want to make something easy!

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
20 mins
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 633 kcal
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American , British

Ingredients

  • 300 g macaroni not the quick cook stuff, which really doesn’t work in this recipe
  • 30 g butter
  • 25 g flour
  • 500 ml milk
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard (or to taste)
  • 200 g mature cheddar (or to taste), grated
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Preheat the oven to 220C / 200C Fan / Gas Mark 7.
  2. Cook the macaroni until it’s a bit less done than normal – a couple of minutes less than you would usually do. The brand I use takes 10 minutes normally, so I give it 8 minutes for macaroni cheese.
  3. While the macaroni is cooking, make the cheese sauce. Melt the butter in a medium sized pan on a low heat. When the butter is foaming, add the flour and stir until it’s mixed in. Then keep cooking for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. It takes guts to do this. It looks like something is going to go wrong but it doesn’t!
  4. Very gradually add the milk, stirring constantly. Make sure each bit of milk is incorporated before adding the next bit. If you do this slowly on a very low heat, you should end up with a perfectly smooth cheese sauce with no lumps and no need to whisk. However, if it does go wrong for some reason, you can always use a whisk to beat out the lumps.
  5. When all the milk is incorporated, add the mustard, salt and pepper. (N.B. I use slightly salted butter, so I don’t add any extra salt here.) Then add half the cheese, stir to combine and turn off.
  6. When the pasta is done, drain it, retaining a little bit of the cooking water.
  7. Tip the pasta and a couple of tablespoonfuls of the cooking water into the cheese sauce and stir.
  8. Pour the macaroni cheese into a shallow ovenproof dish and sprinkle over the remaining cheese.
  9. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. The top should be brown but the bottom should still be saucy and the macaroni should be perfectly cooked.

Notes

  • I like to serve this with a simple side salad. My kids like to eat this with baked beans!
  • Suitable for freezing.
  • Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

Nutrition Information

Calories 633kcal (32%) Carbohydrates 67g (22%) Protein 27g (54%) Fat 28g (43%) Saturated Fat 17g (85%) Cholesterol 81mg (27%) Sodium 437mg (18%) Potassium 381mg (11%) Fiber 3g (12%) Sugar 9g (18%) Vitamin A 891IU (18%) Calcium 518mg (52%) Iron 2mg (11%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4people

Amount Per Serving

Calories 633

% Daily Value*

Calories 633kcal 32%
Carbohydrates 67g 22%
Protein 27g 54%
Fat 28g 43%
Saturated Fat 17g 85%
Cholesterol 81mg 27%
Sodium 437mg 18%
Potassium 381mg 8%
Fiber 3g 12%
Sugar 9g 18%
Vitamin A 891IU 18%
Calcium 518mg 52%
Iron 2mg 11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.