Macaroni cheese is one of the most popular family-style meals. When I think of mac and cheese, I imagine sitting curled up on the couch with a bowl of warm, creamy mac and cheese in my hands. It’s comforting and tastes better with each bite. So, can you make mac and cheese without milk?
I’m so glad you asked! You absolutely can; there are so many ways to make mac and cheese without the milk in the sauce.
In this blog post, I will share a couple of ways you can make mind-blowing mac and cheese milk-free.
Whether you’re lactose intolerant or just looking for substitute ideas for milk in this recipe, you’ll find the answers right here.
Substitutes For Milk In Mac and Cheese
So, there are more than a handful of substitutes for milk in your mac and cheese recipe. Here are a few of my go-to ingredients to swap out the milk with:
1. Cream:
If you only have cream at home, you can add a little water to your cream, and off you go!
2. Cream cheese or mascarpone:
With cream cheese, it’s a good idea to whip it up in a mixer first to make it easier to incorporate into the sauce. You could also thin it slightly with a little boiling water. Cut back on how much flour you add to your sauce if you use one of these thicker alternatives.
3. Yogurt:
you can also thin this back a little with water or lower the quantity of flour in the base of your sauce. Yogurt will give the dish a tangy flavor. If you go with this option, remember that yogurt can’t take long periods of intense heat, or it will split.
Go gently on the heat and take your time when making your sauce with this ingredient, I prefer a double thick yogurt for the texture, but you can totally use a low-fat option if you prefer.
4. Plant milk:
Use unsweetened plant milk. Oat, almond, rice, soya, cashew, macadamia, coconut, or almond milk. All of these will work well.
5. Vegetable or chicken broth:
Chicken broth makes the most delicious white sauce base for mac and cheese, honestly. It gives the whole dish a lovely, savory, umami pop that goes so well with the cheese.
Even when making regular mac and cheese with milk, I’ll often mix in a bit of chicken stock for the flavor. Vegetable broth works well too. You might need to up your flour quantity ever so slightly.
6. Sour Cream:
This makes an excellent alternative to milk. The consistency of sour cream is close to milk and won’t split when heated as quickly as yogurt. I’m crazy about the slightly bad taste that sour cream gives the sauce. If the taste is a little strong for you, consider a sweet cheese like gouda to balance out the flavor a little.
Ingredients you’ll need to make mac and cheese without milk
Here is a list of everything you’ll need to make my favorite mac and cheese without milk recipe. I’m crazy about this delish dish and think you’ll be too!
- 2 ½ cups macaroni pasta
- ½ teaspoon canola oil or any vegetable oil
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 ½ cups Gouda cheese, grated
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 tsp chicken stock powder
- 3 TBS butter
- 3 TBS flour
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ½ tsp smooth mustard
- 1/2 cup fresh white breadcrumbs
- ½ cup chopped parsley
- 1 tsp minced garlic
How To Make Mac And Cheese Without Milk
Step 1:
In a non-stick frying pan, melt the butter and add the garlic. Cook the garlic for a minute, and then add the breadcrumbs. Stir everything around in the pan for a minute or two until combined well. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the chopped parsley. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Step 2:
Make the sauce by melting the butter in a medium-sized pan. Add the flour to the butter and stir together until combined. Cook this mixture for a minute or so.
Mix the chicken stock and sour cream and slowly add this to the flour and butter mixture, whisking as you go. I like to add mine in parts and whisk each dose well. This reduces the risk of those nasty lumps.
Once you’ve added all the liquid, simmer the sauce on medium heat. Stir the sauce often to reduce the likelihood of lumps.
Step 3:
Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water until done. Drain the water and stir in half a teaspoon of vegetable oil to stop the pasta from sticking.
Step 4:
With the sauce still hot, stir in 2/3rds of the cheese. Keep the third behind the top of the dish. Finish off the sauce by seasoning it with salt and pepper and then adding in the mustard.
