Hey! I'm Des!
Welcome to Life’s Ambrosia where Dinner is served and memories are made. Here you will find over 1000 tried and true recipes for every possible occasion. In the last 10 years, this blog has helped millions of families put dinner on the table and create food memories. Let me help you too.
The Best Stovetop Mac and Cheese
The Best Stovetop Mac and Cheese is made with three different cheeses and done on the stovetop. It’s creamy, cheesy and destined to be a family favorite!
If mashed potatoes are my favorite comfort food side dish, it is safe to say that macaroni and cheese runs a close second.
With all of it’s cheesy, carb-y, goodness, Stovetop Mac and Cheese is comfort food to the max.
You know what I’m talking about, the stuff that your mama used to make. The down home cookin’ version of homemade mac n’ cheese. This version is loaded with three different kinds of cheese: cheddar, Gruyere and Havarti.
Each bite is pure cheesy noodle bliss.
What ingredients do you need?
You’ll find all of the usual suspects in this mac and cheese recipe. Here’s a list of everything you’ll need:
- ELBOW MACARONI: I prefer to use elbow macaroni because it’s traditional when making macaroni and cheese. You can also use shells or penne.
- FLOUR: This is what is going to thicken the cheese sauce.
- BUTTER: Combined with the flour to make the roux for the sauce.
- MILK: Where the cheese sauce gets it creaminess from.
- HAVARTI CHEESE: Havarti is a creamy, smooth, semi-soft cow’s cheese. It has a mild flavor similar to Monterey Jack.
- GRUYERE CHEESE: A hard Swiss cheese with a nutty flavor.
- CHEDDAR: You can use your favorite medium or sharp cheddar in this recipe, as a Pacific Northwest Girl, my favorite is hands down Tillamook. If you use sharp cheddar the cheddar flavor will be more pronounced.
- SEASONING SALT: I use Johnny’s seasoning salt.
- PEPPER: A seasoning salt blend often has pepper in it but I like to add a few grinds from a pepper grinder for a bit more peppery flavor.
How do you make the best Stovetop Mac and Cheese?
A lot of recipes for homemade mac and cheese are for baked Mac and cheese, like this Jalapeño Popper Mac and Cheese. With this recipe, I seek to make things a bit easier by making it all on the stovetop.
It really easy to make mac and cheese on the stovetop. You simply need to make an easy cheese sauce and mix in the noodles. It really is that easy.
How do you make a cheese sauce?
The cheese sauce is the single most important part to stovetop mac and cheese. The rest of it is just boiling noodles. But don’t let that scare you. Making a cheese sauce is actually easy and I’m going to show you, with step by step photos, exactly how to do it.
Melt butter and whisk in flour. Allow flour to cook for 1 minute. 
Whisk in milk. Bring to a simmer and allow to thicken slightly. Add in cheeses a handful at a time and cook until melted. 
Fold in cooked noodles. 
Let mac and cheese set for 5 minutes. Stir and adjust seasoning if needed.
STEP #1: To make a cheese sauce, you melt butter, whisk in flour and allow it to cook for 1 minute. Cooking for at least a minute ensures your sauce won’t have a chalky flour taste.
STEP #2: Slowly whisk in milk. Continue cooking until the milk has had a chance to thicken.
STEP #3: Add in your cheese or cheeses of choice and cook until they melt. Make sure to continue whisking so the sauce is smooth. Add in seasoning salt and pepper.
STEP #4: Once you got your sauce made, simply stir in some cooked noodles. Allow it to stand for 5 minutes, stir again and season to taste with more seasoning salt and pepper.
What cheeses make the best mac and cheese?
For this stovetop mac and cheese recipe, I use three different kinds of cheeses: Sharp cheddar, Havarti and Gruyere.
DES’ TIP: To make the smoothest cheesy sauce, you will want to use good melting cheeses. Good melting cheeses are cheeses with a higher moisture content. Harder cheeses, like Parmesan, won’t melt as well.
Other cheeses you could use when making stovetop mac and cheese include: medium cheddar, white cheddar, smoked gouda, fontina and mozzarella.
For more about the science behind melting cheese, check out this fine cooking article! A ton of interesting information.
Basically, once you have the technique down, making a cheese sauce for your macaroni and cheese is open to endless variations!
Recipe FAQ:
A roux is a mixture of a fat and flour that is used as a thickening agent in stews and sauces. You’ll make a roux as the base for the cheese sauce in this mac and cheese.
This could be because the cheese was too cold and heated too rapidly. To help with this problem, make sure the cheese is room temperature and the heat is low.
You need to cook the flour to make sure the mac and cheese doesn’t taste like flour. This is done when you’re making the roux. You need to let the flour cook at least 1 minute before adding the milk.
This Stovetop Mac and Cheese could be a meal all in itself, but if you’re looking for the best comfort food meal ever, serve it with some of my comfort food classics:
Cheese lover? Check out some of my favorite cheesy recipes:
Post originally published in 2009. Updated recipe, nutrition facts, step by step photos, recipe FAQ and video 2023.
The Best Stovetop Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 2 cups dried elbow macaroni
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups shredded medium cheddar cheese room temperature
- 3/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese room temperature
- 3/4 cup shredded Havarti cheese room temperature
- 3/4 teaspoon seasoning salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Boil pasta according to package directions. Strain.
- In the same pot that you boiled the pasta in, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted sprinkle with 2 tablespoons flour. Whisk until smooth, cook 1 minute.
