Velveeta Mac and Cheese is dreamy, creamy and delicious! This easy mac & cheese recipe starts with a homemade cheese sauce. The addition of Velveeta adds some creamy comfort while a couple of handfuls of real cheddar add a deeper cheese flavor.
This macaroni recipe is hearty and heartwarming perfect as a side dish or as a potluck dish when you want to have a crowd pleaser!
Velveeta is one of those foods that take us back to childhood. It has been around since 1918, gracing everything from grilled cheese sandwiches to cheese sauce. It’s added to casserole recipes and used in rotel dip or drizzled over loaded nachos. It’s even been used as fishing bait! No kidding!
How to Make Velveeta Mac and Cheese
This super easy homemade recipe can be baked or made on the stovetop. It can even be assembled in advance and stored in the fridge until it’s time for the oven!
- Cook the first four ingredients in a saucepan. Add milk and whisk gently until smooth.
- Add cubed Velveeta and continue to whisk until the cheese is melted and smooth.
- Remove from heat and stir in the shredded cheeses and macaroni.
- Pour into a casserole dish and sprinkle with topping. Then bake!
This easy casserole dish is a full meal in itself but it delicious served with garlic bread and a caesar salad on the side.
Delicious Mac and Cheese Additions
So many add-ins, what a great way to get extra veggies into the kids or to use up leftovers!
- Meat: bacon bits or ham, ground beef or shredded chicken/turkey
- Veggies: peas, carrots or broccoli, diced or Rotel style tomatoes, black olives or sliced jalapeños
How to Reheat Mac and Cheese
Velveeta Mac and Cheese is super easy to store, freeze, and reheat, too!
- To Store: Scoop mac and cheese into a zippered bag or a container with a tightly fitting lid. Keep refrigerated until ready to reheat.
- To Freeze: Use an airtight container but be sure to label the zippered bag or container with the date. Frozen mac and cheese should keep in the freezer about two months.
- To Reheat: Pop in the microwave or heat up on the stovetop. Add a little bit of milk to loosen it up and don’t forget to refresh the flavors with a dash of salt and pepper!
More Yummy Mac & Cheese Recipes
- Baked Mac and Cheese – most comforting meal ever!
- Jalapeno Mac and Cheese Bites – perfect party appetizer
- Creamy Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese – boiled in milk!
- Homemade Mac and Cheese Casserole – rich & creamy casserole
- Grilled Mac and Cheese Sandwich – 2 childhood favorites in one!
- 3 Cheese Cavatappi – so cheesy
Velveeta Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
- 1 cup milk
- ½ pound Velveeta cubed
- 2 cups elbow macaroni measured dry (approx. 8 ounces)
- ½ cup sharp cheddar
Topping
- ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 2 tablespoons cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cook macaroni al dente according to package directions. Drain.
- Melt butter, flour, mustard powder, and onion powder in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook 1-2 minutes.
- Add milk a little at a time whisking after each addition. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in cubed Velveeta and continue stirring until melted and creamy. Remove from heat and add sharp cheddar. Stir in macaroni.
- Spread macaroni into a 2QT baking dish. Combine topping ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle overtop.
- Bake 20 minutes or until hot and crumbs are golden.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Main Course, Pasta
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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i like the consistency but there was waaaaay too much onion powder. it was so overpowering that I nearly threw the whole pot away.
Hi Sara, we only add ½ teaspoon of onion powder to this recipe so it shouldn’t overpower it but you can adjust to your preferences or leave it out completely if you’d like!
So smooth and creamy!!! While I don’t use Velveeta cheese on a regular basis, it is awesome in Mac n cheese!
Quadrupled the recipe for a Celebration of Life gathering. Added a 1 tsp. Of black pepper. This recipe was a huge hit, everyone loved it and many came back for seconds. The only problem is, now I don’t think I can ever make regular stovetop mac and cheese again. :-)
This is just the cheesy recipe I’ve been looking for. I added ham and left off the topping. Tastes great!
I’m making this tonight. I chose this recipe because it resembles my 1-person stovetop Velveeta mac n’ cheese. For those commenters saying they want more flavor, try adding a little butter (it helps to evenly mix in the spices) to the cooked/drained mac, then add seasonings of your choice. In addition to the onion powder, some garlic powder, smoked paprika, even a little chili powder. All of these in small amounts, until you get the flavor you prefer. I feel a full teaspoon of dry mustard powder is going to be too much for my taste (unless I make pound of pasta). Remember, you can always add more, but you can never take away too much seasoning!
I have now made this 2 times and both times while mixing the pasta with the cheese sauce, the sauce is so thick I feel I am missing something or need to add more of something. The taste is great so trying to get this down right! please help. I followed the recipe completely
Hi Kristen, I am glad you enjoyed the flavor. If you are finding it too thick, you can try adding a little more milk to thin it out into a creamier sauce.
Game changer. Better than any store bought or previous recipes I’ve followed. My family actually gave me unsolicited props, and it’s just Mac n cheese. Take the extra time (I doubled the recipe) and enjoy. Used 1% milk and panko bread crumbs.
I didn’t follow recipe completely but almost! I had a little over 1/2 lb of velveta so I just used it all. I also changed the topping to Ritz crackers and butter (12 ritz and 2 Tblsp butter)
My husband went back for seconds
How large is a serving considered?
A serving will be 1/6 of the recipe which is approximately 1 cup
I didn’t change the recipe much on purpose – I just used what I had… So only changes were Italian seasoned Panko bread crumbs, and instead of where cheddar was used I had mozzarella cheese. Then topped it with black pepper to add a little something extra. I’m sure the recipe is delicious as is, but since my hubby LOVED it the way I made it, I’m going to stick with my version.
Fantastic
Thank you for the recipe. I doubled the ingredients up through the stovetop instructions. I didn’t bake it or add the topping. Because the Velveeta has kind of a sweetness to it, I sprinkled some salt into the cheese sauce, and also salted the pasta water. It was perfectly creamy and not dry at all so maybe the drying out that some reviews mention happens in the oven. I’m going to save this recipe and it will be my go to anytime I have Velveeta on hand.
very simple, relatively easy recipe to follow. Needs something to pick it up though. despite all the salt from the cheese, etc we found it a little lacking in the spice department. Added some black pepper and salt before eating
next time, I may add some real yellow mustard and a bit of garlic. Otherwise a really great rendition of our fav comfort food.