The fastest homemade mac and cheese you'll ever make, no flour, no roux, no separate sauce pan! Just cook the pasta, drain it, and stir in plain yogurt and lots of real shredded cheddar. Creamy, healthy, and ready in 8 minutes. Kids and toddlers love it, and so do adults! Ditch your store-bought box with the orange mystery powder for this real-ingredient homemade version!
Real vs. Processed Ingredients
Mac & Cheese is a kid favorite comfort food, and as the name implies, it isn't complicated! Somehow we let this easy-to-make basic food turn into a highly processed store-bought staple in our pantries. We can do better for our kids!
This is the simplest version ever, 3 ingredient stovetop mac & cheese! It's all in one pot, no cooking a separate sauce, this is simply macaroni and cheese with yogurt and real shredded cheese!
It's just as fast as the store-bought version, so you'll never need to buy a box of mac & cheese again!
Check out all our favorite Kid-Friendly Lunches and try these Banana Carrot Oatmeal Muffins and Mom's Homemade Spaghetti!
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Ingredients
This simple healthy stovetop mac and cheese for kids eliminates all those mystery ingredients found in boxed mac from your kid's diet! This is better for them, plus it tastes so good mom loves to eat some too!
- Macaroni Pasta - I love the classic small elbow macaroni, but you could use any short pasta such as rotini, bowtie, small shells or any corkscrew shape.
- Plain Yogurt - This is really the secret ingredient! Plain yogurt is how we make the creamy cheese sauce for mac and cheese without flour or milk. This is a no-cook sauce, you just add it to the hot macaroni and it mixes right in, melting the cheese and creating the sauce in seconds! Plus it adds protein and healthy fats (I buy whole milk yogurt)!
- Cheese - I use regular cheddar cheese, but white cheddar, Colby, really any shreddable melty cheese will work. I do recommend shredding your own over the bags of pre-shredded cheese. It's better quality and melts easier into the mac and cheese.
See recipe card below for full quantities.
Instructions
This homemade mac and cheese for kids is as easy as making a store-bought box!
Step 1 - Bring a pot of water to a boil, season it with a good pinch of salt and cook the pasta.
Check your pasta box, cooking time can vary by brand but is usually around 7 to 8 minutes.
Step 2 - Shred your cheese.
Give your pasta an occasional stir so it don't stick to the pot.
Step 3 - Drain the pasta and return it to the hot pot.
Add the yogurt and cheese.
Step 4 - Mix well, the hot pasta will melt the cheese and form the sauce.
You can add a splash of milk if it seems dry or too thick.
Step 5 - Serve hot!
Helpful Tips
- Salt - Be sure to add a pinch of salt to the boiling water before adding the pasta. This flavors the pasta and really flavors the whole dish.
- Taste a Noodle - Before you drain the pasta, taste one! Brands of pasta can vary, and while 8 minutes is about right for macaroni, some need a few minutes more.
- Shred your Own Cheese - This really makes a different in the creaminess! Cheese you shred yourself is less preserved than the pre-shredded bags and will melt better into your mac and cheese.
- Amount and Portions - This recipe makes more mac and cheese than a store-bought box. It will serve about 4 hungry kids. You can make half a recipe if only serving 1 or 2 kids, but our leftovers always seem to get eaten as a great snack!
- Storage and Reheating - Store leftover mac and cheese with yogurt sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop, adding a bit of milk or more yogurt if it becomes dry.
- You Won't Need to Measure - The ingredient amounts don't need to be exact! Once you start making this recipe for your kids or toddlers, you will be able to make it super quick and easy! Just estimate half a box of pasta, a big scoop of yogurt and a good handful of shredded cheese!
- Adding Veggies - If your kids are willing, adding a veggie boosts the nutrition in this simple recipe and is easy to incorporate. Just add a handful of frozen peas or minced broccoli to the boiling pasta during the last 3 minutes of cooking. It will finish cooking and can be drained together. Also try my Bacon Cauliflower Mac and Cheese!
- Stretching a Box of Mac and Cheese - If you're not ready to totally give up boxed mac and cheese, my kids also love a variation where I combine boxed Annies Mac and Cheese (the orange box), with extra pasta, yogurt and real shredded cheese. As the kids have gotten older, a single box of Annie's Mac and Cheese just isn't enough. Here's a trick we use: cook a full box of Annie's, but add an extra cup or two of pasta to the boiling water at the same time. To the drained pasta, add the cheese powder packet as usual, but also stir in a big scoop of plain yogurt and a handful of real shredded cheddar to stretch the sauce and make it extra creamy. You get nearly double the servings, the familiarity of the boxed mac flavor, better nutrition than the box alone, and the kids love it, I actually love it too! I often make it when my kids have friends over who are used to store-bought, and we need to feed a hungry bunch!
