But by my count, this still takes about 10 minutes -- which is how long regular stove top mac-n-cheese takes, so why not just do it on the stove?

Because sometime the thought of dirtying an extra pot is just more than you can deal with.

I love this.

But if you have some sort of recipe that creates mac and cheese in less than ten minutes, please share. I apparently have been missing out my whole life.

it's called Kraft Dinner but I suspect that that's just a Canadian thing.

except that you can make this with real cheese instaed of cheese food like the stovetop brands use. i like! plus, sometimes you really only want to make enough food for one person.

mlleErica, by "regular stove-top" do you mean the boxed stuff? I'd rather eat real cheese than the powder in those things, so this is definitely an improvement. And you get to pick your own macaroni, another plus.

I once substituted sour cream when out of milk. My child wouldn't eat it, but it was a delicious improvement.

we sometimes mix in a can of Amy's spicy vegetarian chili with Annie's boxed macaroni and cheese for a quick weeknight meal. it's spicy and cheesy and delicious (and slightly "healthy" what with the protein packed into the chili). i'm not sure about microwaved macaroni but this interesting...i would just boil the noodles then follow the instructions for melting in the cheese and milk.

Hmm... this looks kinda cool, but I do think I could just manage stovetop mac n' cheese in ten minutes. And no, not the boxed kind, but a real stovetop version with a roux and all, provided I a) chose a pasta that cooks in 8 minutes or less, and b) boiled the pasta cooking water in the kettle first, to save time. But then I love mac n' cheese, so I have lots of practice!

My only worry with this recipe is, wouldn't the bowl be terribly hot? I imagine with all the nuking that I'd have to transfer the pasta to another bowl to eat it.

Kate, that sounds so good! I must try adding some sour cream some time...

Kitchenist

@lyrabella – Oh no! Not the boxed stuff. What I do when I’m craving quick mac-n-cheese is boil 2 handfulls of elbow macaroni, drain, then grate in a handful of cheddar, a pat of butter, and a bit of milk or half and half. Just as easy as the box stuff but 10 times as good.

though baked mac with the crispy bread crumb crust is the all time best ever.

I second the vegetarian chili and mac and cheese. I make Emeril's vegetarian chili in large batches in my crock pot, and freeze it for those nights I don't want to cook.

My mom used to always boil the macaroni in the microwave, but we used Kraft Delux (Kraft Dinner, in Canada, so it's not just a Canadian thing) mac and cheese. Now I use Annie's, but I'll give this a shot, it sounds lovely.

Thanks for riffing on my recipe!

mlleErica, Ele, the recipe was designed so kids could do it alone or with minimal help, thus no stove. Plus, it's a great example of kitchen magic: looks like it's not working until right at the end when "poof" it becomes mac and cheese. So kids love it.

I do loved the boxed stuff-- but only Annie's shells and cheese, or the Trader Joe's mac & cheese.

@mlleErica: Your recipe sounds like something I have to try. Years ago on a camping/mountain climbing trip we made a batch of mac and cheese with some stuff we had at the campsite. It was SO YUMMY but we could never manage to recreate it. I bet that with some good cheddar is probably it.

I forgot to mention one of the very sweet things about this recipe/method. You know how whole wheat pasta often gets all gummy and icky when it is boiled? Well, you can make this using WW pasta and it doesn't do that. I think it's about the lack of agitation since it's not actively boiling, but I've served this to folks who hated the texture of WW pasta and they liked it.

Do you use cold water to begin with or does the water need to be hot? Thanks.

and throw in some broccoli to steam towards end for a nutritional boost :)

I'm a mac and cheese snob I hate to say. If I'm going to make it I have to do it right- stove top, with a bechamel type sauce, baked in the oven so it goes crispy.

The bowl gets does get pretty warm while it's microwaving, but it cools down quickly once you're done. I used a pair of oven mitts to take it in and out of the microwave to stir it.

And I used cool tap water to make the pasta. If your water is very cold, it might take an extra minute or two for the pasta to cook.

I also like the sour cream idea! I've also used plain yogurt before when I ran out of milk.

