This 5 Minute Mac and Cheese Recipe is super easy to make in the microwave, and it’s so much better than store bought macaroni and cheese! You can’t fail with this easy, cheesy, creamy mac n’ cheese recipe!
5 Minute Homemade Mac and Cheese
Last week was raining and I knew just what I wanted to whip up for dinner….a quick and easy homemade mac and cheese.
Who needs a box mix when you can have homemade mac in 5 minutes?! I will say, that I had cooked pasta in my fridge from a previous dinner, so make sure you cook some extra pasta to have ready for this recipe.
This is too easy to not try for yourself, give it a go and let me know if you love it as much as we do!!
Can you even handle all of the ingredients you need? I don’t know if I can.
How to Make This Creamy Mac & Cheese
Pour in your cheese pleeeease.
Add your milk. I used whole milk here.
Every last drop!
Add some salt.
….and freshly ground black pepper.
Grab a spoon and stir it all together.
Cover loosely with plastic wrap and microwave for 3 minutes. Stir and microwave for an additional 2 minutes.
Stir until creamy dreamy smooth.
Oh yah!!
Dig in!
5 Minute Homemade Mac and Cheese
Equipment
- Microwave
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb cooked pasta we used small shells
- 2 cups Mild shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place pasta, cheese, milk, salt and pepper into a microwave safe bowl. Stir to mix.
- Cover lightly with plastic wrap and microwave for 3 minutes. Stir and microwave for an additional 2 minutes. Stir until creamy and smooth, then serve immediately.
Nutrition
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Have a great day! Come back soon 🙂
Welcome to my online kitchen! Picky Palate is where you’ll find family friendly recipes along with the best Disney eats, tips and copycat recipes! 
Wow, this looks so much easier than the way my grandmother taught me. I have always used, cheddar cheese, farfalle pasta, and no fat powdered milk. Cooking the pasta on stovetop takes ~20 minutes (10 for boiling, 10 for cooking). And another minute or so to melt the cheese on stovetop (adding a tablespoon of milk for one ‘handful’ of cheddar – [I have small hands ;)]). I mix it together (after draining the farfalle, obviously), and then sprinkle with some black pepper.
Yummy, but takes a heck of a lot longer. 🙁
My idolatry of mac n cheese will lead me to trying your microwave method!
LOVE this~ especially since I’m always fixing my toddler mac and cheese (instant) and feeling guilty that it’s not more “real” food!
Whoa! I can make Mac & Cheese in 5 Minutes? Yes, please! What an incredible recipe!
I’m drooling. Oh god. <3
Should have read… My mother used to make the best macaroni AND cheese with VELVEETA…
My mother used to make the best macaroni cheese with velvet, milk and a white sauce. I haven’t been able to replicate it. Now that I’ve read today’s post, I realize it’s because I hadn’t been using whole milk. It does make a difference, doesn’t it!
Five minutes? Are you kidding me? The world needs this.
This is a PERFECT idea for late dinners + side dishes for my husband! Love it.
Are the noodles cooked previously before the microwave?
yes they are, you will see at the top that they are left over from the night before. Happy Cooking!
It did look like there was flour in the picture.
Many thanks for a microwave version. Sometimes I just need a quick side dish or something comforting for dinner without all the work. This fits the bill perfectly! I’ll be using this a lot.
No flour 🙂
So no flour? It looked like flour but in the picture but I didn’t see it in the recipe. Looks yummy.
No flour Nika 🙂
That was salt, I think that you saw
This looks so good!! I love mac n cheese!
This is so gorgeous, I cannot wait to make it!! 🙂
Wow, so easy!
That’s how my mom taught me to do it too!! Love it!!
Sounds so easy! Love mac and cheese recipes! 🙂
This is how I make Mac & cheese for my kids. Not sure what I would do without my micro! Beautiful recipe images, as always! Happy Monday to you!
Thanks so much Chris! I use my micro all the time too 🙂
I don’t have a microwave. Would this work just as well on the stovetop?
Hi Tara, I think it would work just fine, just lots of stirring while it heats up 🙂
Jenny this is dreamy! So much better than the blue box 😉
Delicious! How can you not love comfort food that’s done in minutes?! 🙂
Oh my word. YUM!!
This is the stuff my dreams are made of. It’s like you see into my soul. YUM!!!!
Ooohhh, this looks good! Maybe my picky “only eat it from a box” family would eat this!
I bet they would! My picky little stinkers gobbled it right up 🙂
This. Is. Awesome. I always cook up too much pasta and then have to scramble to use it up. I will be making this for sure!
This is brilliant, Jenny! Who knew it only needed to take 5 minutes? Love this and will be pocketing it for future mac ‘n cheese cravings… Thanks for sharing!
Hope you enjoy Georgia!!
Just Pinned this. You are a genius! Any my little sick guy will be thanking you today for this comfort food…
Hope your sweetie gets better soon! ….and hope he enjoys some mac and cheese!!
How perfect! Now why would you ever want the box when you can whip this up so quickly??!
SEEEEEEERIOUSLY. I cannot wait to do this. I’m already freaking.
Yum, it looks like Velveeta, but better! Love how simple the recipe is, too.
It totally looks like Velveeta huh? 🙂
This is my kinda non fussy meal 😀
Wow! I can’t get over how easy this is! I’m always looking for super easy recipes to make when I’m at school and cooking for one. Cheers! xx
Hope you enjoy Abby!!
This looks great. Going to give it a whirl for the kids lunch today since they are all home from school! Thanks for sharing!
Wow, Jenny, this is fabulous! Definitely on my dinner list. What a crowd-pleaser you have here!
I couldn’t pin this fast enough. I prefer stovetop mac and cheese to baked but this is even better because there’s none of that roux business going on.
Thanks so much Sally!! Yah, sometimes it’s nice to not have to mess with roux 🙂
I made some with a roux and it came out so thick the kids wouldnt eat it… gonna try this one instead, thx!
wow, this really is 5-minute mac and cheese! i love the stringy-ness and cheeeeeeeeeese 🙂
I love that you made this in the microwave. I love my microwave and use it rather than the stovetop for melting everything from cheese to butter to chocolate chips. Big time saver for me and this is a great idea, Jenny!
Looks yum! Mac and cheese isn’t a traditional favorite here in Australia like it is in the US but I really want to try it. Do you serve this as a side dish or the main dish for dinner? Can you serve vegetables with it? (not mixed in, just on the side) I’m looking forward to trying your recipe!
You can do anything you want with mac & cheese…it can be both a main or side dish. Vegetables are great in it, especially broccoli or cauliflower, but you can serve it on the side too.
It can be done as either, but serving it as a main course with some steamed broccoli or cauliflower (or both!) would be a great way to balance a meal, plus the veggies would accent the cheese perfectly! 🙂
Hi, I realize that you wrote your question nearly four years ago and it may have been answered. However, here in America Macaroni And Cheese is almost always served as a side dish. Though sometimes people do just eat it by itself, especially when their budget is low. And yes, by all means, do serve with vegetables, also on the side. Or you can experiment and even add vegetables to the Macaroni and Cheese. It’s up to you. I am ready to try this recipe for “Thanksgiving” which is exclusively an “American Holiday. I think I am going to do a trial run so that I can tweak it just in case I can improve on this recipe. So Bon Apetit.
hello, by the way thanksgiving is not exclusive to america….. canada has thanksgiving too. and also another good thing to add to mac and cheese is 1-2 cans of tuna (depending on how much mac and cheese), or you can also add ground beef to it (one good way is to prepare the meat like you making tacos with taco sauce mix but instead you stick into your mac and cheese) YUM !