Mac and cheese is a staple in so many households, and if you enjoy it but you want to cut the milk out of it, you might be wondering whether that’s possible. There are many reasons for wanting to remove the milk, such as reducing dairy intake, increasing incorporation of plant-based milks, allergy, not having any milk in, or just plain preference.
Whichever reason, there are plenty of ways to do it, so let’s explore some top milk-free recipes that you might enjoy and add to your household recipe book. Some of these depend on plant milk, while others use another substitution. Try different options to see which you prefer and remember that it can take a while for your taste buds to adjust.
Mac And Cheese With Cream Cheese
When you want a really creamy option that doesn’t contain any milk but still satisfies the craving for rich, decadent mac and cheese, this mac and cheese with cream cheese recipe is just perfect. You can also make this very quickly and easily, so it ticks another one of mac and cheese’s most popular boxes – a fast dinner that the kids will eat.
It also only calls for five ingredients, so it’s ideal if the cupboard is looking a little low and you aren’t sure what to make. You just need the pasta, some butter, some cheese, some cream cheese, and some water, and you’re on your way to a perfect dinner.
The recipe takes very little time, only needing you to cook the macaroni, and then melt the butter in a saucepan and stir cream cheese into it. You do need to keep stirring to stop it from sticking or burning, and then you can add the shredded cheese and the cooked macaroni. Mix it all together.
When you’ve finished, all that’s left to do is tip it into a baking dish, add a little more cheese to the top, and then put it in the oven. Alternatively, serve it as it is and enjoy its creamy goodness!
This is probably one of the simplest recipes for mac and cheese without milk that you’ll find, and using cream cheese ensures it’s still deliciously rich and tasty. You also don’t need any fancy ingredients that you’ll spend hours chasing around stores looking for, and it is reasonably low cost.
You might find you even prefer this to normal mac and cheese, so any time you have cream cheese in, give it a try and see how it tastes. Enjoy!
Three Cheese Macaroni
If you are a major cheese fan and you like various kinds, this three-cheese macaroni recipe is perfect for you. It is again very simple and it contains no milk, but lots and lots of cheese for those days when you need a hit of yellow, salty goodness.
It’s also a one pot recipe, making it perfect for weeknights when you have better things to do than spend your whole evening washing up pans because you cooked something ambitious for dinner. One pot cooking is the best kind of cooking, and this mac and cheese recipe will not disappoint.
For this, you need three kinds of cheese (at least one melting, with one or two hard cheeses too), some macaroni, some cream cheese, a bit of mustard powder, salt and some water.
As usual, start by boiling some salted water and then cooking the macaroni until it is soft. However, you don’t drain the pasta in this instance. Instead, when the macaroni is cooked, you’re just going to turn down the heat. If you still have a lot of water left in the pan, tip a bit off, but don’t worry otherwise.
The water becomes part of a rich sauce, so next you’re going to add the cheese, the cream cheese, and the mustard powder.
When everything is in the pan, stir gently to combine. The cheese should slowly melt and the sauce will thicken up. Keep stirring so that it doesn’t burn or stick at the bottom, and add a dash of water if it gets too thick.
Season with salt if necessary, and then serve hot. You’ve now just got one pan to wash and some delicious, milk-free mac and cheese to enjoy. No milk anywhere near the meal!
Quick Mac And Cheese
While many of the above recipes are simple, this quick mac and cheese recipe is a super fast way to make mac and cheese without milk, and with just a handful of common cupboard ingredients.
One of the annoying things about recipes requiring milk is that it goes off fast, so if you haven’t been grocery shopping for a while, you may not have any. However, this recipe has no short shelf life ingredients, so you should be able to whip it up any time, even if you’re in need of a shop.
It uses mozzarella cheese (which you can easily freeze to keep it fresh) and butter, cheddar (which should last well anyway), cornflour, and pasta. As long as you have those and a little salt and pepper, you can make this meal very easily.
First, you need to boil your macaroni pasta in salted water. Next, you should melt some butter in a saucepan and then mix your cornflour with a bit of water and add it to the melted butter. This is going to be the basis of the sauce, and it will thicken up as it heats, because the cornflour will expand and puff up.
You should then grate in cheddar cheese and shredded mozzarella cheese, and season the mixture with salt and pepper. Allow it to cook for five minutes, stirring gently, and then serve it with the additional option of bacon if you like. This spices the meal up a bit and makes it richer.
Second One-pot Mac And Cheese
If you want to get a little fancier and you have more ingredients to hand, you might love this one-pot mac and cheese recipe, which has a bit more to it than the earlier one – but still no milk in sight.
