Stovetop one pot macaroni and cheese:

If you don’t want to read the whole thing, ages ago I roughly halved it and converted to cups for a simple version. Not perfect but easy.

This is a good amount for one person and requires one pot, one spoon/fork, and one stovetop burner. Maybe a grater if your cheese isn’t pre shredded.

2/3 cups pasta (I use small elbows or spirals)

1.5 cups water

1 cup milk or soy milk

Cheese (a few handfuls)

Seasoning - a pinch/squirt of mustard, a tablespoon or two of paprika, a shake of nutmeg, or just salt and pepper. Whatever you’re using.

There are a lot of instructions in the original to avoid burning or gumminess.

But basically just add the water and boil the pasta til it begins to soften (stirring as it sticks), add the milk and butter, then turn it down to low to simmer. Keep watching and stirring so it won’t stick and burn. When it’s thickening but there’s still some liquid left season it and stir the cheese in.

If pasta is still a bit hard in the middle (pull out a single noodle with a utensil, blow on it to cool and bite it) add extra milk and keep cooking. If it’s too liquid give it longer to cook down. It thickens a bit as it cools so don’t worry too much.

Alterations:

It can be made vegan/dairy free with plant milk, spread, and/or nutritional yeast or cheez. Add drained tinned/frozen peas and corn at the liquid stage and gently heat through. Or stir in leftover pumpkin puree.

 

For easy cleanup:

Cook it using your eating utensil and after a few minutes to cool, eat directly from the pot. (Note - Avoid using metal utensils on nonstick pans. Use either a non-metal utensil or a stainless steel pot.)

Scrape out the pot with a spatula or wipe it out with a paper towel immediately after finishing the meal, and scrub it out immediately with a soapy sponge or dish brush. (Do the spoon or fork too.) Rinse and leave to drip dry in rack overnight.