Easy homemade mac and cheese for one is an easy microwave recipe that can be made in just minutes with no preservatives or artificial colors. Cooking your favorite “junk” food means you can make it healthier for you!
Making Better Choices
Healthy eating doesn’t mean having the perfect diet, it means consistently making better choices.
One way I make better food choices for our family is by eliminating additives such as preservatives, artificial coloring, artificial flavoring, excess sodium, and more.
Homemade Meals
From scratch cooking is an easy way to eliminate food additives. By “from scratch” I mean preparing recipes with basic healthy ingredients such as butter, milk and flour.
Michael Pollan, the author of several bestselling books about food including Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation, suggests that we take back control of our food from corporations by making our own food from scratch.
By cooking your favorite “junk” foods you can instantly make them healthier than purchased junk food!
Mac and Cheese Problems
A junk food my kiddos love is macaroni and cheese. Heck, who doesn’t love noodles and cheese?
Unfortunately, those pretty cups of quick macaroni and cheese in your store aisle contain a CRAZY number of additives. Yuck!
Another concern is the flimsy plastic bowls used to store, prepare, and serve microwave macaroni and cheese. Plastics can leach into food when they are heated in the microwave.
From Scratch Cooking
Luckily it is SOOOOOO easy to make your own all-natural homemade mac and cheese with a few simple, healthy ingredients. You probably have many of the ingredients in your kitchen right now. You need:
- elbow macaroni noodles
- cheese
- milk
- cornstarch or arrowroot powder (optional)
- salt (optional).
What’s NOT in this easy mac and cheese recipe….
Whey, maltodextrin, milk, corn syrup solids, palm oil, modified food starch, milkfat, salt, milk protein concentrate, contains less than 2% of sodium tripolyphosphate, medium chain triglycerides, dried buttermilk, sodium phosphate, citric acid, cream, high acid whey, lactic acid, calcium phosphate, guar gum, cheese culture, yellow 5, yellow 6, autolyzed yeast, torula yeast, enzymes, dried yeast, natural flavor); modified food starch, maltodextrin, potassium chloride, acetylated monoglycerides, salt, medium chain triglycerides, apocarotenal (color).
Wow, that a lot of unnecessary additives (found in boxed mac and cheese) eliminated!
Custom Flavors
This recipe can be adjusted for each diner. Try substituting different cheeses to make your own custom mac and cheese flavors.
- Our favorites is spicy mac and cheese; use pepper jack cheese and top it with a few pickled jalapeno slices. Yum!
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Easy Homemade Mac and Cheese for One: all-natural recipes using simple ingredients to make simple healthy macaroni and cheese for one.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup elbow macaroni noodles (whole wheat or white)
- 2/3 cup water
- 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup Milk (skim, whole or 2%)
- 1 tsp Cornstarch (optional)
- Salt and Pepper (to taste) (optional)
Instructions
- Place the noodles and water in a microwave-safe bowl or mug. Add a pinch of salt (if using) and stir.
- Microwave for 4-6 minutes. Check after 4 minutes to stir and see if you need to add a few more tablespoons of water. Your noodles should have a bit of water in the bottom when al dente.
- Mix cornstarch or arrowroot powder into the cold milk. The cornstarch or arrowroot powder will make your cheese sauce thick and creamy.
- Stir the milk mixture into your noodles.
- Add the cheese and stir.
- Microwave the mac and cheese for 30 seconds then stir until creamy. You may need to microwave for an extra 30 seconds if the cheese is not fully melted once stirring.
- Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Nutrition
- Calories: 238
- Sugar: 4.7 g
- Sodium: 133 mg
- Fat: 3.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 38.8 g
- Protein: 11.3 g
- Cholesterol: 10.6 mg
Keywords: easy mac and cheese, single serve mac and cheese
Easy Homemade Mac and Cheese Tips
- Grate your own cheese to make sure you sauce is smooth and creamy. Bagged shredded cheese is mixed with additives that keep it from melting correctly. (Learn more in Can You Freeze Cheese).
- Use a bowl that is 4 inches tall or higher. This will help it from boiling over while initially cooking the noodles.
- This recipe makes a large 2 cup serving. Store bought single serve mac and cheese makes a one cup serving.
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Stephanie
My kids LOVE this mac & cheese!!!
★★★★★
Bren
Mine too! I love that it’s easy with no box mix!
Mae
I dont really like al dente pasta, how do i make it alottle softer?
Bren
All you need to do is cook the pasta to your preferred level. Add an extra tablespoon of water if necessary.
Susan
I happened to read this at lunchtime and, of course, had to try it. How wonderful! A one-bowl meal that tastes great and is good for you! I think I’ll make mac and cheese this way all the time — it was one of the tastiest recipes I’ve ever used, and certainly THE easiest! Thanks so much!
★★★★★
Bren
Thanks Sue. I am so glad you liked the recipe! I’ll admit that it is a lunchtime favorite around here too.