Forget about boiling up a big pot of salted water. In this ultra-creamy recipe, the pasta cooks directly in the milk, creating a rich thick base for the sauce. Three kinds of cheese, plus fresh chives and dill give it the familiar fresh tang of our favorite ranch dressing.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 20 min |
| Active: | 20 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 4 cups whole milk
- 12 ounces elbow macaroni (about 3 cups)
- 8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 3 cups; see Cook’s Note)
- 3 ounces part-skim mozzarella, shredded (about 1 cup; see Cook’s Note)
- 2 ounces cream cheese, cut into small pieces
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- Large pinch cayenne pepper
- Kosher salt
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- Put the milk and macaroni in a large saucepan. Bring the milk to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently to keep the macaroni from clumping. Continue to boil, stirring frequently, until the macaroni is tender and the milk has thickened to the consistency of heavy cream, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat, add the Monterey Jack cheese, mozzarella, cream cheese, sour cream, butter, cayenne and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and stir until smooth, thick and creamy. Fold in the dill and chives. Serve hot. (The dish will thicken as it cools; thin it out with a little hot water if desired.)
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 594 |
| Total Fat | 33 g |
| Saturated Fat | 19 g |
| Carbohydrates | 49 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 11 g |
| Protein | 26 g |
| Cholesterol | 95 mg |
| Sodium | 727 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 594 |
| Total Fat | 33 g |
| Saturated Fat | 19 g |
| Carbohydrates | 49 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 11 g |
| Protein | 26 g |
| Cholesterol | 95 mg |
| Sodium | 727 mg |
Reviews
My 1 year old daughter and I loved this. I made it a little different from the directions given. I boiled my pasta separately in water. I only used 2 cups of milk since I was boiling the pasta separate. I excluded the dill and put in few other seasoning. I then added broccoli. This was amazing and I will definitely be making again.
I have made this several times, and people refer to it as Mac Crack in my home, but unfortunately I’m allergic to several ingredients in the recipe, so the one time I licked the spoon I was home sick for two days. 🙁 It did taste really good though, for the small taste I got. It is one of the most requested recipes I have made, and given I live in New Orleans, that says a lot about a good Mac and Cheese.
Amazing! Used a full 16 ounces of medium shells, 4 Oz of cream cheese, mixed cheese blend in lieu of Monterey Jack. Did have to add a touch more liquid as well. Super creamy and delicious! Added smoked paprika and additional cayenne. Will definitely make again.
3.5 stars – the flavor is good but after I added the cheese it was very thick! Had to add more milk to make it more creamy/thin. I added about 1/4 cup, but you could probably add 1/2 cup..
Amazing, creamy, cheesy deliciousness. You have to have basic cooking skills and actually know how to read a recipe to make this correctly. So, if you know how to read AND how to comprehend things, this recipe will turn out wonderfully.
After reading all what everybody else said I don’t think I’m going to try it I don’t like eating glue. And I know for a fact that my elbows that I use take more than 5 minutes to cook and the milk would curdle I would think wouldn’t you!
The flavor of this is fine, but when I added the cold cheese to the hot macaroni, it seized up into a gloopy mass. I was able to dilute it a bit with some hot milk, but it was still pretty gloppy. I dumped it into a casserole dish to bake in the oven. We’ll see how that works out.
I like the flavor combo for this, but from now on I’ll go back and cook the macaroni separately and make a roux base for the cheese sauce. I can add chives and dill to that just as well.
Not bad really creamy. I didn’t have fresh dill so I used dried used only a tablespoon it two that way worked too. Thanks
one of the most repulsive things I’ve ever made/attempted to eat in my life. also tasted nothing like ranch. big thumbs down
Awesome