The Best Mac And Cheese Recipes

Some like it baked, some like it strictly stovetop but everyone likes it hot, creamy and oh-so cheesy. Here are 25 gooey, melty, irresistible recipes for our favorite comfort food — macaroni and cheese.

The trick to maintaining a desirable texture in this freezer-friendly mac and cheese is a combination of sharp cheddar and colby jack, a generous pour of heavy cream and chicken broth in the sauce. With just a handful of ingredients and a few easy steps, it's a great dish to make and freeze ahead of a busy week.

For the Freezer-Friendly Mac and Cheese recipe, click here.

With Taleggio cheese, fontina, Gouda and cheddar, this mac and cheese lives up to the title of gooey and creamy. The dish is from Murray's Cheese in New York City, but it's simple enough to make at home as long as you have good quality ingredients and a little bit of time. 

For the Gooey, Creamy Mac and Cheese recipe, click here.

While there are countless macaroni and cheese recipes out there, many of them don't include one ingredient that's a total game-changer: cream cheese. This cheese and macaroni pie is made with cream cheese, a can of evaporated milk, regular milk and eggs for a tangy, creamy casserole. 

For the Cheese and Macaroni Pie recipe, click here.

This might just be the easiest recipe on the list. All you do is add oil, pasta, salt and four cups of water to your Instant Pot and cook on the high pressure setting for six minutes. After you carefully release the Instant Pot lid, simply stir in ricotta cheese, cheddar and any herbs you like. Then, it's time to dig in.

For the Instant Pot Mac and Cheese with Ricotta recipe, click here.

Using cauliflower in your mac and cheese is a great way to get some vitamins you may be missing. This recipe uses both cauliflower and whole wheat pasta as the macaroni base, and the sauce comes together with butter, cream cheese, cheddar and evaporated milk. 

For the Instant Pot Cauliflower Mac and Cheese recipe, click here.

Tacos are one of the best-ever Mexican dishes, so why not fuse them with mac and cheese? By using a taco seasoning packet, you can shortcut your way to that spicy Southwestern flavor that goes so well with a sharp cheddar cheese sauce. 

For the Taco Mac and Cheese recipe, click here.

You can make dinner, lunch and breakfast in your Instant Pot. This multicooker recipe uses ricotta cheese, which gives the macaroni dish a richness you might not get with heavy cream and cheese alone.

For the Instant Pot Mac and Cheese with Garden Veggies recipe, click here.

Sure, you can cook up some of the best-ever burger recipes — or you can make the best of both worlds with this hamburger mac and cheese. It's beefy, cheesy and full of spices like garlic powder, smoked paprika and cumin.

For the Hamburger Mac and Cheese recipe, click here.

Mac and cheese is one of those things you didn't know you can make in a cast-iron skillet, and this method means your dish can be placed right under the broiler to get golden brown and crispy on top. The grilled chicken is made separately and added to the pasta and sauce right before being baked.

For the Skillet Chicken Mac and Cheese recipe, click here.

This Monterey mac and cheese has Mexican-style corn, a can of diced tomatoes, black olives, ground chicken, taco seasoning and of course, one of the best melty cheeses, Monterey jack. It's the perfect home-cooked meal.

For the Monterey Mac and Cheese recipe, click here.

This recipe uses boxed macaroni and cheese, but there is no shame in that game. Everyone could use a time-saving meal, and by using a box of mac and cheese as a base, you can spend more time cooking the chicken to perfection.

For the Crispy Chicken Mac and Cheese recipe, click here.

Buffalo chicken is one of those iconic game day foods, and it's a great addition to mac and cheese. Sriracha sauce, fire-roasted tomatoes, jalapeños, Gruyere, blue cheese and smoked mozzarella give this mac tons of smokiness and heat.

For the Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese recipe, click here.

You can short-cut your way to scrumptious mac and cheese without using any cheese at all. This recipe enlists a white cheddar mac and cheese seasoning mix to bring the sharp flavors without any shredding. The results are similar to boxed mac and cheese, one of those guilty pleasure foods we won't apologize for loving. 

For the White Cheddar Mac and Cheese recipe, click here.

You don't have to go to one of America's best seafood shacks to get lobster. You can make a decadent lobster mac and cheese at home easily with this recipe.

For the Lobster Mac and Cheese recipe, click here.

Pasta primavera is a great way to use the vegetables from your garden. And it gets a contemporary twist by being turned into mac and cheese. 

For the Macaroni and Cheese Primavera recipe, click here.

This recipe is loaded with America's favorite things — creamy macaroni and cheese, beer and smoky thick-cut bacon. The warming flavors of coriander and cumin make this a terrific dish for fall. 

For the Beer and Bacon Mac and Cheese recipe, click here.

This is the way to go if you're looking for a healthier mac and cheese recipe. The cheese sauce is made with evaporated lowfat milk, and there is essentially no added salt. All the flavors come from mustard, basil, oregano and black pepper. The pasta is spooned into hollowed-out zucchini boats for a trendy end result.

For the Macaroni and Cheese Stuffed Vegetable Boats, click here.

Out of all the fun spins on grilled cheese, this twist with bacon and mac and cheese is definitely worth trying. And it's just as it sounds — creamy mac and cheese is sandwiched between buttery bread and crispy slices of bacon.

For the Bacon Mac and Cheese Grilled Cheese recipe, click here.

The beloved combination of ham and Swiss cheese works great in this mac and cheese recipe. The Swiss adds a soft, nutty flavor to the cheese sauce and the ham adds a meaty, salty bite. 

For the Ham and Swiss Mac and Cheese recipe, click here.

Similar to stuffing a pile of mac of mac and cheese inside a grilled cheese sandwich, you can do the same with a pulled pork slider. This fun dish is one of the best meals you can cook with your kids.

For the Slow Cooked Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese Sliders recipe, click here.

Mac and cheese hotdogs continue the theme of stuffing deliciously gooey macaroni and cheese into bread. With simple ingredients like store-bought hotdogs and soft rolls, this recipe's addition of chives and bacon takes it to another level. 

For the Mac and Cheese Hotdog recipe, click here.

This recipe is one of the best ways to use leftover mashed potatoes. The warm, soft potatoes act as the "sauce" as the cooked macaroni is tossed right into the mashed potatoes for the ultimate comfort food.

For the Mashed Potatoes and Macaroni recipe, click here.

Yes, you can 100% make a vegan mac and cheese. This creamy plant-based sauce recipe is made with starchy potatoes that have been cooked and pureed with carrots and softened cashew nuts. You can top it with crispy curried breadcrumbs for even more flavor.

For the Vegan Mac and Cheese recipe, click here.

With spicy chorizo, paprika, green olives, Monterey and manchego cheeses, this recipe is everything a Spanish-inspired mac and cheese should be. The addition of shredded potatoes and bell peppers works well too. 

For the Spanish Mac and Cheese recipe, click here.

You're either a baked mac and cheese person or you're not, but this recipe might win the latter over. The issue with baked macaroni is generally that the sauce dries out in the oven. However, this recipe's three cups of heavy cream and a generous addition of mascarpone cheese ensures that it will not. Once you've mastered your favorite classic recipes, you can add some of these unexpected ingredients that go great with mac and cheese.

For the Ultimate Baked Mac and Cheese recipe, click here. 

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