This no-boil mac and cheese recipe is extra-cheesy and super creamy, made with Velveeta, shredded cheddar cheese, and shredded mozzarella.
This dish is gooey and super cheesy. The Velveeta/shredded cheese combination makes for an extra cheesy, super creamy dish. This is the best mac when you need a fix-it-and-forget-it dinner idea or when you are cooking multiple things in the kitchen at once.
This can be served as a main dish, or it is a delicious side dish alongside another classic family dinner recipe like meatloaf with Ritz crackers. If you like no-boil mac n cheese, try my slow cooker Velveeta mac and cheese next.
This is a variation of The Country Cook's Homemade Macaroni and Cheese. Be sure to check out the original recipe.
Recipe Highlights
- Easy cleanup: The best part? This is a one-dish recipe. There is no need to boil the macaroni in its own pot or use a strainer or colander. This is a minimal effort recipe.
- Super cheesy: Velveeta, sharp cheddar cheese, and mozzarella make for a creamy mac.
- Simple ingredients: This is an easy recipe made with basic ingredients.
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Ingredients
This recipe calls for three kinds of cheese: Velveeta, cheddar, and mozzarella.
- Whole milk: This is the base of our cheese sauce.
- Seasoning: Salt, ground mustard, garlic powder
- Hot sauce: This isn't enough hot sauce to make the dish spicy, it just adds a splash of vinegar to enhance the flavor of the cheese.
- Elbow macaroni: Or another small pasta shape. You add dry macaroni straight into the milk, no need to pre-boil.
- Velveeta cheese: Thinly sliced.
- Butter: Salted butter, thinly sliced.
- Shredded cheddar: Cheddar is perfect for mac and cheese because of its sharp flavor.
- Shredded mozzarella: Mozzarella is a great melting cheese that will give you that ooey gooey stringy effect. Shredding your own cheese will give you a creamier texture, but pre-shredded cheese works just fine!
See the recipe card for quantities.
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F (177ºC) degrees and spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. The casserole dish size is important to ensure the noodles are submerged in the liquid.
In the baking dish, mix the milk, salt, ground mustard, garlic powder, and hot sauce.
Add the dry pasta and spread in an even layer. The macaroni at this step is uncooked pasta, it will cook as it bakes.
Layer with the Velveeta slices and half of the shredded cheddar and mozzarella. Top with butter slices, pushing them down into the milk.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.
At this point, the macaroni should be cooked and much of the liquid will be absorbed. You will have the beginnings of your creamy sauce.
Remove the foil and top with the remaining shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese.
Bake for another 10 minutes to melt the cheese.
Allow the mac and cheese to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.
Substitutions
- Milk: This recipe uses whole milk for the fat content. It has not been tested with other kinds of milk.
- Hot sauce: Use your favorite hot sauce like Cholula or Crystal Hot Sauce (or feel free to omit). This is a small amount of hot sauce and will not make your macaroni and cheese spicy. It's just enough to add a hint of flavor.
- Mustard powder: Omit the mustard powder or swap it with a teaspoon of dijon mustard.
- Pasta: I recommend macaroni elbows because they are small and are easy to submerge in the liquid for even cooking. Small shells are a good substitute for elbow macaroni noodles. Cellentani works in this recipe but may take a few extra minutes of baking. This recipe has not been tested with gluten-free pasta products.
- Velveeta: This is an important ingredient. I use Velveeta Original (or the store brand version. You can also use the Velveeta Slices product (12 slices is 8 ounces) for convenient prep.
- Shredded Cheese: Mix and match your favorite cheeses such as Monterey jack, pepper jack, or fontina cheese. Mozzarella makes the cheese slightly stringy and cheddar (sharp and medium are preferred) add a great flavor and texture.
Frequently asked questions
This no-boil pasta dish is a low-effort recipe. It also uses fewer dishes, which makes cleanup a breeze.
📖 Recipe
No-Boil Mac and Cheese
Video
Ingredients
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 8 ounces elbow macaroni uncooked (about 2 cups)
- 8 oz Velveeta Original Cheese thinly sliced
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese divided
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese divided
- 4 tablespoons salted butter thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees and spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In the baking dish, mix the milk, salt, ground mustard, garlic powder, and hot sauce.
- Add the uncooked elbow macaroni and spread in an even layer.
- Layer with the Velveeta slices and half of the shredded cheddar and mozzarella. Top with butter slices.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove the foil and check that the macaroni is cooked and most of the liquid is absorbed, baking for an additional 5 minutes if needed. Discard the foil. Top with the remaining shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese. Bake for another 10 minutes to melt the cheese.
Notes
Nutrition
More Pasta Recipes
If you love this cheesy pasta, try one of these delicious recipes.
Carol Reddick says
This is sooooo good! The macaroni is cooked to perfection and the cheese is gooey. It was piping hot and bubbly out of the oven and it looked lovely! It was hard to wait for that first bite.