This super simple Mac and Cheese Recipe is great for those evenings when you are too tired to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, but don’t really feel like spending money eating out! You can have dinner on the table in 30 minutes!
Mac and Cheese is one of my favorite dishes to make. It’s a tasty and inexpensive comfort food. Like most of us, I like my mac and cheese to be sticky, super cheesy and to have little gooey cheese strands each time I pick up the fork.
If you’re looking for a healthy recipe, this isn’t it. It’s neither low calorie or all natural. It is, however, amazing. So, if you’re not against using a cream-of-(insert here) soup every now and then, you should definitely give it a try.
🍽️ Why This Recipe Works
10 Minutes Prep | Fast prep makes cooking even easier. I love making food that I can literally toss together and cook in minutes. There is a little bit of hands on work, but it’s easy stuff.
Inexpensive | Buy all the ingredients and spend very little money on them. That’s always a win!
Makes a lot | One batch will give you around eight servings. This is perfect to take to a gathering or potluck too.
🧀 Ingredients
Medium Shells – Any old pasta will work, but I like the way these shells form small “scoops” to hold a bit more of the gooey goodness!
Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup – This is one of my all-purpose, go-to soups. The funny thing is I don’t think I have ever actually used it as a soup! It is always as an ingredient in a recipe. This is one to keep in your pantry.
Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese – Nothing goes better with cheese soup than more cheese!
Tip: I prefer to buy the blocks of cheese over the bags of pre-shredded. Many times, the companies will add preservatives to the shredded cheese. It is just as easy to use your Cuisinart to shred it yourself and avoid the additives.
🍽️ Instructions
Step One: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add your pasta and cook until done.
Step Two: Heat up another pan, melt butter, then add the condensed soup and whisk until warmed through (about one minute).
Step Three: Add shredded cheese and whisk until sticky and thoroughly combined. You’ll know it’s done once it looks like a cheese sauce with no visible bits of shredded cheese. Taste the sauce and decide whether it needs salt and pepper. This is optional because the cream of cheddar cheese soup has salt in it.
Step Four: Drain the pasta and transfer it to large mixing bowl. Pour cheese sauce over top and stir until fully combined. Serve immediately.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
- Never overcook the pasta or it will become sticky and mushy. That is not too appealing!
- Add in your favorite ingredients. Hamburger, ground turkey, tuna, peas, or broccoli would all be some tasty options.
- Adding a little bit of salt to the water is a must. It makes all the difference in the final results.
Recipe FAQs
We have the best luck when we use a combination of sharp cheddar and condensed cheddar soup. It’s the perfection combination.
Really, we stick to the basics when making this homemade mac and cheese recipe. A little salt and pepper is all you need. If you want to add in other seasonings, try cayenne pepper for some heat, chili powder, or even garlic powder.
Yep! You can go ahead and prepare this as directed and let it cool down. Once cool keep it in an airtight food container for up to four days.
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Ooey Gooey Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 16 oz Pasta Shells medium
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 can Condensed Cheddar Soup
- 1 8oz Sharp Cheddar Cheese shredded
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot to boil and add salt. Add pasta and follow box instructions.
- Heat up another pan, melt butter, then add the cheddar soup and whisk until warmed through. This should take about one minute. Add shredded cheese and whisky until sticky and thoroughly combined. You'll know it's done once it looks like a cream sauce with no visible bits of cheddar cheese. Taste the cheese sauce and decide how much salt and pepper it needs. This is optional because the cream of cheddar cheese soup itself is quite salty.
- Drain pasta, transfer to large mixing bowl. Pour cheese sauce over top and stir until fully combined. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
What size box of shells? I live in Calgary, Ab and pasta comes in many sizes. I’m going to try to turn this into gluten free. It sounds really good!
Pretty sure it was a 16 oz box of shells. 🙂
I have erased all other mac&cheese recipes. Its the most ridiculously good mac&cheese ever. My 6 year old said its better than any of the boxes, and that’s high praise from a 6yr old. Thank you for making the dinnertime queen!
My boyfriend loves mac & cheese. I think we will have this tonight with our honey mustard chicken.
This is the mixture I use on my cheesy potatoes. Just use a little Lawry’s for seasoning add one onion. Yum Yum
oh my goodness….mac and cheese is my weakness!! This looks yummy!
I love this recipe! I like to add a little bit of dry mustard for flavor. This is my go-to mac and cheese recipe!