Stovetop Gruyère & Cheddar Mac and Cheese
Creamy, no-bake mac and cheese with a sharp cheddar and nutty gruyère blend. On the table in 30 minutes.
Quick
Family favourite
Adapted from Claude
Ingredients
people
- 340 g elbow macaroni (or cavatappi)
- 45 g butter
- 30 g all-purpose flour
- 480 ml whole milk, warmed
- 120 ml heavy cream
- 200 g sharp cheddar, grated
- 150 g gruyère, grated
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp black pepper
- 1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg (to taste)
- 1 cloves garlic, minced
Steps
- Cook the pasta. Boil in well-salted water until just shy of al dente — about 1 minute less than the package says. Reserve ~120 ml of pasta water, then drain and set aside.
- Make the roux. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant but not browned — adding it here lets it soften and infuse the butter without turning bitter. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until it smells slightly nutty and loses its raw-flour smell.
- Build the sauce. Gradually whisk in the warmed milk and the cream, a bit at a time, keeping it smooth. Simmer gently, stirring often, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Melt in the cheese. Reduce heat to low. Add the cheddar and gruyère a handful at a time, stirring until each addition is fully melted before adding more. Stir in the Dijon, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
- Combine and serve. Add the drained pasta and stir to coat, loosening with the reserved pasta water as needed. Let it sit off heat for 2 minutes to thicken slightly, then serve immediately.
Notes
- Grate the cheese yourself. Pre-shredded cheese is coated with anti-caking agents that turn the sauce grainy. This is the single biggest texture difference.
- Keep the heat low when adding cheese. Too hot and the sauce breaks (oil splits out, texture turns oily).
- Warm the milk first so the sauce comes together faster and stays smoother.
- The 3:2 cheddar-to-gruyère ratio keeps the gruyère from overpowering. Push it the other way if you want more nuttiness.
- Pasta water > plain milk for loosening the sauce later — the starch helps everything cling.
- Cheese blend tweaks: about 30 g grated parmesan boosts savouriness; fontina adds extra stretch. Keep gruyère as a supporting player rather than the star.
- Add heat with a pinch of cayenne in step 4, or a dash of hot sauce at the end.
Looking for the baked version? See The BEST Homemade Baked Mac and Cheese — that one’s a crowd-feeder with a Panko-Parmesan top crust. This stovetop version is the weeknight 30-minute play.
My Notes
(your own tweaks go here)