3-Minute Vs. 30-Minute Vs. 3-Hour Mac N' Cheese • Tasty

Hi , I'm Alexis .

And if you know me , you know , I love a good bowl of mac and cheese .

I've had many varieties of mac and cheese over the years and everyone has their favorite recipe .

It's really one of those dishes that is so customizable .

You can use different cheeses , different spices , different pasta .

It's really like , choose your own adventure .

I'm gonna show you my recipes for a three minute , 30 minute and three hour mac and cheese .

So you can make a bowl of mac and cheese , whether you have a few minutes or a few hours .

First up , we've got a three minute mac and cheese .

It actually takes a little longer than three minutes , but really fast .

You can do this in a mug .

You could do it in a bowl .

Great for dorm rooms .

It's really simple and it's actually like shockingly good .

First up , I'm going to add my dried pasta along with some water .

I'm gonna let the pasta cook for about two minutes .

If it needs more time , I'm gonna add another minute and because it's in a mug , it should go pretty quickly .

Ok .

So my pasta is about al Dente right now and over here I've got some pre shredded cheddar cheese .

It's good to use pre shredded cheddar cheese for the microwave because it actually has some corn starch already in it , which is gonna help make a creamier sauce .

I'm adding a little more to like really solidify it together .

You don't want the cheese , uh , to separate salt pepper , add it to cheese and add cheese in the , the in .

I just give that a little stir from here .

I'm just gonna put it in for 30 seconds .

It'll probably take two intervals .

Make sure the cheese is melting and that's it .

Ok .

It kind of looks like this gloopy mess , but you're gonna give it a stir and do it for 30 more seconds .

You're done .

There you go .

Mac and cheese and a mug .

It's actually crazy how good this is .

I really stand by the next two recipes .

But if you're in a pinch , you can have dinner in under 10 minutes .

The second mac and cheese is a stove top mac and cheese , which is pretty common .

It's really easy to do .

Great .

Weeknight option .

I'm gonna use a lot of these orangey cheeses to get that classic all American mac and cheese for this version .

I'm going to hand grate my sharp cheddar and I've got Monterey Jack .

Monterey Jack doesn't have a lot of flavor , but it's really good for creating this like ooey gooey traditional mac and cheese .

The next step in our mac and cheese is making a which sounds scary , but I promise is super easy .

First up , take your butter and melt it .

You know , I think the internet will probably hate me for this , but I have never eaten Kraft mac and cheese .

People get really upset when I tell them that once the butter is melted , you're going to add your flour and this process is actually called making a roux .

You're cooking the flour off for 1 to 2 minutes until it gets slightly golden and you wanna make sure that you continuously whisk so that the flour doesn't burn in places .

This looks great .

It's nice and golden brown , you're gonna add your milk .

And so once you add the milk , then it becomes a a is the base is the sauce and I'm gonna add some ground mustard , paprika , a pinch of salt and some pepper .

I always feel like this part is pretty magical as the best milk comes together at first .

It looks like nothing .

It just looks like seasoned milk .

But as you keep stirring , it'll slowly begin to thicken and you're gonna cook it for 8 to 10 minutes until it can coat the back of a spoon .

It's gonna look like a thicker sauce .

It's bubbling , it's thick now , cheese time .

So adding the Monterey Jack and the chatter and it's gonna get like super cheesy .

I've got some cooked pasta , but you wanna make sure that you're doing this at the same time so that your pasta is ready to go as soon as the cheese is and then give it a stir .

That's it .

Stove top mac and cheese .

00 , my God .

It's so cheesy .

I love this mac and cheese because it comes together in 30 minutes .

It's so flavorful .

It's so ooey gooey melty .

Like when I think of mac and cheese .

This is kind of what I think of .

Oh my God .

It's really my ideal mac and cheese .

I've got a long way to go for our next dish , but I'm gonna eat this for lunch first .

I'm finally on to the three hour mac and cheese , which is so indulgent .

It's so rich .

Really .

If you have some time , this one's worth making .

This is the perfect dish for a holiday for a dinner party , something where you want to put a little more time and effort into it .

The first step to this mac and cheese is making garlic and garlic oil gonna add my olive oil to a pan and just warm it through over medium heat .

Next up garlic .

