This no boil eggless easy baked mac and cheese without extra flour or without roux, made from scratch (homemade mac and cheese, not from the box) is my go to recipe if I wish to make a big batch of easy mac and cheese for my family.
As you can see, the mac and cheese is baked until golden brown and its very delicious but too easy to prepare!
More no boil easy pasta bake recipes in this blog includes no boil spaghetti bake, baked spinach cellentani pasta etc which makes simple, delicious pasta dinners!
Homemade Mac And Cheese From Scratch No Egg Recipe
And the best part is that you do not have to boil the pasta or noodles first following this recipe since this is a very simple and easy baked mac and cheese recipe without boiling the pasta in water first on stove top.
We just bake this mac and cheese in the oven which makes this mac and cheese recipe the most easy baked mac and cheese recipe ever!
This mac and cheese recipe is especially very useful during special occasions, as I am sure this is delicious that everyone including my kids will love this and also its enough for everyone with lots of leftovers.
When I say no flour, I mean I didn’t use any flour to make roux as called in many mac and cheese recipes.
But this is made using the macaroni shells which is made of durum wheat flour so this is not gluten free.
If you want an easy mac & cheese recipe on stove top, try this simple, easy and creamy one pot mac and cheese recipe.
The best thing with this baked mac and cheese recipe is that the effort needed to make this baked mac and cheese is minimal, we just need to dump everything and bake it!
In the above picture, you can see baked mac and cheese served with perfectly boiled corn on the cob in the background.
This is an eggless baked mac and cheese, its obviously vegetarian dish but not vegan since we use real cheese, milk, butter etc.
There is no need to add flour or make roux as this is a very simple recipe for baked mac and cheese, but it taste delicious with minimal efforts.
I usually bake mac and cheese during family dinners for occasions when you can easily prepare this in a large baking tray within few minutes and then bake the whole stuff.
I made this for last Thanksgiving for my family, but it took a while to post this.
So here is how you can easily make this baked mac and cheese following this simple and easy recipe for eggless, flourless baked mac and cheese.
How To Make Easy Baked Mac And Cheese Without Roux (Flour) And No Eggs
We use the following ingredients for this recipe.
Ingredients to make no boil mac and cheese
16 oz dry elbow pasta shells (about 4 cups)
2 cups water
4 cups whole milk
1 stick butter
5 cups shredded cheese I use a mix of cheddar and Mexican blend
salt adjust to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
Steps By Step Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.
Layer the dry pasta shells in a single layer in a large sized baking pan or tray (9*13 pan is good).
Also add the ingredients water, milk, garlic powder, onion powder and enough salt, stir in evenly.
Also place the stick of butter on top.
Place the baking tray in the oven, set the timer for one hour to bake the mac and cheese.
In about few minutes (about 15 to 20 minutes), the butter will melt and so carefully open the oven and stir in the melted butter with the rest of the ingredients in the pan.
The contents will be really hot at this time and also there is a chance of spilling hot liquid from the pan if you move it too much, so be careful while doing so. To avoid this step, you may add melted butter early in the process and mix in.
Once the butter is stirred in, close the oven and bake for the rest of the time until the top begins to lightly brown and the inside is cooked.
Check the contents in between (after about 50 minutes of time), since the oven temperatures can vary and in some cases the dish may get cooked early.
Once the pasta is baked (we baked it for about an hour) and the top starts to lightly brown, carefully open the oven and add 4 cups of shredded cheese also to the pan and mix in with the cooked pasta.
The pasta shells may seem to stuck together as they are baked, but you can use a spoon to mix the cheese within the baked pasta carefully. Make sure to mix the cheese evenly with the pasta.
Layer the remaining one cup of shredded cheese to the top of the pasta evenly. If you wish, you may add slightly more amount of cheese on top.
To get the most delicious cheesy baked mac and cheese which is lightly golden brown in color, increase the oven temperature to 400 degree Fahrenheit and bake for another 7 to 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the cheese on top is also completely melted and lightly browned on top!
