Skillet Creamy Mac and Cheese

by Sabrina Snyder

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1 Comments

5 from 1 vote
6 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
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Skillet Creamy Mac and Cheese is the perfect cheesy comfort food recipe with heavy cream, Velveeta cheese, and tender macaroni noodles.

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese is a staple dish for many families. It’s an awesome kid-friendly lunch, or Side Dish to go with a family dinner. We’ve made Mac and Cheese in a variety of ways, including Oven-Baked Mac and Cheese and Instant Pot Mac and Cheese. This stovetop method is just as easy, cheesy, and delicious!

Sabrina’s Skillet Creamy Mac and Cheese

Simple, rich Mac and Cheese is definitely in the top five for most kids’ favorite dishes ever. Who could blame them? It’s impossible to say no to delicious pasta all cooked in a creamy cheese sauce. It is pure, comforting perfection!

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Skillet Creamy Mac and Cheese Recipe

Skillet Creamy Mac and Cheese is the perfect cheesy comfort food recipe with heavy cream, Velveeta cheese, and tender macaroni noodles.
Yield 6 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Creamy Mac and Cheese in bowl with forkful
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Ingredients
 

  • 8 ounces elbow macaroni , uncooked (2 cups)
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 3/4 pound Velveeta , cubed

Instructions

  • Cook the pasta one minute shy of the directions on the box and drain (do not rinse).
  • In a large heavy skillet add the butter on medium heat.
  • Melt the butter and whisk in the flour until well combined.
  • Slowly whisk in the heavy cream and milk until smooth.
  • Season with salt and pepper.
  • Whisk in the Velveeta cheese until creamy.
  • Add in the pasta, stir well and cook for 30 seconds until pasta is heated through.

Nutrition

Calories: 462kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 1118mg | Potassium: 367mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1306IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 399mg | Iron: 1mg

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About This Recipe

This Mac and Cheese is perfect for a hassle-free lunch or side dish. It’s also delicious enough you could enjoy it for a special occasion. Make this dish a go-to for weeknight meals, or dress it up with toasted bread crumbs and serve along with your Roast Turkey over the holidays.

Chef’s Note

For this Mac and Cheese recipe, all you need are a few staple ingredients like milk, pasta, and butter. Then it’s finished off with Velveeta cheese for the perfect smooth texture and cheesy flavor. Aside from how delicious it is, the cooking time is fast and easy. Just cook the pasta, then combine the sauce on the stovetop and finally stir it all together. It is easy, tasty, and ready in minutes all on the stovetop.

How to Store

  • Serve: Don’t leave Skillet Mac and Cheese at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
  • Store: Let the dish cool completely before you seal it to store in the fridge for 3-4 days.
  • Freeze: You might be surprised that you can also freeze Mac and cheese. Separate it into smaller airtight containers for easily re-heatable lunches. They will stay good for up to 2 months.

Variations

  • Types of cheese: The Velveeta works great to make an ultra-creamy cheese sauce. But, you can also add other kinds of cheese to add more depth of flavor. Top it off with crumbly blue cheese or goat cheese. Or, stir in pre-shredded cheese like sharp cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, Swiss, or white cheddar.
  • Gluten-free: If you’re on a gluten-free diet, but still want some Mac and cheese, then you’re in luck. You can easily adjust this recipe to work for a gluten-free diet. First, pick up gluten-free pasta from the grocery store. Then all you have to change in the recipe is using a cornstarch mixture or gluten-free flour, like almond flour, to replace the all-purpose flour.
  • Toppings: There are lots of toppings you can add to the Mac and Cheese before serving to add some extra flavor and texture. Sprinkle on some crunchy panko crumbs, caramelized onions, chopped green onions, or cooked bacon.
  • Spicy Mac and cheese: To bring some heat to the recipe, add a dash of hot sauce or cayenne pepper to the mixture. Make sure to be light-handed at first. You don’t want to make it too spicy to eat.
  • Seasonings: There are plenty of other flavors you can add with different seasonings like garlic powder, dry mustard, onion powder, red pepper flakes, or paprika.

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Skillet Creamy Mac and Cheese collage

Photos used in previous versions of this post.

Wooden spoon stirring ultra creamy mac and cheese
Macaroni and cheese ingredients separated in bowls
Rich, Velveeta cheese sauce
Creamy mac and cheese in a skillet
Wooden spoon stirring macaroni and cheese in a skillet
Creamy mac and cheese in a black bowl

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. This mac and cheese is absolutely phenomenal! The skillet gives it such a rich texture and it’s so luxuriously smooth. Every spoonful is pure comfort. My family thinks I’m a pro chef now thanks to you, Sabrina!

    Reply