So I've got to peel all these clothes a really easy way to do that .

You can take your chef's knife , you just wanna do it enough so that the peel is gonna come easily off of the garlic clove .

Last clove of garlic , my oils heated and just adding , adding the cloves in and I'm just gonna simmer it for about 45 to 55 minutes until the garlic is super tender and the oil is infused .

It already smells so good in here .

Garlic oil actually stays good for about a month in the fridge .

You can use the oil roasting veggies you could use and salad .

Just take this and do whatever you want with it .

We're making liquid gold right here .

I'm just gonna let this go and get started on .

The next part .

Next up is making homemade bread crumbs .

So loaf of bread and all you're gonna do is tear it up and you wanna do pretty , pretty small pieces .

Look , if you have time making your own bread crumbs is totally worth it .

I will admit that it is something that I usually don't do myself .

But if you don't wanna do it , you can use or you could use regular bread crumbs .

The sourdough smells so good .

It's gonna make great bread crumbs .

Once you got a tray of bread , just pop it in the oven for about 20 minutes .

3 50 just dry it out and get those nice uh crispy bits .

It smells so good in this room .

It's like garlic city over here , the garlic is super tender .

The oil is infused .

So now I'm gonna take the garlic oil off the heat and put it through a strainer , gonna let it cool to room temperature while I work on my bread crumbs .

I've got my toasted bread crumbs .

They were in the oven for about 20 minutes and now they're nice and dried out toasty .

Look at that .

So adding them to a bowl of the food processor .

Big guy if you have it .

Ok .

So we're ready to blitz .

I want the bread crumbs to be mostly fine with a few bigger chunks .

So for this recipe , I need about two cups of bread crumbs .

Look at that .

So there's one , it's a loose interpretation of two cups .

So you can see with these bread crumbs that they're mostly fine on the bottom .

But then there's some bigger pieces up top .

I personally like the uneven texture , but you can make them more fine at home if you want to .

I've got some Parmesan cheese here and then I've got that garlic oil that was infused .

Parmesan garlic bread crumbs .

What is better than that ?

So my bread crumbs are done .

I'm gonna reserve this until we're ready to bake the mac and cheese .

The last step for my three hour mac and cheese is making a once more again , add the butter .

So it's the same process .

As soon as the butter is melted , you can add the flour .

I want to get it to be golden brown , have a nice nutty flavor .

So my Rox is ready now it's time to add the milk and the rest of the seasoning gonna add a big pinch of salt , black pepper .

Some nutmeg and a little cayenne .

You might think of nutmeg as typically a sweeter spice or something used in desserts , but it's actually used in a lot of sauces .

And again , we've got that cayenne to also add some heat .

So my sauce is really thick and creamy .

Now add the cheese .

I've got white cheddar .

I got , and I've got fontina , which doesn't have a lot of flavor .

But again , it's super melty and it's gonna make this like cheese , Pul City population oven , mac and cheese .

So cheesy , I've got some precooked here and oh my God .

One more addition .

I mashed up some of the garlic and I'm gonna add it to the pasta with the cheese .

So I did about three cloves which gives the flavor of garlic without being overpowering if you're a garlic fanatic by all means , add more .

So I've got my buttered baking dish here and I'm just gonna add the pasta .

So just pat it in an even layer .

And now I've got my garlicky Parmesan bread crumbs and just put them in an even layer .

I grew up with mac and cheese that was done in the oven .

So to me , this is the most nostalgic recipe .

I like my bread crumbs to be a bit uneven .

So I've got some bigger pieces , some smaller pieces .

I also like some of the mac and cheese to like poke out and get a little brown .

Anyway , this is ready to bake gonna bake this for about 15 minutes until it turns golden brown and we're ready to eat .

I've got my beautiful baked mac and cheese .

It smells so good and I think I'm gonna try it .

Mm .

The bread crumbs are so crunchy .

Oh , my God .

It's like just lightly perfumed with garlic .

You have the crunch and there you have it a three minute , 30 minute and three hour mac and cheese .

Whether it's Thanksgiving or dinner at the dorms .

You should always have time to make a great bowl of mac and cheese .

Let me know in the comments .

Which one your favorite is , I'm gonna take this home and eat it on my couch tonight .

So , with that good night .