This last step of increasing the oven temperature to do the final baking is very important, as it helps to bake the perfect mac and cheese that is delicious and golden brown when baked.
Enjoy the baked mac and cheese while it is still slightly hot or warm for the best results. If serving later, you may reheat it in the oven as you usually do.
Tips To Make The Best Baked Mac And Cheese
To make the best and easy baked mac and cheese without roux or extra flour, make sure to use the best quality macaroni pasta shells (elbow pasta shells).
I recommend using the regular kind of pasta shells for this (not gluten free or whole wheat or any other kind) for the best results.
I am not sure if gluten free pasta or any other kind of pasta like whole wheat pasta or chickpea pasta will work for this recipe since I haven’t tried them myself.
Sof if you are not on a specific diet, stick with regular macaroni pasta shells for this baked mac and cheese recipe.
The kind of cheese that you use for this baked mac and cheese recipe is very important as it decides the flavor and cheesy texture of the baked mac and cheese.
Make sure to use the recommended amount of cheese for the recipe, or it may not turn out good.
The cheese in the dish helps the pasta to thicken so if you use less cheese, it may end up with a lot of liquid mess. To avoid this, make sure to use the recommended amount of cheese!
Also, it is very important to use good quality cheese.
If you can, it is always best to shred the cheese yourself at home.
If you use packaged shredded cheese, make sure you are familiar with the cheese that you are using and its good for baking.
Because some of the shredded cheese comes with extra ingredients and may make the pasta dry when it cooks.
So use the cheese that you normally use for pasta dishes so you know its of good quality!
I recommend a mix of Mexican blend and cheddar cheese, which is what I prefer, but you may try other shredded cheese which you prefer also but make sure to use good quality cheese that you normally use in pasta.
Can you make mac and cheese without milk?
If you want to make mac and cheese without milk, you will need to replace the milk with any substitutes for milk. You may even make the mac and cheese in water instead of milk, if you want to reduce the total amount of calories.
However, keep in mind that if you make mac and cheese without milk by using substitutes for milk in the recipe, it could affect the flavor the dish depending on what substitute you used.
If you use water instead of milk, the mac and cheese will be less creamy in texture.
Substitute for milk in mac and cheese
Substitutes for milk in mac and cheese include plant based milk options like almond milk, oat milk, coconut milk etc or other dairy options like sour cream, yogurt, heavy cream, cream cheese etc!
However, you may also make delicious mac and cheese using plain water or you can use leftover water from cooking pasta.
You may also use broths like vegetable broth (or any broth of your choice) to make mac and cheese.
If you decide to substitute milk with water or any other substitutes, you may also additional ingredients like canned pumpkin to make pumpkin mac and cheese, pureed butternut squash, minced onions etc for more flavor.
If you want to make the mac and cheese vegan, you may also replace butter with any vegan butter and also replace the cheese with vegan option, though the flavor of the mac and cheese could vary based on the substitutes you use.
Below you can read the no boil easy baked mac and cheese recipe in detail.
Easy Baked Mac And Cheese Without Flour, Roux, Eggs – No Boil Mac & Cheese
Ingredients
- 16 oz dry elbow pasta shells (about 4 cups)
- 2 cups water
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 stick butter
- 5 cups shredded cheese I use a mix of cheddar and Mexican blend
- salt adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
Instructions
Steps By Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.
- Layer the dry pasta shells in a single layer in a large sized baking pan or tray (9*13 pan is good).
- Also add the ingredients water, milk, garlic powder, onion powder and enough salt, stir in evenly.
- Also place the stick of butter on top.
- Place the baking tray in the oven, set the timer for one hour to bake the mac and cheese.
- In about few minutes (about 15 to 20 minutes), the butter will melt and so carefully open the oven and stir in the melted butter with the rest of the ingredients in the pan.The contents will be really hot at this time and also there is a chance of spilling hot liquid from the pan if you move it too much, so be careful while doing so. To avoid this step, you may add melted butter early in the process and mix in.
- Once the butter is stirred in, close the oven and bake for the rest of the time until the top begins to lightly brown and the inside is cooked.