Recipe FAQs
This recipe starts with 2 cups of uncooked pasta and makes a little over 4 cups of macaroni and cheese. It will easily serve 4 hungry kids, and could be doubled or cut in half.
If you buy yogurt for this mac and cheese recipe and are wondering how else to use it, there are loads of ways! We like Stonyfield Organic Whole Milk Plain Yogurt, it's a staple in our kitchen. Why plain yogurt? It is so much more versatile and healthier than flavored yogurt.
Buying plain yogurt and flavoring it yourself is much better for you and for kids than the added-sugar pink flavors. For breakfast, add a little honey and top it with your own berries and Homemade Almond Granola. We also use it to top Crockpot Steel-Cut Oatmeal and add a scoop to top applesauce. Read the label on your strawberry flavored yogurt, does it even contain strawberries? Then why is it pink? You're kids will also love these Strawberry Banana Yogurt Popsicles!
Plain yogurt is also a great substitute for sour cream. We add a scoop to top Loaded Baked Potatoes, Beef Vegetable Chili, and tacos. It's also an ingredient in Pumpkin Protein Waffles and Protein Pancakes and makes Quick Veggie Parmesan Herb Dip and Mediterranean Hummus extra creamy.
I'm a believer that whole milk dairy is better than low-fat or fat-free. It is less processed, more natural, and when they take the fat out of products they usually add sugar or something worse to make up for the loss in taste. Give it a try and see if it doesn't become a staple ingredient in your kitchen!
Yes! Since this cheese sauce is made without flour, you would simply need to substitute a gluten-free pasta.
This protein mac and cheese is a great blank canvas for adding additional ingredients to make it more of a balanced meal. You can add veggies by adding frozen peas or minced broccoli to the boiling pasta during the last 3 minutes of cooking. You can also add cooked bacon, chicken or chopped deli ham to the finished macaroni & cheese for even more added protein. Double the recipe and serve it with an Italian Mixed Greens Salad for an easy family dinner!
Yes, you can use Greek or regular plain yogurt for this recipe.
Plain yogurt replaces the milk, butter, and flour that most stovetop mac and cheese recipes use to make a sauce. The yogurt is thick enough to coat the pasta without any cooking, the heat from the hot pasta melts the cheese and warms the yogurt into a creamy sauce, all in one pot. It also adds protein and a subtle tang that makes the cheese flavor pop. Whole milk plain yogurt gives the richest result, but any plain yogurt works. Just don't use flavored or sweetened yogurt, it needs to be plain.
Absolutely, this recipe is called "mac and cheese for kids" because it was born out of the need for a fast, healthy lunch my kids would eat, but adults love it just as much. It makes a great quick lunch, a simple side dish, or a late-night comfort food. Add crispy bacon, sautéed mushrooms, broccoli, or caramelized onions. The base recipe is a blank canvas, it just happens to be fast enough and simple enough that kids eat it happily too.
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Easy Stovetop Mac and Cheese with Yogurt (No Flour, 8 Minutes)
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Print Pin RateIngredients
- 2 cups macaroni pasta add ½ teaspoon salt to the boiling water
- ⅓ cup plain yogurt
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- splash whole milk (optional)
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a good pinch of salt. Cook macaroni about 7 to 8 minutes, check the time on the box.
- Drain pasta and return it to the hot pot. Stir in the yogurt and shredded cheese.
- Give it a taste and add a pinch more salt, yogurt, or cheese if needed. Add a splash of milk to thin or if it seems a little dry. Serve hot!
Notes
- Pasta - Use any kind of short pasta such as macaroni, rotini, or bowtie. Taste a noodle before you drain it to make sure it's done, time can vary by brand!
- Adding Veggies - You can add fresh or frozen veggies such as minced broccoli or frozen peas to the boiling pasta in the last 3 minutes of cooking so they can be drained together.
- Amounts don't need to be exact! To make this quick and easy, estimate half a box of pasta, a big scoop of yogurt and a good handful of shredded cheese!
- Portions - This recipe makes a little over 4 cups of macaroni and cheese and will serve 4 hungry kids. Recipe could be doubled or cut in half.
- Storage and Reheating - Store leftover mac and cheese in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or the stovetop, adding a little milk or more yogurt so it doesn't become dry.
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