Food Lab Basics: 3 Ingredient Macaroni and Cheese (1 Pot, 10 Minutes)

It's gooey, cheesy, smooth, velvety, gloriously rich stovetop macaroni and cheese, using only three ingredients. That's one fewer than the blue box stuff!

NOTE: EVAPORATED MILK, NOT SWEETENED CONDENSED.

(and to you pedants out there: the peas and ham and hot sauce are just things I threw in because I felt like it. The recipe itself is just macaroni, evaporated milk, and cheese. Nobody counts salt or water as an ingredient. Nobody.)

Equal parts macaroni, evaporated milk, and grated cheese. Put the mac in a pan and add cold water until it's just covered, along with a little pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until the water is almost completely dry and the pasta is just shy of al dente. Add the evaporated milk and cheese and simmer while stirring until the pasta is done. If it gets a little too thick, add some more evaporated milk or regular milk or water to thin it out. Season to taste. Ta da!

PLEASE READ!

The coronavirus has hit many folks hard, including first responders and hospital workers, individuals and families who were already food insecure, and service industry employees who are, for the large part, currently out of a job.

My goal is to help fix both these problems in the best way I know how to contribute: organizing people, and cooking food.

[calebangell]

Your kitchen looks completely different during the day.

[kiwiv]

I wonder if this guy’s wife wakes up in the middle of the night, is like “Oh no there’s a robber!”, and she leans over to tell him, realizes he’s not there and then she hears him talking about Mac and cheese

[bored]

There is something about watching someone cook casually that is incredibly appealing. I much prefer learning how to cook something like this over the traditional "in-front-of-camera" and prepared ingredients type cooking videos.

[RomanStolper]

I like that the video included the pan washing, one of my favorite things about your videos is that they show the full, real, mostly unedited process that you go through when cooking. And because it's real, it motivates me to feel like I can do it too.

[Abi-hqlm]

It's kinda refreshing being on top on a chef's head after years in the kitchen cabinet

[jhensley]

"My name is kenji lopez alt "There is no kenji lopez main"
Had me dying for atleast 2 minutes

[BossLifeBlog]

“Nobody counts salt or water as an ingredient. Nobody.”

I really felt that one in my bones.

[terrypogue]

I am an experienced cook. You are my favorite chef/instructor. I have leaned so much from you, especially the science behind why certain things work. At 81 I have been cooking a long time with many times at culinary school when I was in my 40’s. I would love a few lessons on exactly how to do some of the modernist cuisine techniques. Some I have had success with others not so much. I realize it isn’t something that is going to be super popular but when you have a minute or two in a video it would be most interesting.
Terry

[mrloboloco]

Evaporated Milk boys, not condensed. He misspoke towards the end. Unless you want a sweet vomit tasting sludge, don't do that.

[regiolantus]

This perspective makes me feel like Remy

[Oathkeeper]

I’m infinitely thankful that I remembered this video when I wanted some mac and cheese today. With some leftover Christmas ham, frozen peas, some Mexican blended cheese mix, and a lot of Tapatio, I managed to feed myself rather well.

Thank you, Kenji, for these simple to reproduce home-styled cooking videos.

[titansMUFC]

The “Eff it, we’ll do it live” reference was tops!

[johnlight]

This is his kitchen during the day but when it’s late night...






Shit gets real

[saigouravpurohit]

For anyone confused, when he says condensed milk he means evaporated milk. Don't go making sweet pasta. xD Stay safe yall!!

[thomwroz]

That is a great recipe, Kenji! I add just a little dry mustard powder (like Keen's), which kicks up the flavour and helps emulsify the melted cheese/condensed milk mixture. Always a crowd pleaser.

[XYZakiAM]

As an immunology PhD student, I spend the day reading your dad's work and then settle down at night to watch your work

[Pammellam]

That was so cool about the tip, the secret ingredient of evaporated milk. That saves the cheese! You didn’t have to use any flour to make a cream sauce, the starch from the pasta thickened the whole dish! Thank you so much for that!

[benjamintran]

3 ingredients:
1. Pasta
2. Cheese
3. Peas, ham, water, evaporated milk, salt








For those saying its just pasta, cheese, and evaporated milk, I understand. I was just trying to make a joke here.

[seanonel]

Just realised that J. Kenji-Lopez-Alt loves to say "Whoops", "Hoo" and "Woo" a lot. These are important observations in the time of Covid-19.

[mrdaym]

"There are no other J. Kenji López-Alt in the world" You're god damn right.