- Check the contents in between (after about 50 minutes of time), since the oven temperatures can vary and in some cases the dish may get cooked early.
- Once the pasta is baked (we baked it for about an hour) and the top starts to lightly brown, carefully open the oven and add 4 cups of shredded cheese also to the baking pan and mix in with the cooked pasta. The pasta shells may seem to stuck together as they are baked, but you can use a spoon to mix the cheese within the baked pasta carefully. Make sure to mix the cheese evenly with the pasta.
- Layer the remaining one cup of shredded cheese to the top of the pasta evenly. If you wish, you may add slightly more amount of cheese on top.
- To get the most delicious cheesy baked mac and cheese which is lightly golden brown in color, increase the oven temperature to 400 degree Fahrenheit and bake for another 7 to 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the cheese on top is also completely melted and lightly browned on top!This last step of increasing the oven temperature to do the final baking is very important, as it helps to bake the perfect mac and cheese that is delicious and golden brown when baked.
- Enjoy the baked mac and cheese while it is still slightly hot or warm for the best results. If serving later, you may reheat it in the oven as you usually do.
I LOVE this recipe! It’s so simple, delicious, and easy to customize.
Hi Christine, Thank you so much for the feedback 🙂 I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Do you cover with foil while baking?
Hi Amie, I did not cover the pan with foil. Thank you.
Excellent. Finally found a great easy recipe. Sprinkled a little panko with melted butter on top for the last 10 min. Loved by all.
I am so glad to hear this! It’s a great idea to add panko on top. Thank you so much for the feedback 🙂
THIS IS THE BEST MAC & CHEESE recipe~ thank you so much for sharing!!! I added a bit of shredded Parmesan & some breadcrumbs along with the cheddar on top. We used extra sharp Tillamook cheese as well~ just like my grandma used to. Delicious says the entire family of mac ‘n cheese connoisseurs😊🧀
Thank you so much for your feedback!! Much appreciated! I am so glad to hear that you and your family enjoyed the mac and cheese. Thanks again 🙂
Do you add salted or unsalted butter?
I used unsalted butter. If you use salted butter, you will need to adjust the amount of salt that you add accordingly. If the butter has salt, you will need to add only less amount of salt than ususal. Thank you.
Hi there. Please clarify your macaroni amount calling for 4 cups. My measuring cup says 2 cups = 16 ounces. Thank you so much! Was thinking perhaps that’s the finished/cooked amount?? My pasta is in bulk, so I just wanna get it right, lol!
Hi Jay, 16 oz dry macaroni is 4 cups. When the measuring cup says 2 cups equals 16 ounces that usually says the measurement of liquids. For dry pasta like macaroni, 16 oz is equivalent to 4 cups. You can use a 16 oz macaroni which is the same as 1 lbs or 1 pound box of packaged macaroni. If your pasta is in bulk, you can measure 4 cups of dry macaroni to use in this recipe. Hope this helps & thank you so much for trying this recipe 🙂
What is the equivalent of a one pound brick of butter to a stick? I plan on making this in the next couple of days using a mix of cheddar and either smoked gouda or gruyere.
One pound butter is equivalent to 2 cups of butter whereas one stick of butter is just half cup of butter. We only need half cup butter in this recipe. Hope this helps. Thank you.
Hi
On Line #9 , it states to carefully open the pan which makes me think the pan is covered. ???
Looking forward to making this. Also from 5 cups cheese, how much were cheddar and how much were Mexican blend? Thanks!
Hi, I am sorry for the confusion. That was a mistake which I have corrected now. The pan is not to be covered and I meant to say “open the oven” which I have updated in the post now. Thank you so much for pointing it out. With regards to the type of cheese, I usually use a mix of cheddar and Mexican blend and sometimes I use more cheddar while sometimes I use more Mexican blend. They both work for me so if I have only one of that, I just use it. It is just a personal preference, so you can use whichever is your favorite cheese for mac and cheese. Hope this helps. Thank you!