Stir together Alton Brown's kid-pleasing Stovetop Mac-and-Cheese recipe from Good Eats on Food Network and you'll never go back to the store-bought box.

Stove Top Mac-N-Cheese

elbow macaroni

butter

eggs

evaporated milk

hot sauce

salt

black pepper

dry mustard

cheddar,

Stove Top Mac-n-Cheese

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente and drain. Return to the pot and melt in the butter. Toss to coat.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir into the pasta and add the cheese. Over low heat continue to stir for 3 minutes or until creamy.

<span>I took some time to read through most reviews, especially the 1-stars to find patterns to why people didn't like the MnC they made. Here's some tips based on low score feedback:</span><div>1. This isn't as fast to make as boxed MnC. The 3 minute stir-and-serve is a bit ambitious. Take your time, add cheese in batches, keep the heat low. This should prevent cheese from breaking &amp; eggs from scrambling. Loooow &amp; sloooow...</div><div>2. Evaporated milk &amp; sweetened condensed milk are not interchangeable for this recipe.</div><div>3. Play with the cheese types, mix/match, but remember that aged cheeses have less moisture &amp; may affect mouthfeel, especially when using this amount. When using pre-shredded, make sure brand doesn't add a ton of starch when packaging. </div><div>I hope this helps... these tips are scattered throughout the reviews, I'm just putting them in one place.</div>

I have been searching for my "signature" macaroni and cheese dish for years and years.  You know...that dish you're known for and always take to family gatherings and potlucks?  Anyway, I think I have finally found it!<br /><br />I prefer a very creamy mac and cheese and others I have made through the years have always ended up dry no matter what I did.  This one is super creamy and delicious.<br /><br />I did tinker with the recipe, though.  I used ONE egg instead of two because I'm not an egg fan and I didn't want the dish to taste too "eggy".  Also, I used REGULAR whole milk instead of evaporated milk.  Evaporated milk always tastes too sweet to me.  Finally, I cooked my egg/milk mixture over low heat until it reached 160 degrees.  While cooking I whisked constantly.  After the pasta was done, I strained the egg/milk mixture though a sieve to get out any egg that might have overcooked or curdled (and nothing did).<br /><br />Cooking the egg/milk mixture might have been overkill, but I wanted to be safe rather then sorry.  My husband just recovered from food poisoning after he ate an undercooked hamburger at a church cook-out.  If you are making this for a child, elderly person, pregnant woman, or someone who has a compromised immune system, I would recommend cooking the mixture as I did.  When my chickens begin laying, I won't be so worried about the eggs because home-grown eggs are so much safer than anything bought from the supermarket.<br /><br />My 10-year-old daughter loved this recipe and told me I "spoil her" with my food.  That really warms a mother's heart.<br />

I follow the recipe fairly closely and it is excellent.  I use a 12 oz can of evaporated milk and I double all the other ingredients except I leave it at 2 eggs.  It takes longer than the 3 minutes for everything to meld together, but I just keep it on low to medium and it just works.  I've never had a problem with this recipe.  It also comes together quickly which is great because I am usually feeding hungry kids.  I normally use Tillamook shredded mild and sharp cheddar, but I have had friends use shredded American cheese with success as well.

my go-to recipe for quick, homestyle macaroni and cheese that both adults and kids love.  

Best Mac and cheese period.   Baked Mac and cheese is always dry.   This is creamy and rich.  It can be tweaked with whatever cheese you like truly.   Sharp cheddar as the main cheese- yes.   If you want a richer more sophisticated taste, add gruyere.   When I want to relive my childhood Mac and cheese, I add a little American cheese.   Incredible and easy recipe 

This is the creamiest, cheesiest thing I have ever eaten. Wowza. Alton Brown delivers. The technique is flawless, but it is R-I-C-H. Keep that in mind when you plan your meal. We had it with green beans, but it really would have made a better small side with a BBQ plate, or as a pair with slaw or something to help cut through the rich cheese. It's *that* cheesy. My husband and I both loved it, but were not able to eat a huge portion because it's so rich. He called it, "automatic portion control." Ha! Thanks Alton!

ALTON BROWN IS THE BEST!!! THERE NEED TO BE MORE GOOD EATS EPISODES ON FOOD NETWORK, BRING BACK ALL THE GOOD SHOWS!!!!

i tried this recipe and loved it.. i went exactly as stated excepted i added a heaping tablespoon of Sour cream.. my son loved it. i did use both eggs and the evap. milk.. it did not make it egg'y or sweet.  Make sure to use a good quality sharp cheddar and grate it.  Do not use pregrated cheese.

For those of you who are having print issues, stop rating this recipe a 1 star. Just because you do not know how to use CTRL+P does not mean you do not like the food. At least talk about the food and give a valid reason as to why you would rate it so low.

On to the food. My brother is going to love this Mac and Cheese. I will have to go out and buy the stuff to make it. Sadly, I can not partake as I can not have milk or cheese. But it sounds delicious.

I usually have problems with this recipe being a touch grainy. When I get the melting just right it's awesome. I've found that adding a couple teaspoons of Sodium Citrate (available from Amazon) helps to keep the cheese silky smooth even with aged cheddar. 

stove top mac-n-cheese

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total: 35 minutes

Servings: 7

Cost: $5.24 /serving

Author : Alton Brown

Ingredients

Instructions

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