Baked macaroni and cheese that’s gorgeously creamy but made with no cream! Loaded up with chicken and broccoli so it’s a complete meal. In one pot. On the table in 30 minutes. What more can you ask for? Oh – maybe just a cooking video to see how EASY this is to make? 😉
There’s a whole giant head of broccoli in this. And you don’t even need to steam it separately, it gets cooked right in the same pot with the mac and cheese. 🙂 Plus chicken + pasta + cheese = complete meal. At least, in my books!
I adore Mac and Cheese. If I see it on a menu, especially at posh restaurants, I have to have it on the side. Any Sydney-siders tried Neil Perry’s Mac and Cheese at his Rockpool Bar & Grill restaurant? It’s utterly incredible.
It’s also so rich that I can’t have more than a couple of (generously heaped) spoons of it.
So the Mac and Cheese I make at home that’s suitable for serving as a meal is made without cream by using a roux as a base. Sounds fancy (it’s French!), but it’s just melted butter + flour whisked into milk to create a creamy sauce.
I make this in the oven so that way you can make it all in one pot, rather than cooking the macaroni separately and mixing it into the sauce. Making it this way requires an exact amount of liquid to macaroni ratio, specific water + milk combo (too much milk = takes far too long for pasta to rehydrate) and following the cook times specified in the recipe.
Oh – the other very specific steps I do are:
a) Stirring the cheese in just before grilling/broiling to brown the top (if you add it beforehand, it takes forever for the pasta to cook); and
b) Sprinkling the panko and parmesan on at the end, then broiling/grilling it to brown. This serves 2 purposes: browning the crunchy topping while the pasta finishes cooking using the residual heat, and the sauce thickens. You’ll be surprised how much the sauce thickens during the broiling phase. 🙂
Here’s the video so you can see for yourself the magic of how you can make Mac and Cheese in one pot! With no cream!!
Regular readers have probably noticed that cast iron cookware appears often in my recipes. It’s because I love recipes that start off on the stove then finish in the oven – one of my favourite techniques. And cast iron cookware is so fantastic for even distribution and retention of heat on both the stove and in the oven.
It’s also the #1 culprit for the curses and screeches of pain that occurs more regularly than I care to admit.
I just forget HOW GOOD they are with heat retention, and how hot they stay even after a decent period of time out of the oven. I underestimate how long it takes for the dutch ovens to cool down (ages and ages!) and go to grab the pot with my bare hands. Other times, I can’t find my oven mitts so I try to take it out of the oven using a flimsy dishcloth instead (ouch ouch ouch!).
So it’s with many thanks to Burnaid that I’ve created a guide for what to do if you burn yourself. I really hope you never yourself, but this is important information that everyone should know so please take a minute to read it. 2 easy important steps. Do you know what they are?
And know that you can always easily find it on my site because I’ve created a page especially for it now so you can find it under About on my menu bar.🙂
OK! So back to this Mac N Cheese….hmmmm. Not sure what else to say about this!
√ One pot
√ Easy
√ Creamy and cheesy
√ Complete meal
√ No cream
Errrm….ticked all my boxes for an easy, scrumptious midweek meal! 😉 – Nagi x
THE MAC & CHEESE COLLECTION
- Chicken and Broccoli Mac & Cheese – this recipe
- Baked Mac and Cheese – huge reader favourite!
-
Shrimp Mac and Cheese – outrageously delicious!
-
Stovetop Mac and Cheese – one pot, 20 minutes
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Baked Macaroni Cheese with Chicken & BROCCOLI
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb / 500g skinless chicken breast or thigh fillets , cut into bite size pieces
Mac N Cheese
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 small onion , finely chopped
- 4 tbsp plain flour
- 2 1/2 cups milk , low fat
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp salt
- Black pepper
- 2 cups macaroni / elbow pasta (Note 1)
- 1 large head of broccoli , broken into florets (or 1 1/2 smaller ones)
- 1 1/2 - 2 cups grated cheese (cheddar, tasty or gruyere)
Topping
- 1/4 cup panko (or ordinary breadcrumbs)
- 2 tbsp parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- Heat oil in a deep heavy based skillet or dutch oven over high heat. Add chicken and cook until just cooked - it's fine if it's still raw inside. Remove chicken into a bowl. (Note 2)
- Reduce heat to medium and melt butter. Add garlic and onion and saute for 5 minutes until onion is translucent. Add flour and cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in half the milk and whisk it in so the flour butter mixture melts. It should thicken quite quickly - around 30 seconds. Pour the remaining milk in, whisking constantly, then add the water, salt and pepper.
- Turn the heat up to medium high and cook, whisking occasionally, for around 3 to 5 minutes until you start seeing steam rising from the white sauce when you whisk it.
- Add the macaroni and chicken, stir, then top with broccoli.
- Place the lid on and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, switch oven to broiler/grill on high.
- Remove lid (Note 3), stir through cheese, then sprinkle over panko and parmesan. (Will still look bit watery at this stage).
- Place pot under the broiler/grill for 5 minutes, or until top is golden.
