Easy Mac and Cheese can be made on the stovetop and is our new family favorite main dish! I love that it's homemade with real ingredients and can be made on the stove in under 30 minutes. We've had a lot of cheese on hand to make quesadillas, nachos and pizza so I thought we would mix it up this week with Mac and Cheese. This is an easy, mostly pantry or staple ingredients dish.  

Mac and Cheese Ingredients

Mac and cheese is a simple dish to make with mostly pantry staples. You're going to need some fresh cheese and milk to bring it all together.

• Noodles - Any noodle style will work. I like to use elbow noodles, shells or small shaped pasta for the best taste.
• Cheese - Any style of cheddar mixed with mozzarella will work well.
• Milk - I use 2% but you can use whole milk or your milk of preference.
• Butter - You can use salted or unsalted.
• Flour - I use all purpose flour. You can substitute with your flour of preference.
• Seasonings - I always make sure to use salt and pepper. I like to add ground mustard, along with garlic and onion powder.

How to Make an Easy Mac and Cheese

The first thing you'll want to do is boil water and cook the noodles according to the package directions. While the noodles are cooking, you can start the cheese sauce. First, add butter to a large skillet on medium heat. Let the butter melt and then add the flour in while slowly stirring. Once it thickens, you can slowly stir in the milk. This takes a few minutes to thicken. Just add the milk slowly, stir, simmer and let thicken. Once it thickens up, you can add in the seasonings and stir till combined. 

Add the Cheese!

Then add in your cheese! I used cheddar and mozzarella. You could also add in cream cheese or any other similar style cheese. Stir until well combined and thick like the cheese sauce below. 

Mix it up

Lastly, you can pour in your cooked (drained) noodles! Stir the noodles into the cheese sauce until it's all combined. Serve right away for the best taste! You can add toppings like chicken, bacon, bratwurst or tomatoes if you'd like to jazz it up. This is one dish we can eat plain and enjoy it as it is! Grab the full recipe below and watch the video.