This recipe is super-easy and it uses stuff you probably already have in the cabinet. You can also substitute most of the ingredients with similar ones that you have on hand!
I was very skeptical when I saw the ingredient list for this, but as Beth says, you're almost certain to have everything you need for this. And, more importantly, we loved it!! I was thrilled to find that my husband, 2 yr. old & 5 yr. old had second helpings!! It really makes boxed mac and cheese more substantial...I only had saltines (unbuttered) for the top and it was really a casserole type dish...next time, I may add broccoli, mushrooms, etc to make it a one-dish veggie meal. Great recipe and super fast and easy :o)
Read MoreI wasn't crazy about this. I'm not too crazy about boxed mac & cheese.
Read MoreI was very skeptical when I saw the ingredient list for this, but as Beth says, you're almost certain to have everything you need for this. And, more importantly, we loved it!! I was thrilled to find that my husband, 2 yr. old & 5 yr. old had second helpings!! It really makes boxed mac and cheese more substantial...I only had saltines (unbuttered) for the top and it was really a casserole type dish...next time, I may add broccoli, mushrooms, etc to make it a one-dish veggie meal. Great recipe and super fast and easy :o)
After reading the reviews I was a little worried abou the mushroom soup so I subsituted cream of celery instead and I really liked the flavor. I had to add some milk because it seemed SO thick when I mixed it all together. I guess I like my mac and cheese to be a little more creamy. This was a great way to turn a box of mac and cheese into something a little more substantial. I added chunks of cooked chicken and half of a 10 oz. bag of broccoli to make it a complete meal. I also threw in some onion powder and ground mustard to add a little bit of flavor to the boring "processed" taste. I also made my own crumb topping by putting two slices of bread in the oven as it pre-heated to dry them out a bit. Then, I tore them up and put them into a food processor with about a tbl of cold butter, some seasoning salt and pepper. Processed to a fine crumb, it makes a nice crunchy topping that beats a ritz cracker. I'll probably make this again but might be worth spending a few extra cents on the campbell's healthy request just to eliminate some of the sodium.
This is a very good recipe. I use cream of chicken soup instead of the cream of mushroom. It is a welcome change from plain old macaroni and cheese from the box. My hubby won't eat anything but namebrand in the box, but with this recipe, I can use the 25 cent boxes from SaveALot!
Wow, take box mac and cheese and make it taste like Stouffer's baked mac and cheese. Awesome. The 1/4 of butter at the end was a little much, next time I will crush the Ritz crackers and mix it with 1/8 cup butter, then sprinkle on top of the mac and cheese.
Served this dish as a side for Thanksgiving....I've been asked to make it for xmas as well!!! I recommend to anyone who wants an easy dish to make - it came out wonderful! The only change I made was instead of only cheddar, I made it with half Cheddar and half Monterey Jack (you can never have too much cheese!)
This was so easy and tasted great - I'm a big fan of homemade mac and cheese, but don't think I will go through all of the fuss now that I found this recipe.
Tasty but it won't feed 6 people...maybe 3-4? I added extra macaroni noodles and some milk.
LOVE IT! This recipe was so easy. I didn't have shredded cheddar cheese, so I just used mozzarella and it turned out perfect. I added a tablespoon of milk though and only 3 tablespoons of butter. It seemed like the recipe called for too much butter. Other than that, it was great!
I used cream of chicken soup and topped with "whales" crackers (my kids love these more than goldfish)...yummy!!! Super easy and a change to just mac n cheese...
I followed this recipe exactly as written. Very creamy. But I think the cream of mushroom takes away from the cheese taste. So next time I will try same recipe but with cream if cheddar soup instead. And maybe some caramalized onions!
such an easy, BUDGET FRIENDLY, and yummy comfort casserole. I added diced chicken breast sauteed with halved cherry tomatoes, garlic and onions. I used fat free cream of chicken and low fat sour cream. I didn't have any crackers, but it was still good.
this recipe was excellent and from now on i will HAVE to make a double batch of it! quick and easy to make and so delicious...i added a small can of mushrooms because my guy and i love them. i will make this on a regular basis i'm sure!
This was delicious!! I made it once following the exact recipe and it was wonderful. I made it again using cream of broccoli, and pieces of cooked chicken. I just cut chicken breast into bite size pieces, cook them in a pan with some olive oil and added them in before I put it in the oven. Made this way it was absolutly fantastic and a very filling meal. My boyfriend and 4 year old son ate all the leftovers the very next day!
I used this recipe today out of desperation. I'm tired of the same old macaroni and cheese and was looking to change it. After looking in the cupboard and realizing that there was no cream of mushroom soup, I just used half mayo/half sour cream up to 1/4 c. and added milk to make it a little soupy. I threw in a can of drained tuna fish and used a remnants of a bag of provolone/mozzerella cheese blend. I didn't add veggies, as the kids would rather eat the veggies on the side of their macaroni and cheese. It came together nicely. I added chopped tomatoes and Tabasco to mine. I'll be sure to make this again with different ingredients next time.
This was really good! My DH who doesn't like mac and cheese ate it up! I used different cheeses as I didn't have any cheddar on hand, and I added some onions and broccoli, it was really good!
