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A close up shot of a very saucy and cheesy mac and cheese sauce on a spoon.
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5 from 1 vote

Fast and Easy Mac and Cheese Sauce

The only way I make my mac and cheese sauce nowadays. Fast, quick, ultra-smooth and intensely cheesy.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 6 people
Cost $10/ 7€

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 lb dried macaroni (454g)
  • 1.8 oz raw potato, peeled (53g raw and peeled) a starchy potato like yukon gold works best
  • 4 oz Cheddar (114g)
  • 2 oz Gruyere cheese (57g)
  • ½ cup whole milk (118g)
  • ½-1 cup pasta water (118g)
  • 1-2 tbsp brown butter (38g)
  • ½ tsp salt (3g)
  • 15 dash Worcestershire sauce
  • 10 dash Tobasco sauce
  • tons of freshly cracked black pepper
  • ¼ pc lemon, juiced

Instructions

  • Peel the potato and add to the pot you will cook your pasta in. Fill the large pot about halfway with cold water and season with salt until the water tastes like the sea.
    Once it comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until the potato is cooked.
    A small peeled potato in a large pasta pot.
  • Meanwhile, brown the butter in a small pan by cooking it over low heat until it turns golden brown and smells nutty. Swirl the pan as it cooks to prevent it from burning.
    Add the milk once the butter is brown, bring to boil and turn off the heat.
    Brown butter in a small sauce pan.
  • Once the potato is cooked, remove it from the pan and add to your blender.
    Bring the pot of water back up to a boil and add the macaroni. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Stir frequently to prevent it from sticking together.
    About halfway through the pasta cooking time, remove about 1-2 cups of pasta water and reserve.

To Make the Sauce

  • Add the cheese cut in large chunks (no need to grate), 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta water, the salt, Tobasco, Worcestershire sauce, the cooked potato and the hot brown butter/milk mixture to the blender.
    Seal the lid securely and place a towel over top to hold it down firmly. Begin on low speed (careful as the cheese chunks may splash liquid) and bring up to a high speed.
    Blend until smooth.
    The cheese sauce in a blender jar.
  • Once the pasta is cooked, strain it off and back to your pasta pot. Add all of the cheese sauce and mix.
    You may need to add more pasta water to thin it out. Grind in tons of freshly ground black pepper and check the saltiness.
    Season to your liking and enjoy!
    The easiest, quickest mac and cheese sauce.

Notes

Make sure to hold the blender lid down firmly with a towel before blending as the cheese chunks may splash the liquid around in the blender. Start the blender on low speed and work your way up to a high speed once the cheese has melted.
The sauce will look quite loose after blending, but it will thicken up quite a bit once it's added to the pasta. It's useful to save lots of extra pasta water to thin the sauce out as you. 
If you accidentally throw away your pasta water, you can use more milk instead. 
For real CHEESE LOVERS: Double up on the cheese sauce ingredients or use half as much pasta for an intensely cheesy sauce.
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