Who doesn’t love a good macaroni and cheese? Especially a creamy, 4-cheese, smokey, ultimate comfort food, macaroni and cheese? Now some people might argue that Velveeta doesn’t count as a cheese, therefore, this is really only a 3-cheese dish. But we’re going to act like we didn’t hear that.

As with many of my recipes, this is totally customizable to suit your tastes. Today, I used what I had on hand, which are almost always staples in my fridge. Double smoked cheddar (thank you Aldi!), sharp cheddar, mild cheddar and Velveeta. Yum. But I’ve also used Havarti, gouda, regular smoked blends and even mozzarella. Now you cheese purists, feel free to omit the Velveeta and sub in more of your favorite ‘real’ cheese. You can make a cheese sauce in a separate pan using butter, flour and milk. But going through a kitchen remodel, washing dishes and cooking in the garage, I’m going for simplicity and dirtying as few dishes as possible!

Turn this side dish into a main by topping it with chicken and steamed broccoli. Cheese plus broccoli, yes please! Make it ahead and cover tightly in the fridge. Add a little splash of milk when reheating to get that creaminess back. Round out your comfort meal with a comfort dessert, such as Puppy Chow or these Soft Snickerdoodle Cookies.

One Pot Smokey, Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

Smokey, Creamy, 4-cheese, macaroni and cheese. Easy comfort food whipped up in only one pot. Tasty comfort food with minimal cleanup!

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Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  

• 8 oz elbow macaroni pasta, uncooked or sub in any preferred noodles.
• 4 oz Velveeta cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded smoked cheese used double smoked cheddar for this recipe
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup milk used whole milk
• salt/pepper to taste
• cayenne pepper optional but super tasty!

Instructions

 

• Boil pasta in salted water per instructions. Cook until just el dente.
• Drain off all but 1 cup of water.
• With heat on low, add all of the milk and one cheese at a time. Cover after each addition of cheese. Cook about 2 minutes between each addition of cheese. This helps it melt and not clump up.
• Add additional salt and pepper(s) to taste.
• Leftovers (if you have any) keep for about a week in the fridge. Add a little milk while reheating to make creamy again.

Keyword comfort food, macaroni and cheese, side dish, Smokey