This would be a great thing to make at work, when there is usually no stovetop available. You can use a plastic food storage container and it will stay cooler than a regular ceramic or porcelain bowl. Thanks for the idea!

I'm definitely going to try this out with my kids! They love mac n cheese, but I rarely buy the boxed stuff for them. The only mac n cheese I actually like is real stuff (specifically, Martha's recipe) but I'd certainly give this a taste test when making it with the kiddos.

And the chili with mac sounds like a great idea! Can't believe I never thought to do that.

this is stovetop (one pot!), but it's AMAZING and takes only 12 minutes....
http://sustainablediet.blogspot.com/2009/08/better-than-kraft-mac-n-cheese.html

mmm...I love stovetop mac and cheese (especially with fresh breadcrumbs crisped in a skillet), but this really hit the spot! it seems especially good for summer, when you don't want to heat up your apartment by using the stove. I topped mine with some leftover tomatoes and leeks that I'd made a few days ago!

I'm a total white-trash mac-and-cheese gal, I have no particular allegiance to any brand of boxed m&c, whether it's KD (that's what us Canucks call Kraft Dinner), Annie's shells or bunnies, or my all-time fave President's Choice white cheddar mac & cheese.

BUT! I love the idea of a one-dish microwave mac & cheese because the danger of me making a box is that I'd eat it all myself. The OP's recipe gives one portion and ingredient control. You can use skim milk or sour cream, margarine or butter, orange or white cheese, and whatever pasta you want. This is goin' in my recipe box!

yum! i love this idea, and love the portion too. i always include goat cheese and top it off with tony chachere's because i like some spice. i suppose tabasco would serve the same purpose..

My kids love box mac, me, not so much. I just made this and it was a hit ! So easy and miles ahead taste wise !

You inspired me to make mac and cheese on the stove tonight. I made the same recipe I always make but instead of throwing in the oven with a blanket of cheese it went right on our plates. Great idea! It was missing that lovely crust but it stayed so creamy that this just may be my preferred method.

I don't know what happened but this one just didn't work for me. It's way way too salty. The pasta never really got to al dente even after an extra minute in our brand new 1100 watt microwave. The cheese sauce ended up soupy and lumpy. I followed the recipe exactly. The only thing I can think of was that maybe I was supposed to cover it while cooking? The recipe didn't specify so I left it uncovered. Any thoughts on what may have gone wrong? Can I reduce or eliminate the salt or will that mess this up somehow?

I can't make real mac n' cheese in less than 10 minutes, so I would like to try this. Plus I live alone and don't always want a big pot of macaroni and don't always have KD around.

I just tried this, and while it worked very well, I did make some adjustments and would make more the next time:
1. Waaaay too salty. Overwhelmingly so. I'd maybe only add 1/4 tsp salt or even less, next time.
2. It may have been the pasta I had (WF 365 whole wheat elbow macaroni), but I didn't need so much water, and only needed 4 mins.
3. I would add less milk - maybe 1/8 c? - and more cheese (although I used a very "meltable" goat cheese). OR I would nuke after adding the dairy in 1min intervals instead. This took about another 4-5 minutes instead of the suggested <1.5.
4. It also seems important to let the water vapor evaporate from the microwave for about 10 seconds between nukes.
(@ebenko - I always adjust recipes by eye and "feel." I can't remember the last time I followed one exactly to specification. If something doesn't seem right - ie, the amount of salt which I was initially wary about but went with anyway [should've followed my instincts!] - I go with what I think might be more appropriate, or more to my taste. Give it a shot again, maybe with less salt? Also, regarding the lumpy cheese sauce, it depends on what kind of cheese you used. The cheese sauce will end up soupy & lumpy at first if you don't nuke long enough regardless of your microwave power, but either a. keep going and keep eyeballing or b. use a cheese that has a lower melting point, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese#Eating_and_cooking )

All told, I totally agree with @gardensimple - this would be great for the many people who only have a microwave available... college students, office & retail workers, younger children, etc. So much better than the boxed stuff!