For this, you’ll need sour cream, ground mustard, cream cheese, crushed garlic, butter, white cheddar, sharp cheddar, macaroni pasta, and some salt and pepper. Shred the cheddar before you start, and then boil the macaroni until it is soft and tender.
Drain the macaroni but don’t worry if a bit of the water stays in the pan, as this will add to the richness of the sauce. Tip the macaroni pasta back into the pan, and then stir in the shredded cheese, the crushed garlic, the mustard, the butter, the sour cream, and the cream cheese. Mix it all up together, stirring thoroughly until it is smooth.
Season with salt and pepper and keep stirring until all of the cheese has melted and everything is combined, and then you can serve the meal steaming hot.
This is a delicious and simple meal, with slightly more varied ingredients to make a more sophisticated version of the one pot meal. It’s perfect if you have guests; you can simply increase the ingredients and scale it up to serve more, or cut the amounts down a bit.
The garlic lends a bit more flavor to the overall dish, and it is a very healthy addition to make, so try it out. Cooking it softens the flavor and makes it milder, so if you’re struggling with it, just cook it for a little bit longer.
Baked Macaroni And Cheese
If you’re looking for a milk-free recipe because you’re vegan, you might want to have a go at this vegan macaroni cheese, which uses nutritional yeast instead of cheese. It isn’t quite the same as traditional macaroni cheese, but it’s a delicious, rich dish that you will definitely enjoy once you have become accustomed to the flavor.
However, be warned that this is a bit more complicated than some of the other recipes and requires quite a few more ingredients than most of those listed. It’s a good idea to take an ingredients list to the store with you so that you can make sure you have everything you need.
For this recipe, you need a can of greater northern beans, some macaroni, some diced tomatoes, some nutritional yeast, some powdered onion, chili, paprika, and garlic, as well as a dash of lemon juice and some salt and pepper. You can also add tahini if you choose to, although this is optional, so don’t worry if you can’t get it or don’t want it.
Start by cooking the macaroni, and while it is boiling, you need to tip all the other ingredients into a blender, except for the paprika (save that for later). Blend the mix until it turns creamy, thick, and smooth, making sure that everything has mixed in properly. You may need to stir in between blends to get a smooth consistency.
Oil a baking dish and then stir together the cooked, drained macaroni and the sauce. Tip them into the baking dish, sprinkle it with paprika, and then transfer to the oven to bake for about twenty minutes. Serve when it is bubbling and hot.
You might want to try this recipe with and without tahini, as the tahini makes the dish creamier. However, it does make it a bit more fatty, so if you’re trying to reduce your weight, you may wish to leave it out.
You can experiment with various flavors and add different herbs to the dish if you want to alter the overall taste. Choosing chopped tomatoes that contain different flavors will change how the dish tastes.
This is a great recipe for vegans and non-vegans alike, because it is full of rich flavor. It is a little more complex and contains many more notes than the standard mac and cheese, which prevents it from being bland as some vegan recipes could be.
Greek Yogurt Mac And Cheese
If you want a somewhat healthier alternative to the cream cheese options, you might want to consider using Greek yogurt as a swap for the milk – as is done in this Greek yogurt mac and cheese recipe.
This is a lot less fatty and can still taste delicious, although you might find it slightly sourer than other mac and cheese recipes.
For this one, you have to get plain Greek yogurt, some macaroni pasta, some butter, some grated cheddar and a secondary cheese if you like, and a bit of garlic powder and paprika. This is another nice and simple recipe for those times when you want a quick meal without needing a huge number of ingredients.
As usual, cook the pasta according to the packet directions, but before you drain it, scoop out half of the water and keep it to one side. Drain the rest, and then tip the macaroni back into the pot.
Tip in a bit of the water you have kept aside, and then shred the cheese and stir it in. When it has all melted, add the Greek yogurt and stir that in too, creating a lovely rich mixture. Next, add the paprika and garlic powder.
Taste it and season accordingly, and allow the sauce to thicken. If it is too thick for you, add a little more of the pasta water and stir, until it is as thick as you like it. When you’re happy with it, serve hot and enjoy!
This is a good option because the Greek yogurt is much healthier than some of the other creamy options, and it will still give it a lovely flavor. You can add other flavorings like nutmeg if you choose as well.
Summary
If you’re looking for a mac and cheese recipe with no milk, you’re in luck, because you have a wide variety of options. You can make mac and cheese vegan if you choose, or you can just use other ingredients to change the flavor and texture.
