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WILL IT SK I LLET ? MAC AND

CHEESE
$2.59 RECIPE / $1.30 SERVING

BUDGET BYTES » RECIPES » PASTA RECIPES » WILL IT SKILLET? MAC AND CHEESE

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I have something really fun (and delicious) for you today!! I’m so excited about this, guys. My
friend, Daniel Shumski, released his second book yesterday and it’s a gem! The book is
called Will It Skillet? (a follow up to his first book, Will It Waffle?, LOL, I love his book titles!)
and it contains 53 easy recipes that can be made in a cast iron skillet. Not only is this great
for easy weeknight cooking, but if you’re an avid camper, this book will probably serve you
well. Anyway, he’s letting me share one of the recipes from the book with you, so I chose the
Mac and Cheese Recipe.

Let me just tell you, THIS is my new favorite mac and cheese. IMHO it tops all other mac and
cheese methods in both ease and creaminess. I’ve made it twice this week and already want
more!

See this recipe used in my weekly meal prep.

This recipe has been reprinted with the permission and generosity of Danial Shumski and
Workman Publishing.

WILL IT SKILLET ? M AC AND C HEES E

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WHY THIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE MAC AND CHEESE

So what’s so special about this mac and cheese? Wellllll let me count the ways.
 1. It doesn’t require making a roux or béchamel sauce, so it’s super fast, easy, and fool-

proof.

2. It’s incredibly silky and rich! And it doesn’t get grainy as it cools like other “miracle” or one-
pot mac and cheeses. It’s just rich cheesy perfection.

3. Because the cheese sauce doesn’t use a butter and flour based roux, you could potentially
make this gluten free by using a gluten free pasta. Everyone can be in mac and cheese
heaven!!

4. Seriously, there are only seven ingredients. And that’s counting salt.

Just be careful, because like I said, this mac and cheese is just so easy and delicious that it’s
also very dangerous. I can see myself keeping the very few ingredients needed to make this
on hand and just making mac and cheese all the time. Pandora’s box has been opened.

P.S. You can absolutely make this in a regular sauce pot. You don’t need a cast iron skillet for
this recipe. But for reference, I use this 10″ Lodge cast iron skillet.

WILL IT SKILLET? MAC AND

CHEESE
Recipe reprinted with permission from Workman
Publishing.
This incredible roux-less mac and cheese is rich, creamy,
and only requires seven ingredients. Perfect for last
minute weeknight dinners!
TOTAL COST: $2.59 recipe / $1.30 serving PRINT RECIPE 
AUTHOR: Daniel Shumski // Will It Skillet?
GROCERY LIST 
COOK TIME: 20 mins
FAVORITES
TOTAL TIME: 20 mins
SERVINGS: 2
4.24 from 26 votes
INGREDIENTS
 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)

2 cups elbow macaroni* ($0.70)
2 Tbsp butter ($0.27)
3/4 cup evaporated milk ($0.55)
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard ($0.03)
1 pinch cayenne pepper ($0.02)
1.5 cups shredded sharp cheddar ($1.00)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Fill the skillet two-thirds full of water, add the salt, and bring to a boil over medium-
high heat.
2. Add the macaroni, turn the heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until
just shy of al dente. This should take about 10 minutes, but check the pasta
package for recommended cooking times and aim for the lower end if a range is
given. (The macaroni will continue to cook a bit in the sauce.) When the macaroni is
ready, biting into a piece should reveal a very thin core of uncooked pasta.
3. Drain the macaroni and return it to the skillet. Turn the heat to low. Add the butter
and stir until it melts.
4. Add the evaporated milk, mustard, and cayenne and stir well to combine. Add the
cheese in three batches, stirring frequently as each batch is added and waiting until
the cheese has melted before adding the next batch. After about 5 minutes total,
the sauce will be smooth and noticeably thicker.
5. Serve hot. Leftovers can be refrigerated in a covered container for up to 2 days.

NOTES

*I used cavatappi pasta (corkscrews). For most medium pasta shapes, 2 cups is roughly
1/2 lb.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!