Step 5:
Mix the pasta and sauce while both are warm. Pour this mixture into your chosen oven-proof dish. Top with the cheese and then with the breadcrumbs.
Bake in the oven at 350°F / 180°C for roughly 30 minutes, or until it has heated through. Serve and enjoy!
Tips for making the perfect mac and cheese
Here are some tips to take your mac and cheese to the next level.
Cook the flour flavor out of the sauce.
I mean that you’ll want to cook your sauce until you can no longer taste the raw flour flavor. This will give your mac and cheese a yummy taste.
You can do this by increasing the time you cook the flour and butter together in the first part of the recipe.
Secondly, increase the cooking time of the sauce once the sour cream and stock have been added.
Choose good quality cheese.
Not all cheeses are created equal. Choose the best quality cheese you can find. Personally, I feel like the cheese that you grate yourself is way better than already grated cheese. I know it takes a bit of extra work, but I think it’s totally worth it.
Season and taste.
I’ve gotta say, tasting your mac and cheese sauce before mixing it in with your pasta is a winning trick. You’ve got a pretty bland set of ingredients here, right?
You’ll want to season the sauce well and make sure it tastes amazing before mixing it in with the pasta.
FAQ
What can I use instead of milk in mac and cheese?
You can use most plant-based milks, sour cream, cream cheese, chicken broth, cream, or yogurt. At least there’s no shortage of options out there!
For the thicker alternatives like cream cheese, consider whipping them up to make them easier to work with. That’s my little trick, anyway.
Can you make kraft mac and cheese with just butter?
Absolutely! All you need to do is double the amount of butter stated in the directions and then add a little water.
Can I make mac and cheese with water?
You can indeed! The first time I heard this, I was like, what?! You can absolutely use water as a substitute for milk in mac and cheese.
Sometimes what I do is reserve the water I used to cook the pasta in to make the sauce. The pasta water has a little bit of starch left behind to thicken the sauce.
Can you make mac and cheese with almond milk?
Yes, unsweetened almond milk is a great option to make the white sauce with for mac and cheese.
Do you have to bake the mac and cheese?
No, you don’t. After mixing it all together, you can just serve it straight away, with a bit of cheese and breadcrumbs on top.
Mac And Cheese Without Milk Recipe (Super Simple!)
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups macaroni pasta
- 1/2 tsp canola oil or any vegetable oil
- 1/2 cups sour cream
- 2 1/2 cups Gouda cheese, grated
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 tsp chicken stock powder
- 3 TBS butter
- 3 TBS flour
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp smooth mustard
- 1/2 cups fresh white breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cups chopped parsley
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
Instructions
- In a non-stick frying pan, melt the butter and add the garlic. Cook the garlic for a minute, and then add the breadcrumbs. Stir everything around in the pan for a minute or two until combined well. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the chopped parsley. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Make the sauce by melting the butter in a medium-sized pan. Add the flour to the butter and stir together until combined. Cook this mixture for a minute or so.
- Mix the chicken stock and sour cream and slowly add this to the flour and butter mixture, whisking as you go. I like to add mine in parts and whisk each dose well. This reduces the risk of those nasty lumps.
- Once you’ve added all the liquid, simmer the sauce on medium heat. Stir the sauce often to reduce the likelihood of lumps.
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water until done. Drain the water and stir in half a teaspoon of vegetable oil to stop the pasta from sticking.
- With the sauce still hot, stir in 2/3rds of the cheese. Keep the third behind the top of the dish. Finish off the sauce by seasoning it with salt and pepper and then adding in the mustard.
- Mix the pasta and sauce while both are warm. Pour this mixture into your chosen oven-proof dish. Top with the cheese and then with the breadcrumbs.
- Bake in the oven at 350°F / 180°C for roughly 30 minutes, or until it has heated through. Serve and enjoy!
Wrapping this mac up!
Give this dreamy, milk-free, and yet still creamy mac and cheese a go. When someone asks, “can you make mac and cheese without milk?” you can confidently reply, “yup!”.