@ ebenko and megkem: of course it's salty - 1/2 tsp of salt is about 1200 mg of sodium, which is HALF of the total daily maximum intake for a healthy adult as recommended by the American Heart Association and the Mayo Clinic, and then you have the 175 to 350 mg of sodium in the cheese, depending on whether you use 1/4 or 1/2 cup (unless it's low fat or fat-free cheese, and then it'll have about twice as much sodium, because when they cut the fat in a food item, they pile on the sodium or the sugar, or both). That's just too much for such a small amount of pasta and water.

I'd say skip the salt when preparing it; you can always add some at the end if you really feel it needs any. And be careful with the chili as well, since that tends to be extremely heavy on the sodium when it's the canned or packaged type. Even when homemade you have to watch it - Emeril's essences range from about 243 to 296 mg of sodium per 1/2 tsp (so they're better than plain salt, plus tastier; you just have to watch how much you're using in the recipe), and only the Italian essence seems to be salt-free, but I'd check the label and make sure they haven't changed them.

I'm simply commenting on this so I have a record of the recipe for future reference. Can't believe I didn't see it before. Now, off I go to break the addiction to that blue box!

This will be perfect for our new RV lifestyle! Plus, now I can make actual WW pasta instead of the white stuff. I've never really liked the taste of Annie's stuff, but the Kraft version is hard to find in WW. Hopefully, this will be the perfect combo for us. Thanks!

I made this last night and was a little hesitant, but it turned out great! Really, I just tried it to see if it would work. It did take just as long as stove top and my bowl got incredibly hot, so I had to let it cool down a bit between some of the intervals. However, I am a macaroni and cheese fanatic and I LOVED the texture....almost cafeteria style (some might not like). Maybe this would be good if you were in a hotel or if something was wrong with your stove? Not sure, but it works. I also cut the salt by half based on other comments.

I just recently tried this and I'm hooked! The benefits for me are 1) one bowl 2) single serving - no leftovers to tempt me 3) I can use whole wheat pasta 4) I can use whatever cheese I have on hand - leftover party brie was delicious. I also sometimes take the extra step to throw some cheese on top and broil it in my toaster oven if I remember to heat it up while the pasta is in the microwave. One other thing I've discovered is using a wedge of Laughing Cow along with some shredded cheese gives it a great creamy, melty texture.

To comment to those who think this is a waste of time - This is great for smaller families who don't want to make the whole box of pasta! It's also great to not heat up the house. It takes the same amount of time, sure, but don't knock it till you try it! I also am on a reduced calorie diet and having that extra portion of mac n cheese would be tempting.

Sorry but why does this show up in the New Recipes colum when the recipe was posted over three years ago? Your tagging system really needs to be fixed.

If you cook the macaroni in milk rather than water, you save one step and the pasta thickens the mixture, at least that's how I do it. I also add a bit of granulated onion or onion flakes to the milk.

I agree that it's probably simpler to do on the stove, but if you're trying to teach your kid to cook, the microwave can be easier for them to handle. Plus, most offices don't have a stove but do have a microwave - you can make your mac & cheese from scratch - and, yes, you can cook it in the dish you'll eat it out of.

It is just as easy to cook the pasta (any amount, any kind) on the stove while you make the sauce in the microwave. You can serve it in the sauce dish.
If it is just for me and I need some vegetables I cook broccoli or cauliflower with the pasta (large pieces if you are eating them separately).
Use an oven safe bowl for microwaving the sauce. Once it is mixed with pasta if you still feel like it you can sprinkle some breadcrumbs on top and put it in the toaster oven for a few minutes.
When my daughter was little she didn't mind having cauliflower in her macaroni and cheese as long as you couldn't really see it. So I made a large amount, froze it in child size portions and put it in the freezer for emergencies. With a few carrot sticks and some fruit for dessert it made an adequate dinner.

Hint: make a double batch of stovetop sauce next time and freeze the extra in ice cube trays. Reheat with some milk and the random extra cooked pasta we always have in the refrigerator. It takes less than five minutes and you get all of the goodnesss of slowcooked sauce.