Whoa.

No-Boil Mac and Cheese | halfbakedharvest.com

Moving is kind of stressful, tiring and just plain not all that fun.

While I have been in the new house for over two weeks now, we are just now doing the big haul of transferring all the families belongings.

No-Boil Mac and Cheese | halfbakedharvest.com

Oh my gosh, so much stuff, it’s insane.

We need to purge.

And on top of moving everything into the new house yesterday, I actually cooked a full meal, photographed and made even more chaos for everyone.

What I was thinking I have no idea.

No-Boil Mac and Cheese | halfbakedharvest.com

Since things are crazy over here right now I thought this mac and cheese would be the perfect thing to post.

Just like the title says it is no boil. Meaning you do not have to cook the pasta before adding it to that dreamy cheese sauce. Which makes this the easiest mac and cheese ever. Like easier than the boxed stuff. Ah huh.

No-Boil Mac and Cheese | halfbakedharvest.com

Oh, and there are toasted bread crumbs.

No-Boil Mac and Cheese | halfbakedharvest.com

And tons and tons of cheese.

It is total Sunday comfort food, or birthday food in my mom’s case. Yeah, she spent her birthday moving. There was not even a cake. So sad. But do not worry, there will be cake. Just once I get the kitchen put back together.

No-Boil Mac and Cheese | halfbakedharvest.com

 

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3.58 from 28 votes

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

The Recipe

NO-BOIL MAC AND CHEESE.

By halfbakedharvest

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: mac and cheese

Easy, cheesy comfort food

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 8 Servings
Calories 472 kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 pound elbow macaroni
  • 3 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 4 1/2 cups milk I use 2%
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
  • 1/2 cup shredded havarti cheese
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
  • 1 clove garlic minced or grated
  • 1 cup Progresso™ panko crispy bread crumbs or Progresso™ plain bread crumbs
  • Parsley chopped (for garnish)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray.
  2. Add the pasta and about 1 cup of cheddar cheese to the prepared baking dish, set aside.
  3. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour, whisking constantly, for about 2 minutes. Whisk in milk and 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook, whisking often, until a very thin, glossy sauce forms, about 10 minutes. Stir in the mustard powder, cayenne pepper (if using), salt and pepper. Remove the sauce from the heat. Stir in the remaining 2 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese until smooth.
  4. Pour the sauce over the pasta, stirring to coat. The pasta should be submerged in the sauce. Cover with foil and bake until pasta is almost tender, about 25 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile, wipe your same sauce pot clean, then add remaining 4 tablespoons melted butter. Add garlic and breadcrumbs, toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. If desired you can toast the crumbs over medium heat for 4-5 minutes until fragrant.
  6. Remove the pasta from the oven and remove the foil from dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup havarti cheese, then the breadcrumb mixture. Bake until pasta is tender, edges are bubbling, and top is golden brown, about 10-20 minutes longer. Let sit 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with
No-Boil Mac and Cheese | halfbakedharvest.com

Head on over to Tablespoon for this No-Boil Mac and Cheese Recipe!! <— Do it.