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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?

It looks unappetising.

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!

what a bunch of food elitist snots you people are.


Kitchen Mage/OP-
Thank you for the idea. I love the thought of instant microwave mac & cheese and KM, you are totally correct when you say that kids love the magic portion of cooking. The bowl becomes extremely hot when you use the microwave kraft mac & cheese. I would have thought that food snots who hang out here would know the basic equation of heatwaves entering food/glass dishes hot=use a freaking oven mitt when taking things out of microwave, but apparently they aren't.

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 !