NUTRITION

Serving: 1 Serving・ Calories: 1017.8 kcal ・ Carbohydrates: 103.1 g ・ Protein: 41.35 g

・ Fat: 47.2 g ・ Sodium: 1344.75 mg ・ Fiber: 4.1 g
Nutritional values are estimates only. See our full nutrition disclaimer here.
The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products we use and love. As an 
Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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STEP BY STEP PHOTO S

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Here is Daniel’s book, for reference. Seriously so many yummy things in here!
 

To begin the mac and cheese, fill your skillet about 3/4 full with water and add 1/2 tsp salt.
Bring it up to a boil over medium-high heat. Add 2 cups (or about 1/2 lb.) of elbow macaroni
or any shape of similar size. Boil the pasta just until it is al dente. Leave it slightly under done
because it will continue to cook and soften in the sauce. Make sure to stir it often as it boils if
you’re using a shallow skillet like this. Once cooked, drain the pasta in a colander.
 

Turn the heat down to LOW and return the cooked and drained pasta to the skillet, along
with 2 Tbsp butter. Stir the butter into the pasta until it is completely melted.
 

Add 3/4 cup evaporated milk and let it begin to heat through.
 

Make sure you buy “evaporated milk” and not “sweetened condensed milk” because they are
two very VERY different things. ;) Luckily, the 3/4 cup needed for this recipe was 1/2 of this
can, so I saved the other half to make a second batch a couple days later (see?
DANGEROUS).
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Also add 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard and a pinch of cayenne.

 

Once the evaporated milk has heated up a bit (this shouldn’t take more than a minute or so),
begin adding 1.5 cups shredded sharp cheddar, one handful at a time. Make sure the cheese
is fully melted in before adding the next handful. I added my cheese in three batches.
 

As the cheese melts in the sauce will thicken into the silkiest, cheesiest skillet of goodness
you’ve ever eaten. It’s so perfect.
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And that’s it! You’re done! Now just try not to eat it all yourself. ;)

POSTED ON APRIL 5, 2017 IN MAIN DISH RECIPES, ONE 66 COMMENTS »

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66 COMMENTS ON “ WILL IT SKILLET ? MAC AND CHEESE”

« Older Comments

GRACE —
12.31.20 @ 3:33 PM REPLY

Made this to go with some fishsticks as I had a craving for macaroni and cheese, but
never keep the boxed stuff on hand. A few notes to help others:

1) As written, the recipe is bland. I added kosher salt, pepper, more cayenne, a little
garlic salt, and some MSG. It kicked up that cheesy flavor well.

2) I used extra sharp cheddar, which is my go-to for any cheese sauces as I find it has
more of a cheesy flavor once sauced. I didn’t measure, but ended up using almost an
entire 8oz block (maybe 6-7oz? I added to taste).

3) I used a regular skillet pan, not my cast iron, and it worked perfectly. The cheesy
build-up was easier to clean in the nonstick and, as others mentioned, didn’t ruin the
cast iron’s seasoning.

Definitely going to make this again and keep evaporated milk in the pantry now.
 

MEREDITH —
11.30.20 @ 11:39 PM REPLY

I split this into four servings, and it was still enough for the main dish. Two servings
would be a giant bowl of pasta per person. 

I think I’ve made every mac and cheese recipe on this site but this isn’t a favorite. It
dried out quickly. I think the Rice Cooker Mac recipe is the best, I just make it on the
stovetop.

INSHIYA —
10.18.20 @ 5:02 AM REPLY

Hi Beth! just made homemade pasta for the first time using your recipe. It came out
fantastic! Thank you so much for your fabulous tutorial and recipe. I am hooked!

RACHEL —
04.01.20 @ 5:53 PM REPLY

Did not like at all. It has no flavor, no depth to it at all and making it with evaporated
milk makes it tastes like boxed macaroni & cheese. Loose the evaporated milk and
use regular milk and if using sharp cheddar you need another cheese to go with it or
else it’s just blah. The 3 main Mac n cheese cheeses are mild cheddar, Swiss and
mozzarella. You get the flavor, creaminess and stickiness that encase the pasta so it
doesn’t dry out. If camping add a little paprika for smokiness. I use salt, pepper,
garlic, onion, ground mustard and parsley

BRITTANY —
01.26.20 @ 8:42 PM REPLY

This is sooooo good! I kept skipping this recipe because evaporated milk seemed
weird, but I’m glad I tried it! This will be my go to Mac from now on.
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SHELBY —
09.14.19 @ 10:34 AM REPLY

This was great and easy, as promised, but it also appears to have killed the seasoning
on my cast iron skillet. I’ll make it again, but in literally any other pan. (A pot would
have been way easier to stir, too).

