Macaroni Cheese In A Microwave

I love macaroni and cheese. It’s something I can normally whip up very quickly. Macaroni cheese is warm, filling and somewhat nostalgic. It’s also a dish I mostly make by hand, rather than buying it ready-made. Sure, buying ready-made is almost always easier, but home-made macaroni cheese can actually be done very quickly, especially if you make it regularly.

However, normally, you kinda need a stove to be able to make macaroni cheese. Pasta needs to be boiled and cheese needs to be melted in the sauce. The sauce also needs cooking, depending on what recipe you use. And currently (as of writing), my stove top is broken. Luckily, I do have other options, but I haven’t quite worked them all out yet. In the mean time, I made macaroni cheese in my microwave.

It wasn’t as hard as I expected. Just tedious.

The path to macaroni cheese is always quite simple. Boil yourself some pasta, then make a cheese sauce.

Unfortunately, pasta is a pain to cook in a microwave. You need to boil it in water, and that water can easily turn to steam and hurt you. I ended up cooking my pasta gradually over time, as well as giving my microwave a chance to let out any steam before I put my hand inside. It’s also worth mentioning that some of the steam can condense on the roof of the microwave, so keep an eye out for that.

I decided to use a very small pasta, basically mini tubes. I didn’t have normal macaroni on hand. But the small tubes are good because they cook more quickly compared to larger shapes of pasta. What I ended up doing was getting my biggest bowl, which contained any dangerous splashing water. I measured out my pasta then added enough water to cover it, then a tad more. I also salted the pasta heavily. Then I cooked it for 2-3 minutes at a time, taking it out and stirring it around. I did this 4 times until the pasta was cooked. So about 12 minutes.

For the sauce, what I first did was melt some butter, then added flour and spices to make a paste. I then added the milk and whisked it all up to break up any big lumps, and then put the bowl in the microwave for two minutes. After each two minutes, I’d take it out, give everything a good old whisk, then throw it back in for two more minutes. Once the sauce is has thickened, I then take it out, throw in tons of cheese, give it all one last whisk then stick it back in for another minute or so, so the cheese melts. Very simple, really.

Honestly though, I don’t recommend cooking macaroni cheese in a microwave. You get a lot of hot water and steam everywhere, which can be somewhat dangerous. Boiling the pasta in particular can cause a lot of steam to be released, which can burn you very easily. Basically, any liquid you put in a microwave will boil, then start to splatter and bubble, before potentially bubbling over or even erupting, sending hot liquid everywhere. You need to be careful.

If you’re going to make macaroni in a microwave, I’d suggest sticking to instant meals rather than doing all of this. Much easier and much safer. As for me? Well, I’d use the instant stuff if I had it. But in the mean time, I can at least satisfy my cheesy pasta cravings…