Finding Best Way to Make Mac and Cheese; Testing Cooking Methods

The stovetop method uses the fewest kitchen tools of the three since the cheese sauce and pasta go in the same pot, leaving me with less to clean up.

To make my mac and cheese on the stove, I started with a roux, which is a cooking staple that combines fat and flour. It helps thicken the cheese sauce, giving it a creamy consistency.

As soon as the fat and flour formed a paste, I whisked in the milk.

The key is to let the milk simmer until it starts to thicken, then whisk in the cheese over low heat. After that, I removed the sauce from the heat as soon as the cheese melted to prevent it from getting too thick.

The stovetop produced the creamiest mac and cheese. Taking the time to make the sauce first ensured that the cheese was completely melted and not stringy.

I liked the sauce’s thickness and the pasta’s tender-but-firm consistency. Even better, the leftover stovetop mac and cheese maintained the same texture and taste when reheated.

When I’ve baked mac and cheese in the past, I used at least double the amount of cheese, plus some extra milk.

But for the sake of consistency throughout the test, I stuck to the same measurements I used in the microwave and on the stovetop.

I intentionally undercooked the pasta before putting it in the oven to keep it from overcooking during the baking period. Before placing it on the rack, I dotted butter on top.

Then, I baked it for a total of 35 minutes (20 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered).

Baking the mac and cheese gave it a rich cheese flavor and a crispy top layer. The cheese melted well, although somewhat unevenly, leaving some pieces more coated than others.

I really enjoyed the flavor and consistency of the oven-baked mac and cheese the most, but it took 35 minutes to cook and didn’t reheat as well as the version I made on the stovetop.

When I’ve previously cooked pasta in the microwave, it took at least 10 minutes to finish, with pauses built in to mix the shells and cheese every couple of minutes.

So for this test, I decided to first boil the shells on the stove until they were slightly underdone. To make a roux alternative, I combined microwaved butter with flour, then whisked in milk I’d heated in the microwave.

I mixed the ingredients in a glass bowl and microwaved the mac and cheese covered for five minutes. The cheese still hadn’t melted, so I stirred it and microwaved it for another two minutes.

Even though I added the extra step of boiling the pasta before microwaving it, this method felt like the lowest lift.

The microwave got the job done, but the cheese didn’t melt evenly. Instead of turning into a smooth sauce, there were specks of cheese coating the pasta. This gave the mac and cheese a thick and dry consistency.

Without the stovetop cream sauce, the pasta absorbed the milk as it cooked in the microwave. It lost the cheddar cheese’s sharpness (which, in my opinion, is the best part of the dish), and I thought it tasted like milk.

The oven-baked mac and cheese had the best flavor and texture when served fresh.

The downside is that it took longer to cook, and cleaning the baking dish was a serious undertaking. Even so, I’d stick with this method if I were making mac and cheese for a party since it’s easy to prep.

The microwave version took about the same amount of time to cook as the stovetop mac and cheese, but it wasn’t as creamy and didn’t have the sharp flavor I got from the stovetop and oven.

All in all, the stovetop mac and cheese was the creamiest and did a wonderful job retaining its texture, flavor, and consistency after reheating compared to the microwave and baked mac and cheeses.

If I’m making the recipe for myself or someone else in my family and want to use minimal dishes, I’ll stick to the stove.