ANGELA CATER —
08.27.19 @ 12:48 PM REPLY

Even better with a few cloves of garlic and a handful of peas.

KELLY - TEAM BUDGET BYTES —

08.29.19 @ 11:40 PM REPLY

Yum!!

JOANNE —
02.21.19 @ 4:05 PM REPLY

This is one of my favourite mac and cheese recipes! It’s so easy to make (some might
say dangerously easy). I think the texture is silkier and creamier than a roux-based
mac and cheese which sometimes tastes a bit gluey.

I’ve made it a handful of times in a regular pot since I don’t have a skillet. Today, I
have some extra assorted cheeses so I’ll see how well a 3-cheese mac and cheese
turns out. I’ve also doubled the recipe with good results.

JACKIE —
09.02.18 @ 11:43 AM REPLY

What happened to the original miracle Mac and cheese recipe?  I do not like this
version at all, please bring back the old recipe. 

ANAYA —
11.25.19 @ 3:31 PM REPLY

What was the old recipie

 MEREDITH —
11.29.20 @ 10:37 PM REPLY 
Miracle Mac is still on the site. Totally different recipe.

GINA —
07.29.18 @ 8:18 PM REPLY

This was beyond delicious – so indulgent and so easy. I used half white cheddar and
half yellow cheddar, and in the spirit of Budget Bytes, I cooked and crumbled a
couple pieces of leftover bacon to throw in, which I would highly recommend as well.

JENNA —
05.04.18 @ 11:29 AM REPLY

ah so cheap and easy – thank you. Made this when I was home alone all week.
topped it with roasted broccoli and was a happy gal.

MOLLIE —
11.08.17 @ 2:03 PM REPLY

This was great! I ended up using a little extra evaporated milk to get it nice and thin
since my plan was on heating it up for lunches. I haven’t used mustard in mac and
cheese before and the one I chose gave it a kind of odd taste but it’s fine.

Next time I’ll follow the recipe closer. Still love my roux based mac best but this is a
good quick alternative!!! I made 6 servings out of it! More than enough for a meal
with the garden veggie turkey meatloaf meal prep!

SAM —
10.11.17 @ 4:19 PM REPLY

Not sure if I did something wrong as I have never had a bad recipe from Budget
Bytes, but this turned out very odd. It tasted like chemicals and I was very surprised,
because again, everything from this website is delicious. I think I would use different

types of cheese next time. Not sure what happened here!

SANDYTOES —
04.23.18 @ 10:49 AM REPLY

It’s the evaporated milk. Some people (I’m one of them) can really detect an off
note when using it. Switch it out for milk, half and half, or cream. I wouldn’t
use nonfat milk here. 

CHRISTINA —
07.19.18 @ 11:16 AM REPLY

Thanks for the tip about evaporated milk. I can’t stand the taste. I will
sub out half and half.

CAROL —
09.17.18 @ 6:03 PM REPLY

I made it with almond milk & it tasted very good.

HAYLEY —
02.02.19 @ 2:29 AM REPLY

Do you think Homogenised milk would work well? Thanks!

BETH M —
02.03.19 @ 10:35 AM REPLY

Yes, that will be fine.

HAYLEY —
02.03.19 @ 5:39 PM

Thanks Beth, It did work well, I also added a bread crumb

topping and baked it for a few minutes after and it was
very good.

BETH M —
02.05.19 @ 4:40 PM

Glad to hear it turned out!

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ALI —
09.27.17 @ 7:47 PM REPLY

This was super easy and really tasty, but it ended up being a little dry.  Do you know
what I did wrong?  Did I add too much cheese? Is there a way to help make it more
saucy again if it gets thick?

BETH M —
09.28.17 @ 8:29 AM REPLY

You could probably stir in a splash more of the evaporated milk to help loosen
it up a bit. :)

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