Creamy and cheesy Stouffer’s Macaroni and Cheese is pure nostalgic comfort food made easily from scratch in just 30 minutes.
We love Copycat Recipes on the site but we’ve only scratched the surface of giving you Mac & cheese copycats starting with our Boston Market Mac and Cheese (Copycat).
STOUFFER‘S MACARONI AND CHEESE
This Stouffer’s Mac and cheese is such an All-American classic, we knew it had to be included. The real reason though? All through the holiday season as we were enjoying Home Alone (best holiday movie ever) I would see Kevin make his mac and cheese and sit down to his meal and it made me feel warmth and joy for the holiday season.
There is something about the creamy, cheesy flavors we all grew up with in this recipe. No stringy cheese here, just creamy sauce.
As much as Stouffer’s classic macaroni & cheese is easy to grab from the freezer section of your grocery store, toss on a baking sheet and place in the oven, I wanted to give you a made from scratch recipe that still gives you that same delicious flavor.
Most copycat recipes use a canned cheese spread for this Mac and cheese but if you’re worried about preservatives, we opted to make a real cheddar cheese sauce. The end result is a creamy, cheesy, with a bit of tang sauce that’s totally worth the little bit of extra time it takes to cook it. It doesn’t get any better than real cheese!
Because there are so few ingredients in this recipe, I like to focus on using quality ingredients. You really want the best of flavors to come through. I also encourage you to shred your own cheese for this macaroni and cheese. Pre-packaged shredded cheese isn’t always the easiest to melt smoothly due to the extra additives in the cheese. It can tend to get clumpy and you don’t want that.
This Stouffer’s Macaroni & Cheese recipe makes enough to be a side dish, but if you want to make this as a family size entree or have it party size, I would suggest doubling the recipe. All of my recipe cards have a slider tool to adjust the ingredients to help you with measurements. You might need to add an additional 10 minutes of cook time.
MORE AWESOME MAC AND CHEESE RECIPES:
KFC Mac and Cheese (Copycat)
Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese
Bacon Mac and Cheese
Baked Mac and Cheese
HOW TO MAKE STOUFFER’S MACARONI AND CHEESE
- Boil Pasta: Cook 8 ounces of elbow pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Make Sauce: In a medium-size pot over medium heat add butter and flour. Stir continuously while for about 1 minute. The flour paste should become fragrant. Slowly add milk in thirds and stir until it has thickened before adding the next portion of milk. Shred cheese and slowly add the cheese to the milk mixture. Add dry mustard powder and paprika and stir well.
- Bake: Stir pasta into cheese sauce and pour into a large 2 quart baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
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VARIATIONS ON STOUFFER’S MACARONI AND CHEESE
- Gluten-Free: Substitute the wheat flour in this recipe with a gluten-free all purpose flour, almond flour, or any other gluten-free substitute. Make sure to use a gluten-free pasta in place of the elbow macaroni.
- Cheese: Try using sharp cheddar cheese in the real cheddar cheese sauce for a more pronounced flavor. You could also completely change it by making a White cheddar Mac or Alfredo sauce. Finish with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
- Pasta: To keep this a true copycat I used elbow macaroni but you can use any type of pasta. Shells and wheel-shaped pasta are just a few suggestions.
- Milk: I like using whole milk for this recipe because it has a higher fat content than skim milk which helps with its creaminess.
Origin Story:
Stouffer’s originated from a small restaurant offering sandwiches and grew to a small chain of family operated restaurants. After World War II, the family wanted to give the convenience of eating their Stouffer meals at home. They decided to freeze their offerings and soon after opened a small processing plant to help facilitate their dream. Today, Stouffer Foods continues to be a part of Nestle Corp. and is famously known for their lasagna, macaroni and cheese, meatloaf, Salisbury steak and ravioli.
EASY SIDE DISH RECIPES:
More easy side dishes for your dinner table!
Sautéed Green Beans
Roasted Broccoli
Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Stick of Butter Rice
HOW TO SERVE AND STORE
- Serve: For food safety, don’t allow the Mac & cheese to stay out at room temperature for longer than 2 hours.
- Store: Store leftovers in a sealed container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat, simply place back in the conventional oven, toaster oven or pop in the microwave oven.
- Freeze: This dish can be frozen either before or after baking. Make sure to store it in a freezer safe container. It’ll last in the freezer for up to 3 months. Make sure to thaw in the refrigerator overnight before baking.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces elbow pasta
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 cups Colby Cheese , shredded
- 2 cups Mild Cheddar Cheese , shredded
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box then rinse and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium-size pot over medium heat add butter and let melt.
- Add in the flour, mustard, and paprika and whisk together for about 1 minute.
- Slowly add milk in thirds and stir until it has thickened (about 2 minutes between each third) before adding the next portion of milk.
- Add in the Colby cheese, whisk until fully melted.
- Add in the Mild Cheddar Cheese and whisk until fully melted.
- Add the pasta to the cheese sauce, mix well then cover and bake for 20 minutes (if your pot is not oven safe transfer to a baking dish first).
Nutrition
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Hello, I have a question. What food color do you use to make this beautiful color? Thank you.
No food coloring was used, but the mustard powder and paprika definitely lends it’s own color.
I will not buy this again. I felt something happened. Seareded and found it had been changed. Very bland and had aLOT of sauce still floating after macaroni gone. Almost like watery, why do companies change a good thing and wind up making it worse, bye bye Stouffers. You were my lunch date for many years,with goodness gone I am gone.
This is JUST LIKE the stauffer’s mac I love! I think they go with all the cheese sauce to allow it to be frozen and microwave easily. Thanks so much for posting this recipe!
You’re welcome!
I tried this recipe last night. Was nothing like Stouffers Mac and Cheese. I tried a copycat recipe a few years ago that was spot on, couldn’t find it, this recipe was not it.
8 oz. of pasta = 8 servings. If you DARE to indulge in 1 additional oz., don’t forget to DOUBLE the Nutr. Info. It WAS however, really, really good!
8 oz of uncooked pasta is 4 servings
This is my kids new favorite dish!! Thanks so much for sharing!
You’re welcome, Chelsea. I’m so glad it was a hit.
My kids are HUGE mac and cheese lovers! I need to make this for them!
Enjoy!
Ohhh now THIS is the good stuff! THIS is what I love in a home made mac and cheese! Delicious
Definitely!
Lots of sauce…..not many noodles…..second batch like this……….I am a Mac & Cheese lover for 20 years.my midnight comfort food..truth be told………..I could make nachos with the leftover cheese sauce