5 Minute Mug Macaroni and Cheese
Lately I’ve been wanting to make macaroni and cheese but every time I think about the effort, I get really lazy. Then I came across a macaroni and cheese recipe made in a mug. You know how I love mug recipes…
Suddenly, it no longer seemed so daunting. Five minutes. No stove required. Even I could handle this.
It’s not actually anything particularly new. I remember during my college days people would make pasta in the microwave. But I’d forgotten about it, and I’d never actually done macaroni and cheese in the microwave before, or all made into a mug, so it was still fun. And so easy.
You can find the full recipe here. I followed the recipe as is, though my noodles didn’t have to cook as long. Mine were done at at 3 minutes 30 seconds. Also next time I will try adding less milk because mine was a little more liquidy than I would have liked after adding the milk and cheese. I would also recommend using a giant mug mainly because the water does overflow when cooking the noodles in the microwave and the bigger the mug, the less of an overflow.
This was fun and easy and perfect for a small serving. I will play around with the recipe some more to see if I can get something more like the stove top ones I’ve been making.
These are very good recipes & I really thankyou
We’re so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
This is one of my favorite recipes. Not only do I love the taste But I love playing with adding new ingredient so thank you so much! And for those of you like Connie where the cheese and milk stay separated That’s ok, it happened to me just try stirring a little harder. And putting the mug on the plate Really helps with the water overflowing.
I love the mug on the plate idea too. And I’m glad you like this recipe!
I hope I can make it. Is it safe for 10 year olds to make it ……????????????
I don’t know..I think so with some help and supervision
I fixed the overflow problem by cooking the whole thing at 20% power. If you use a large mug, the water boils almost to the top and backs down, then comes back up, over and over. I cooked the water, milk and macaroni at the same time. I also added about 1/2 tsp. butter to the water, milk and mac. I stirred mine about every couple of minutes, just to make sure it didn’t lump. When most of the liquid was absorbed, and the mac was tender, I stirred in cheddar cheese and put it back into the microwave, again at 20% power until the cheese was melted. NO BOIL OVER at the lesser power with a large mug.
Ooh, thanks for the tip. I will try it again!
I loved this-missed lunch but this was a quick good protein make-up meal.It’ll be great for my grandsons & I to do together.
The cat was so jealous so she got a small rewward,too. We BOTH give it a thumbs-up!! I don’t know about anyone else, but
“WHAT DID WE DO BEFORE PINTEREST?”
Lol!
I made this over the weekend and it did not work out at all! It took forever to get the noodles tender, but the worst parts was that the milk and cheese didn’t make a sauce. It didn’t melt together. The cheese seemed to sink to the bottom and would NOT mix in with the noodles it all stayed separate. What did I do wrong?! I used Monterrey jack which I thought would melt nicely.
I’m not sure why this went wrong for you. The noodles should cook very quickly in the microwave with the water boiling inside the microwave, unless you had too much. But for that small amount of noodles the microwave should cook it. What power is your microwave? It sounds like it was on a very low setting or something. Did you maybe actually have it on a defrost or some other setting that would lower the microwave power? The cheese should melt once it hits the hot noodles. If it didn’t melt it sounds like your noodles were no longer hot. You can microwave it slightly again after adding the cheese and milk and then stir, but if you do it right away it should actually be hot enough.
To avoid having to clean up water from the microwave, I recommend putting a plate underneath the mug/bowl…that way you don’t have to clean any spilled water:)
Oh that is a really good idea!
I saw this on pinterest and had to try it. I only had mozzerella, but it still turned out amazing! I was a little nervous when the pasta stuck together after the 6 minute mark,, but once I added the milk and cheese it turned out fine. Next time I’ll try cheddar like the recipe says, and maybe a few other cheeses too! Thanks for sharing.
Yay! Happy it turned out well for you. You might also want to try this one I made which is a variation and just as easy https://kirbiecravings.com/2012/08/spilled-milk-macaroni-and-cheese.html
I got up to go make lunch and suddenly felt nauseous so I made this. Love it! Only I wouldn’t recommend using Gouda (it’s the standard cheese where I live, and cheddar here is tasteless and useless). It doesn’t melt like cheddar does. Thanks for sharing this with us! Will make again when I need something super quick. 🙂 Oh and I used whole grain spaghetti broken into pieces.
Oh, yeah I’ve never tried with gouda but I can imagine it doesnt melt as much. That’s too bad the cheddar there is tasteless and useless.
Mac and cheese is basically what I crave every day, and I LOVE that you posted an easy, fast mug recipe! You’ve just introduced the motherload . 🙂
I’m loving this too. No more standing over the stove!
I love this! When I make mac and cheese, I have to eat it all by myself and it seems to never end. So this is just perfect. I’ll let you know how it comes out once I get around to making it. 🙂
Haha. I also like that there’s not leftovers to deal with because the leftover mac n cheese never heats up the same.
This is perfect for those mornings that I’m in a hurry for work. I think I’ll use a bigger bowl for my big hunger. Haha. This looks fun to do.
Yeah I think next time I might make it in a bowl instead of a mug so I can fit more. but I just love how easy it is to make.
It’s times like these that I really wish I had a microwave…
Aww
awesome – i’ll have my daughter test drive this recipe! she will love this, especially since she liked doing the chocolate mug cake before.
Oh, yes this is a perfect recipe to have your daughter help make. Now, even less cooking for you. haha. Hope you both enjoy it.
Cute! Good tip about the mug overflow!
Yeah the biggest issue is the water overflows. But the cleanup is still easier than pots and pans.