Easy Stove Top Macaroni and Cheese Take 2
Last week I posted a creamy stove top macaroni and cheese recipe and talked about my search to find the ultimate one. I got a ton of responses of other recipes to check out. I couldn’t wait. Even though we had just finished a big pot, I set about trying a new recipe.
This time I tried out Alton Brown’s recipe. I’ve loved other recipes of his and this one got a lot of good reviews and several recommendations.
The first thing I was impressed with was how easy the recipe was to make. Just one pot needed. I followed the recipe for the most part except that I didn’t have any evaporated milk so I used cream instead. I figured it wouldn’t negatively reflect the recipe, if anything, it would just make it even creamier.
It took a while for the sauce to come together. A lot of stirring. But once it did, the sauce was very smooth and clung on well to the elbow noodles. It resembled the mac n cheese using the cheese powder I ate as a kid.
I liked this one better than the previous version I made. The sauce was smoother and the little bit of hot sauce added to it kept the dish from feeling too cheesy. My brother, who originally was the one who requested I find a great stove top recipe, liked this recipe too. FH preferred the previous version.
I enjoyed this recipe and will keep it around, but I still need to check out a few more recipes before deciding which one is my ultimate recipe.
Alton Brown's Stove Top Mac-n-Cheese
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 eggs
- 6 oz heavy cream, (see note)
- 1/2 tsp hot sauce
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp fresh black pepper
- 3/4 tsp dry mustard
- 10 oz sharp cheddar, shredded
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling salted water cook the pasta to al dente and drain. Return to the pot and melt in the butter. Toss to coat.
- Whisk together the eggs, cream, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir into the pasta and add the cheese. Over low heat continue to stir for 3 minutes or until creamy. (I stirred for about 10 minutes to get the sauce to really cling onto the noodles)
Notes
- The original recipe calls for evaporated milk, but I didn't have any so I used heavy cream and it worked well.
- Recipe slightly adapted from Alton Brown
Do we have to put in eggs? Can we just use cream/evaporated milk and cheese? I want to try it for the kids lunch.
I really don’t know the answer. I just followed the recipe as written. I imagine that you can do a version without eggs, but it won’t necessarily taste the same or have the same consistency.
I tried just making this. It turned out okay. Wasn’t what I expected. I still think the boxed one will always be better. The sauce did really cling to the noodles though.
Aw that’s too bad you didn’t enjoy it as much.
I feel weird adding egg to this recipe, how do I know it’s cooked all the way through?
Well the sauce cooks for quite a while so I don’t think there should be problems with the egg still being raw.
Looks yummy, but I think I’ll skip the hot sauce – I’m not a big fan of spicy, especially not in my pasta.
It wasn’t too spicy, but yeah, you can definitely skip it. I like using it because it keeps the cheese from getting too overwhelming.
This looks great! I’ve been wanting some easy recipes and I think this fits the bill. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
It is pretty easy and tasty!
This is definitely going on my list of “to try to make myself”! Nom nom nom!
Yes you should check it out! It’s pretty easy to make
Oh yum! I’ve never tried AB’s recipe but you make it look so delicious. I love mac & cheese.
I still have a few to check out, but I liked this one. I really liked how it came together. I’ve had so many mac recipes where it ends up being white noodles with melted cheese. But this one the cheese sauce really clung onto the noodles.
That’s it– I’m definitely making some mac and cheese tonight! This looks just too good, and my craving is just too strong to pass up. 🙂
Haha, yes make some!
YUM! This looks so good!
I liked how easy it was! Just ate some leftovers last night.