9 Best Mac and Cheese Recipes

Mac and cheese is one of those dishes that everyone has an opinion about. Some insist on a béchamel-based sauce, others swear by Velveeta, and a few won’t hear anything said against the slow cooker version they’ve been bringing to potlucks for years. The truth is that each approach has its place — the right recipe depends entirely on how much time you have and what you’re making it for.

This roundup covers all nine mac and cheese recipes on DishBoard, organised from the quickest and simplest through to the baked classics, slow-cook versions, and the genuinely special-occasion stuff. There’s something here for a Tuesday night when you need dinner on the table in 20 minutes, and something for the Christmas table that needs to feed twelve.

1. Classic Stovetop Mac and Cheese

The foundation. A proper roux-based cheese sauce — butter, flour, milk, and a generous amount of mature cheddar — coating elbow macaroni and ready in 30 minutes. No oven, no fuss. If you only learn one mac and cheese, make it this one.

2. One Pot Mac and Cheese

The pasta cooks directly in a mixture of milk and water, releasing starch as it absorbs liquid. That starch is what makes the sauce clinging and creamy without any roux at all. Everything goes into one pot, nothing gets drained, and it’s done in 25 minutes. The method sounds too simple to work — it really does work.

3. Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

Twenty minutes from sealed lid to bowl. The pasta cooks under pressure in salted water, and the residual cooking liquid becomes the base for a velvety sauce made with butter, evaporated milk, and sharp cheddar. No draining, no roux, no separate sauce pan. The fastest version on this list by some margin.

4. Velveeta Mac and Cheese

Velveeta melts into the smoothest, most consistently creamy sauce of any recipe here — there’s no risk of the cheese splitting or turning grainy. Combined with a sharp cheddar for proper flavour and finished in under 30 minutes, this is the stovetop version for when you want something rich, nostalgic, and completely reliable.

5. Classic Baked Mac and Cheese

The same rich béchamel-based cheddar sauce as the stovetop version, but poured over macaroni and baked until golden and bubbling with a crispy breadcrumb top. The extra 30 minutes in the oven pays off with a textural contrast — creamy underneath, crunchy on top — that stovetop versions simply cannot match.

6. Southern Mac and Cheese

This is the version that turns up at soul food tables and Sunday suppers — layers of elbow macaroni pressed into a rich custard of eggs, evaporated milk, and three cheeses (sharp cheddar, Colby-Jack, and Velveeta), baked until set with a deep golden top. Firmer than a sauced version and impossibly savoury. The one people come back for seconds of.

7. Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

Start it in the morning and come back to perfectly creamy mac and cheese in the slow cooker. A combination of cheddar and American cheese produces a velvety sauce that holds beautifully without breaking, making this the ideal version for potlucks, holiday tables, or any occasion where you need to feed a crowd without babysitting the stove.

8. Vegan Mac and Cheese

The cheese sauce here is built on blended cashews and nutritional yeast — no dairy, but genuinely creamy and deeply savoury. Ready in 30 minutes and good enough to convert non-vegans. If you’ve been sceptical of vegan mac and cheese, this is the recipe that changes that.

9. Lobster Mac and Cheese

Generous chunks of sweet lobster meat folded into a rich Gruyère and cheddar béchamel, poured over macaroni and finished with a golden buttered panko crust. This is the version for a special occasion — a dinner party starter, a decadent date night, or when you simply want to make something that feels genuinely luxurious. Worth every bit of effort.

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Which One Should You Make?

The answer depends entirely on what you’re after:

• In a hurry on a weeknight — Instant Pot Mac and Cheese (20 minutes) or One Pot Mac and Cheese (25 minutes).
• Classic stovetop comfort — Mac and Cheese or Velveeta Mac and Cheese for a reliably smooth sauce.
• You want a crispy top — Classic Baked Mac and Cheese is the one.
• Feeding a crowd — Crock Pot Mac and Cheese or Southern Mac and Cheese scale brilliantly.
• Dairy-free — Vegan Mac and Cheese is the only one you need to look at.
• Special occasion — Lobster Mac and Cheese, and don’t think twice about it.

All nine recipes are saved directly to the DishBoard Meal Planner — plan a mac and cheese night, add ingredients to your grocery list, and have dinner sorted.