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Stovetop Mac and Cheese made at home using limited wholesome ingredients is easy and yummy. Perfect to serve teenagers who need loads of good calories to keep up with their growing bodies and active lifestyles. That’s precisely why I started to make this often when my younger son hit the growth spurt while also doing sports at the same time.
What do I need to make a healthy & yummy Stovetop Mac and Cheese at home?
For ingredients, organic macaroni pasta is the very first ingredient. While the mini elbow-shaped macaroni pasta is the classic, any shape of the macaroni pasta will do.
Then the cheese. For best results, use a freshly grated cheddar and mozzarella cheese combo. For a package of dried macaroni pasta (about one pound or half kilos), you will need approximately 4 cups of shredded cheese in total. I usually use half cheddar and half mozzarella.
You will also need a pinch of salt, Himalayan pink salt is my favorite, and black pepper. For that, I like organic tellicherry black pepper freshly ground at home using a spice grinder.
Additionally, you will need about 1 tbsp butter, 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour, and 1 1/2 cup of whole milk.
Last but not least, I like to sprinkle a pinch of paprika for the color and accent flavor.
From a cooking utensil point of view, you will need a large stockpot to cook the pasta and a hard anodized nonstick frying pan to cook the stovetop Mac and Cheese.
How to cook dry pasta easy, yummy, and healthy?
For a perfectly tasty Mac and Cheese, you want the pasta soft but still maintain a spongy chewy texture. Macaroni pasta is fully hydrated and cooked but retains its integrity. How do you do that?
The key is to use a lot of boiling water so that you cook the dried pasta fast enough not to make it mushy, but also just enough time to amply hydrate the pasta at the same time.
An 8 Qt stockpot is an excellent choice to cook pasta. Fill the stockpot about 80% full and bring it to a boil. Once it reaches the boil, add one package of dried pasta. Quickly separate them using a stainless steel spider strainer, turn the heat to simmer, and just cook for 10 minutes. Then immediately remove the pasta from the pot using the same stainless steel spider strainer.
Read here for more details about how to cook dry past easy, yummy, and healthy.
How to cook stovetop Mac and Cheese?
First, cook the dry Macaroni pasta and then toss it with a tablespoonful of extra virgin olive oil and set it aside.
The second is to pan-fry the Macaroni with butter, black pepper, and salt, for about 2-3 minutes. Melt the butter first. Also, remember to whisk black pepper and salt together first and then sprinkle over the Macaroni in a circular motion.
The third is to continue to stir fry the Macaroni with cheese, milk, and flour. Whisk the flour in the milk to combine before pouring it into the pan.
When the Macaroni is perfectly coated with melted cheese, turn off the heat, sprinkle with paprika, and serve hot.
Enjoy an easy, healthy, and yummy stovetop Mac and Cheese!
Stovetop Mac and Cheese {Easy Yummy Healthy Way}
Stovetop Mac and Cheese made at home using limited wholesome ingredients is easy and yummy. Perfect to serve teenagers who need loads of good calories to keep up with their growing bodies and active lifestyles.
Ingredients
- 1 package of Macroni pasta, any shape is fine, usually one pound or half kilos
- 1 tbsp olive oil, extra virgin is perferred
- 1 tbsp butter, unsalted, organic preferred
- 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt
- 1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, freshly grated preferred
- 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 1/2 cup milk, whole milk
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour, about 55 g
- 1 tsp paprika
Instructions
- Fill an 8 Qt stockpot with water, about 80% full, turn the heat to medium-high, cover the pot with a lid and bring it to a boil, about 15-18 minutes.
- Add the dried Macaroni pasta to the pot, and use a stainless steel spider strainer to shake & separate the pasta. Turn the heat to simmer, cover the pot with the lid and cook for 10 minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Use the same stainless steel spider strainer to toss the Macaroni in the boiling water and then remove them from the pot. For each scoop, shake to drain the water first before placing the pasta in a large mixing bowl. Drain the water if you see too much standing water in the bottom of the mixing bowl.
- Add 1 tbsp olive oil, use a pair of bamboo spatula to toss and mix well, and let off the steam at the same time. Set it aside.
- While waiting for the water to reach a boil, do the below three prep work - combine salt and black pepper in a small dish, and whisk to combine; Combine milk and flour in a bowl and whisk to blend; and Grate the two types of cheese respectively and add to each of the 2-cup glass measuring cup.
- After the Macaroni is cooked and tossed with the olive oil, turn the heat to medium-high and add 1 tbsp butter to a 12-inch hard anodized frying pan and then the Macaroni. Sprinkle the salt & black pepper combo in a circular motion on top of the Macaroni. Use a pair of bamboo spatulas to toss, mix, fold, and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add the shredded cheese on top of the Macaroni, and pour the milk/flour mixture around the edge of the pan. Use one silicone spatula and one bamboo spatula as a pair to toss, mix, and fold. Use the silicone spatula to scrape clean the frying pan walls. Cook for another 3-5 minutes, or till the cheese is fully melted.
- Sprinkle the 1 tsp paprika evenly on the top and serve hot.
Recommended Products
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Hard Anodized Nonstick Fry Pan -
Bamboo Spoons & Spatula -
Small Silicone Spatulas -
Organic Unbleached All Purpose Flour -
HQOExpress | Organic Paprika | 18 oz. Chef Jar -
Coffee/Spice Grinder -
Organic Tellicherry Whole Black Peppercorns -
Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil -
Organic Himalayan Pink Salt -
Solid Stainless Steel Spider Strainer Skimmer -
8-Q Stockpot, Tramontina Stainless Steel Induction-Ready Tri-Ply Clad -
Montebello Organic Maccheroni, 1 lb
Nutrition Information
Yield 8 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 459Total Fat 34gSaturated Fat 14.8gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 19.2gCholesterol 58mgSodium 339mgCarbohydrates 31.2gFiber 8.6gSugar 2.7gProtein 14.5g
Nutrition calculation is either provided by Nutritionix or "verywellfit.com" to the best of my knowledge. Nevertheless, I use lots of homemade, all natural, unprocessed, unrefined raw & wholesome ingredients which are not always readily available in these two referenced resources. Therefore the calculation may not always be accurate.