- Remove, then let it stand for 5 minutes before serving (sauce thickens quickly).
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This was so good!! I usually find baked mac and cheese to be way too dry, but this was perfect, still saucy and flavorful. I baked the broccoli on a separate sheet pan so I could keep it on the side for my picky child, and mixed it in at the end for the rest of us. Delicious!
very easy to make. really good but i found it very bland. i added salt but my hubby thought it was fine the way it was.
I have just made this for the 4th time. It’s too good! there are never any left overs.
As per Lisa’s comment below I used leftover juiciest roast chicken too. It was quick, easy and absolutely delicious!
I hate to be the one to say it, but that photo has a really unfortunately placed reflection that makes BurnAid look more like BumAid
This was delicious, quick and easy! I used left over roast chicken that needed using up (it was already cooked, so I just stirred it into the pasta right before putting it under the grill). It was perfect!
Thanks for that tip, Lisa!! N x
Hi,
I, as a “gluten free” pensioner and only recently started cooking for myself, would appreciate comments that help me with the use of gluten free flour and gf products. For ALL the recipes look fantastic and i would like to try them. Thanks from Peter
Hi Peter – I will keep that in mind when writing the notes! It’s a common request these days! Many of my rice meals are g/f – try typing “rice” in the search bubble on my website and you will have lots of choices! Happy cooking!! N x
Amazing!! Super easy to make and delicious! I made the sauce and followed the first steps in a pot on my stove then transferred the sauce to a glass Pyrex and added the noodles, etc. I was nervous since the noodles weren’t cooked before the Pyrex but it literally did turn out PERFECT and delicious! Thank you!
Sounds delisious not cooked it yet
Delicious quick and easy! Cooking your recipes has made me enjoy cooking again after having children and catering to a family. Everything just works and I love that the measurements and ingredients are all Australian and all of the practical tips!
Hi Nagi,
Thank you so much for, yet again, another stellar recipe! Such a wonderful and delicious comfort-food meal. Perfect dish for the deep-freeze we’re experiencing (-20c) in British Columbia right now! I did have to keep it in the oven for about 35 minutes as the pasta wasn’t done at the 20 minute mark. No biggie, though. This is a total keeper and has earned a top spot in the meal rotation! Thanks again, Nagi!
Hi Nagi, I really want to make this but I need to do all my cooking during toddler naps (around 1) and we eat at 530. If I pause between step six and 7 and put it in the fridge, would that work and would I need to increase the oven cook time? I love that your recipes Ares so clear they are always a success. Thanks!
Hi Jessica, you don’t want to stop at this step because I fear the pasta will soak up the liquid and cook time/liquid ratios will all be out. Stop the step before, then when you’re ready to cook, heat the sauce back up gently, add the chicken, broccoli and macaroni and finish cooking. N x
Thankyou!
Hi nagi! My Mac and cheese came out quite thick before grilling. I had to add a bit more water after it was in the oven. What have I done wrong?? I used 4 tbsp plain flour, 2 cups pasta, 2 and half cups whole milk and I cup water.
Hi Rosie, If you find it a little thick, thin it out with a little water so it doesn’t go too stodgy when grilling – N x
I have been making your recipes for about a year now! You motivate me to cook so much more and know the results will be worth it! I am going to make this… I have whole milk, will that work, or do I need to buy a lower fat milk? Thank you!
That’s so wonderful to hear Sophie, thanks so much. Whole milk will work fine here – N x
Hi Nagi! I was just wondering if the oven preheat temperature was for a fan forced oven or conventional x
Also Nagi, I think the calories on this are wrong. I entered them in with a LOT less cheese and mine still came out very similar calorie wise. I believe your calculator didn’t consider the calories in the macaroni, because it says there are only 18g carbs in this dish which seems very light for a pasta dish!
Thank you for picking that up Mai, I will recheck!
Hi Nagi!
Does the listed nutrition information have the pasta missing?
Thank you, love your recipes!
Hi Nagi, just wondering what oven-proof pan brands you recommend? I really want to make more one pot dishes! Do you prefer cast iron to go into the oven or the type you have listed in your pictures? Thanks 🙂
I bought a Lodge 7 qt. enameled cast iron Dutch oven and am loving it. Don’t know why I didn’t get one years ago.
Hi Mai,
did you end up buying a oven proof dish? can you help me with your recommendation please.thanks for your help.
This came out great, even my super picky toddler liked it and it’s very hard finding dishes he will eat. I used store bought rotisserie chicken which made it even quicker to put together, everything was cooked to perfection. Thanks for another awesome recipe, this will go into our dinner recipe rotation.
That’s wonderful to hear Ina! Thanks for letting me know! N x ❤️
Hi Nagi, I want to make some freezer meals for an elderly parent. Can I freeze this dish?
Absolutely! 🙂 PS You lovely daughter, you!
This was delicious but took an hour not 30 mins. Just the baking grilling and standing process alone is 30 mins.
A bit disappointing as dinner was a 30 mins behind schedule.
I’m sorry this took longer than you expected Laura but I’m pleased you enjoyed it!