Name: Microwave Mac and Cheese
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: ⅓ cup uncooked elbow macaroni ((see note #1)); ½ cup water; ¼ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese ((do NOT use pre-shredded, see note #2)); ½ teaspoon all-purpose flour; 1 slice American cheese ((wrapped “singles”)); ¼ cup whole milk ((see note #4))

Recipe Overview

Why you’ll love it: Although homemade microwave mac and cheese isn’t quite as easy as Kraft Easy Mac, you’ll love it because your homemade mac and cheese is healthier and tastier (and it’s still easy!). It’s made with real cheese, too!

How long it takes: 10 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: large measuring cup or bowl
Servings: 1

Close up image of microwave mac and cheese.

Easy Mac

It’s a little embarrassing how much Easy Mac I ate when I was in college. And when I say a little embarrassing, I mean a LOT embarrassing. What can I say? Mac and cheese is comfort food: fast, filling, and tasty.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Easy Mac, it’s the familiar Kraft mac and cheese, packaged in individual portions that can be prepared in a mug in the microwave, ready in just a few minutes. The only ingredient you have to add is water.

DIY Microwave Mac & Cheese

Only 5 simple ingredients! All you need to make your own “Easy Mac” is uncooked macaroni, milk, flour, and cheese (2 kinds), plus water. After all, mac and cheese is a relatively simple dish, nothing exotic here. This is REAL mac and cheese made with real cheese, not a cheese powder that contains 31 ingredients, most of which have nothing to do with cheese.

Tried and true. You can depend on this recipe to turn out. We spent a fair amount of time tinkering with the recipe to get it just right. A few of our tries were, shall we say, unsuccessful. Who would have guessed how many ways mac and cheese could bomb?The good news is that we did the hard work and you get to reap the benefits.

Not exactly the same as Easy Mac. We think you’re gonna love this Easy Mac copycat even though it doesn’t look exactly like the blue box version. I also concede that our microwavable mac and cheese isn’t quite as easy as merely adding water to a package. You’ll need to shred a little cheese and measure out a few ingredients. It’s worth it though!

Amelia (10 years old) Said:

“Yummy. It is very good and I like it a lot.”

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Ingredient Notes

Macaroni: Just regular elbow macaroni is all you need. If you swap in a different pasta shape, make sure it has the same cooking time as macaroni.
Cheddar Cheese: We love extra sharp cheddar cheese for the most flavor. Buy a block of cheese and grate your own (see the timesaving tip below).
American Cheese Singles: Although it wasn’t my first choice, we tried to make the mac and cheese without using processed cheese and unfortunately, the end result wasn’t nearly as smooth and creamy. American cheese has a low melting point, making it the best choice for this microwave recipe. One pre-wrapped slice is all you need.
Whole Milk: The higher fat content of whole milk ensures the creamiest results. There is no butter in this recipe.
All-Purpose Flour: You only need a pinch of flour (½ teaspoon). Flour helps thicken the cheese sauce.
Water: Because the macaroni is uncooked, it absorbs all of the liquid as it hydrates in the cup. This is a no drain recipe.

Timesaving Tip

Grate the whole block of cheddar cheese and freeze the grated cheese in ¼ cup increments for future bowls of mac and cheese.

Ingredients needed for recipe, including cheese and macaroni pasta.

Grate and Slice Set

I love this grate and slice set by OXO. It’s like a mini mandolin. It comes with 4 blades: coarse grating, medium grating, straight slicing and julienne slicing. Plus it grates right into a container for easy measuring. No more messy grating.

Buy on Amazon

How To Make Microwave Mac and Cheese

Choose a LARGE measuring cup (4 cups). We’ll start off with a very helpful tip. Use a measuring cup, mug, or bowl that is way bigger you think you need. We found that a 4 cup liquid measuring cup worked perfectly. If you use a smaller container, the mixture will overflow and make a mess in your microwave. Trust us, we know.

Cook the macaroni in the microwave. Begin by cooking the macaroni. Measure out a half cup of water in the measuring cup. Add ⅓ cup macaroni (use a dry measuring cup to measure it). Give it a stir.

Microwave for 2 minutes, stir, 2 more minutes, stir, 2 more minutes. That’s 6 minutes total. The water should be mostly absorbed and the pasta should be tender.

Macaroni pasta in a large bowl, mostly cooked.

Prep the cheese. While the macaroni is cooking, prep the cheese. Toss the shredded cheddar cheese with the flour and tear the American cheese into a few smaller pieces.

Add the milk. When the pasta is cooked, stir in the milk. Cook for 1 minute.

Melt in the cheese. Immediately stir in the cheese, both kinds. Cover the cup, bowl, or mug with a plate or paper towel. Let it set for a minute.

Stir and serve. Stir well. The cheese should be completely melted. So there you go! I bet you can’t wait to dig in! Enjoy your creamy delicious mac and cheese.

Serve the mac and cheese with air fryer hot dogs or easy turkey wraps.

Close up of macaroni and cheese in a white bowl.

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