- Slowly whisk milk into flour mixture and bring to a simmer but do not boil. Once sauce has thickened, add in all three cheeses and stir until they melt. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of seasoning salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Fold in cooked noodles. Cook 5 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Hey! I'm Des!
Welcome to Life’s Ambrosia where Dinner is served and memories are made. Here you will find over 1000 tried and true recipes for every possible occasion. In the last 10 years, this blog has helped millions of families put dinner on the table and create food memories. Let me help you too.
Shari
September 2, 2023 at 1:24 pmHad a great recipe for mac and cheese with Gruyere as one of the cheeses and absolutely loved the mellowness of it all. Somehow I lost the recipe and spent some time trying to duplicate what I remembered. Well, lucky that your recipe came along and I’m a very happy camper again! It was great and this one’s for keeps!
Deseree
September 2, 2023 at 6:05 pmOh I am so happy to hear that, Shari! Glad you enjoyed it and thank you for taking the time to review!
Jackie
March 19, 2023 at 12:28 pmI didn’t know what type of seasoning salt to use. So I just used salt
Deseree
March 20, 2023 at 10:02 pmThat would work too! I use Johnny’s seasoning salt :)
Linda
December 5, 2022 at 4:06 pmJust wondering if I can freeze the mac & cheese
Deseree
December 5, 2022 at 9:49 pmHi! I’ve never frozen mac & cheese so I can’t say for sure if it works.
Kimmylou
December 25, 2021 at 5:46 pmExquisite recipe! Been using it several years now — its the only one I use ever since I first found and made the recipe. One trivial thing — and really this does not warrant mentioning but just in case you want to make a correction.
In the ingredients list it calls for:
3/4 tsp seasoning salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
But…..
In the instructions it calls for:
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Definitely doesn’t hurt the recipe regardless of which measurements are used. I’ve been enjoying this recipe for years and only noticed the discrepancy today. Thank you for sharing your recipes. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
Deseree
December 26, 2021 at 9:27 amOh thank you for noticing that, Kimmylou! I will make the adjustment. I am so happy to hear that you’ve been making this recipe for so long! :)
Eliester Lai
September 2, 2019 at 5:22 pmIt was a hit with my kiddos. They asked for seconds.
Deseree
September 2, 2019 at 8:30 pmThats fabulous to hear!
Amy @ Little Dairy on the Prairie
January 10, 2019 at 9:59 amI love a good mac and cheese! I have to try this asap!
Taylor W.
January 10, 2019 at 6:11 amSo cheesy and creamy. YUM!!
Chrissie Baker
January 10, 2019 at 2:37 amI’m not a fan of pastas or cheese, but this recipe makes me want it now and I will defo make it soon! Perfect dish for a lazy night in front of tv :D
Melanie Bauer
January 9, 2019 at 10:53 pmLooks insanely delicious! Ultimate comfort food side dish at it’s best, definitely making this!
Krista
January 9, 2019 at 8:07 pmYou had my attention at three cheese! Everything is better with more cheese!
Sara
January 9, 2019 at 5:27 pmMy daughter could live off of macaroni and cheese; it’s her absolute favorite. I’ll have to add this recipe to my arsenal of mac and cheese dinners!
Sue Pace
January 17, 2014 at 7:57 pmThis came out very good….highly recommend it.
Karly
May 18, 2010 at 2:48 pmYum! Made this for dinner tonight substituting extra Havarti for the Gruyere since that was all I had on hand, and it was amazing!
Deseree
May 18, 2010 at 7:33 pmThanks Karly! Extra Havarti is always good :)
Sara
December 19, 2009 at 11:20 amI love mac and cheese and this looks great!
Swee
December 16, 2009 at 9:56 pmoh yum i love mac and cheese too but cheese are too exp here..
Mike
December 16, 2009 at 3:27 pmCan’t go wrong throwing Havarti and Gruyere cheese in there. Great idea!
Cookie
December 16, 2009 at 12:10 pmThis looks SO cheesy and good! I love the idea of adding some chicken to round out the meal. I usually add ground beef and mushrooms to mine.
Sarah
December 16, 2009 at 8:33 amProcess and proportion-wise, this is very close to my mom’s recipe, and thus the same one I make when I need some comfort from food. Thanks especially for including the seasoned salt — I keep Lowry’s in the house for exactly one use: my mom’s stove-top noodles and cheese.
Jessie
December 16, 2009 at 6:01 amoh you used two of the best cheeses, I love it! I know that this must have tasted amazing too
Mac and Cheese is one of my favorite comfort food dishes to make as well.
Lauren
December 16, 2009 at 5:35 amI’ve never had havarti in mac & cheese, but I bet it’s delicious! This is my ultimate comfort food :).
Neel | Learn Food Photography
December 15, 2009 at 8:55 pmCheese and Macroni, is by far the most easiest recipes (for bachelors and those who don’t like to cook). Thank you for your efforts.
Memoria
December 15, 2009 at 8:46 pmWoah. Bookmarked!
Jenn
December 15, 2009 at 3:14 pmYUM!! Great picture, it looks so inviting, I want to dive right into it :) I am a Mac & Cheese FIEND!!! I would eat it every day if I knew I wouldn’t gain 300lbs!
Theresa
December 15, 2009 at 10:34 amOh how I love mac & cheese! It might just be my all time favorite food. I’m planning to make some to go with our ham for Christmas dinner, and I like the blend of cheeses you’ve picked. Thanks for the inspiration!