This tasty substitute for baked macaroni and cheese teaches you how to prepare macaroni in the microwave. Use farfalle, fusilli, or rotini pasta to change up the dish. For a heartier supper, you might add cooked chicken or tuna to this recipe.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 15 mins |
| Additional Time: | 5 mins |
| Total Time: | 30 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
Ingredients
- 8 ounces macaroni
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 ½ tablespoons chopped onion
- 16 ounces cubed processed cheese food
- ¾ cup milk
- salt to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook macaroni pasta in boiling water until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Place butter and onions in a 2-quart microwave-safe covered casserole dish; cook on high in the microwave for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add pasta, cubed cheese, and milk to the casserole dish; stir. Cook on high in the microwave for 11 to 12 minutes, stirring well after 4, 8, and 11 minutes. Mixture will still be runny at this stage. Season with salt and pepper.
- Let stand for 5 to 8 minutes before serving; sauce will thicken as it cools.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 659 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 54 g |
| Cholesterol | 92 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 31 g |
| Saturated Fat | 22 g |
| Sodium | 1159 mg |
| Sugars | 4 g |
| Fat | 35 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Sorry about all the other recipes with 2 kinds of cheeses bla bla , this one is the best , tastiest of all– Thank you
Recipe is easy and very good. I sometimes add any extra cheese I have on hand and that has worked out great!
For something quick and easy, this was pretty good! I scaled it down to 3 servings, did it on the stove-top and used Velveeta slices that I tore into smaller pieces. You could probably change-out the cheese for your preference or what you have available. This satisfied my craving for mac and cheese!
I have actually made this for years using Velveeta cheese. In a saucepan slowly cook milk, butter and cheese over low to medium heat till cheese melts. (Just make sure milk covers the butter and cheese in the saucepan) Set aside. Boil elbow noodles till aldente. Chop up one can of Spam into small chunks. Add all ingredients into casserole pan. Cook at 325°F till just bubbles. Kids love this recipe. Great for leftovers too.
There are only two of us, so the second time I made it I cut the recipe in half, it was still excellent, use 1/2 lb of macaroni, changing the portion requirements only calls for 1/4 lb, to much sauce to little pasta.
Simple and delicious!
It s delicious. I used onion powder and we loved it. Will definitely make this recipe often.
I have made this a few times now and have made some altercations I use shredded cheese and I ditch the onions I also make this on the stove when I’m done I put some extra cheese on top and bake it in the oven my whole family seems to really enjoy this I would definitely give it a try if your looking for something simple
This was SO thick! I did it on the stovetop and even added extra milk.
My 8-year-old daughter loved this. I, however, did not care for the taste of the processed cheese. It was a thick and creamy cheesy macaroni, but it was not the recipe I was hoping for.
If I said that I much preferred a much more involved macaroni and cheese that required making a white sauce, adding a variety of cheeses, spices, herbs, or other add-ins or seasonings, topping it with crispy, buttery bread crumbs, and/or baking it… I’d be lying. This is delicious, plain and simple. I prepared it on the stove-top which for me was no more difficult than nuking it. I also added some King Arthur’s Vermont Cheddar Cheese Powder (good stuff, by the way). This is creamy, smooth, rich, cheesy, and delicious. I don’t know how choosing a more complicated recipe could make it any better than that.
I tried it. Make certain to use the recommended size baking dish. Mine boiled over in microwave. Created quite a mess for myself. I used 1.5 qt. dish. Cannot attest to taste, since a lot of the mixture got wasted boiling over……..
Quick and easy!
So easy and good! I followed the instructions as written. Totally 5 star mac and cheese!
This is a good recipe that was right on time and saved the day. I did not use the onions and nor did I have processed cheese. I used sliced cheddar cheese. I had a casserole dish that was slightly smaller than recipe stated so the milk seemed to stick around and not mold, so I added a tablespoon of flour at 2+minutes to cooking time left and it was perfectly done. I let it stand for about 15 minutes and it was even better. The taste was just right and the texture was too.
I was looking for a quick and easy way to make mac and cheese with what I had on hand, and I was very surprised at how good this turned out. I used shredded cheddar because I did not have any processed cheese. I’d recommend using real cheese if possible, to avoid the ‘boxed’ taste some people mentioned. The onions made this taste close to traditional oven baked mac and cheese. The second time I made this I added some minced garlic with the onions to saute and added a scoop of sour cream at the end, which made it very creamy and good!
I think the recipe shouldn’t use processed cheese… I only used half the amount of processed and no one like it… Ill stick with normal cheese next time.
I used Penne pasta, onion powder and cooked it on the stove instead of the microwave. It was basically dump and cook! Then I baked it for eight minutes. YUM! This will probably become a regular dish in our house. 🙂
this was good even though i completely switched some things around. i didnt use any spices and i just combined the macaroni and some sour cream along with some sharp cheddar (didnt have any processed cheese) and it came out really gooey and good!
I loved the creamy texture! I added lima beans for color and extra value. I had frozen chopped onions instead of fresh. Very easy. Looks like I worked a lot harder!
This tasted way too much like the processed cheese. Too much cheese that overpowered the whole dish. I will not make again.