This is a nice easy recipe and it turns out tastey. I used 2 boxes of mac n cheese, cream of chicken, 1/4 cup butter, 3/4 cup sour cream, 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, and whales crackers on top. I thought it was a little too salty, so next time I won't salt the water I boil the pasta in. I didn't crush the crackers on top, and I wish I would have. I don't like breadcrumbs on top of casseroles, so the crackers were a good idea. I also sprinkled parmesean on top, and liked that. I used a 9x13 pan and baked for 35 min.
This is the ultimate comfort food! I have also made it with shredded velveta, which works just as well.
I'm giving it 4 stars just because I made some modifications, but it was awesome. I used cream of chicken soup, real butter and an Italian cheese mix. Next time I will cut back on the butter because it was super rich. I don't normally like mac n cheese but I loved this, and my husband was in heaven. This will go into regular rotation, I'm sure.
Recipe, as is, is ****. With the additional ingredients I added, it was *****. I added two 1-inch deli slices of Virginia Ham (cubed), 1/2 a white onion, and used the milk that the macaroni package asks for. It was so good, my husband and I ate it for dinner 2 days in a row! Pretty good for mac-and-cheese :o)
This dish is excellent for a starving, busy college student like myself. Adding a can of drained tuna or a cup of cooked shredded chicken (I use store-bought rotisserie chicken)and canned peas and carrots, this is a complete meal with tons of lefovers! Also freezes beautifully!
I absolutely loved this. It was easy to make and just the right kind of cheesy. I have been searching for a really good mac and cheese recipe and have finally found it. Thank You!!!
WOW!!! This is GREAT! We eat TONS of mac and cheese (blue box,like 5 times a week!) and this was soooo FILLING! Not a fan of cream of mushroom, so used cream of chicken instead, and added some frozen peas to the water the last 2 minutes of boiling. If onion was added it might almost taste like the "potluck" or "Wedding" potatoes...have to think about that next time! Thank you for a new favorite! :-)
My husband and I really love this - it's cheap and makes a filling meal. And I love that you can just dump whatever you want or have on hand into this - it's almost impossible to mess up!
This is a really easy recipe. I only had condenced chicken soup, so I used that, and I also used crushed potato chips instead of the butter and crackers. It was really yummy!! Even my 2 year old who claimed to be full kept eating more, and saying "mmmm thats good!"
Came out really delicious. Really simple really filling. I added pepper and a can of corn and it came out wonderful! Very great easy recipe
This is a super-versatile AND EASY recipe. My husband loves it! I won't make regular mac-and-cheese again. In fact, you don't even have to use the boxed kind-- just use your own pasta (any shape that suits you) and simply add in cheese of any kind. I also use cream of celery soup because he's not a fan of mushrooms and the buttery crackers on top give it a little crunch that absolutely makes the dish!
My boyfriend made this and substituted cream of broccoli soup and added in fresh broccoli. He also added in milk because he thought you had to for the condensed cream soup (one can of milk only). It was great! He used crumbled goldfish for the topping (I would have used Cheez-its, myself!). It was easy to make.
This was an easy recipe, which came in handy because Mommy is sick (but still on duty!) today! We don't buy the boxed macaroni and cheese, so I figured that I would just use whatever pasta I had in the pantry along with quite a lot of extra salt and pepper to make up for the missing cheese powder packet. This may have been a mistake. Even though I added in plenty of extra salt and pepper and also added in some dry mustard powder, we all kind of felt like something was missing from this dish. Maybe it was the cheese powder packet. I think that maybe if I had some prepared brown mustard on hand that a dollop of that would have given us the flavor we were looking for. We were able to add in some leftover chopped cooked chicken and some peas for a one dish meal, but we'll have to play around with this recipe a little more to get it to our liking. It also makes me think I should ask my mom for the tuna noodle casserole recipe she has and substitute in leftover chopped cooked chicken when we have it for the tuna. Thanks for the recipe though!
This is a great, quick dinner. I threw in about a cup of frozen peas a few minutes before the pasta was done. I also added a can of tuna and a can of mushrooms. Threw in plenty of black pepper and garlic powder. After putting it all in a casserole dish, I just spread a thin layer of shredded cheese on top, then covered with crushed potato chips, since that's what I had on hand. I only baked it for about 15 minutes and it was perfect. Creamy and filling!
Delicious, easy and a nice presentation... ;)
This was pretty easy and yummy. A little bland, but then I think most mac and cheese recipes are. I'd make this again when we want mac and cheese. Thanks Beth.
I love this recipe! So easy, except for the cheese all the ingredients are cheap and its always a hit at potlucks!
This is an awesome way to make "homemade" mac and cheese. I fooled everyone. Very easy as Beth says. I topped with crushed cornflakes. Thanks Beth.
Way WAY too salty. Perhaps skip the powdered cheese packet? I don't know, but I have TONS of leftovers....
This recipe was not good to me at all. Cream of mushroom soup and cheese do NOT mix well in a baked pasta dish. It was awful. It also sort of made me feel sick after eating it, so I threw it all away.
I did not like this at all. There was way too much margarine for this recipe. This is not something I'd make again
I was disappointed that the flavor of the mushroom soup still came through.I knew then my daughter would say yuck. I think cheddar cheese soup would be the best bet and will try that next time.
This isn't bad as a side dish, but it is rather bland (too bland to please as a main dish IMO). I will make it again with modifications...I'm thinking cheese soup (instead of mushroom) and herbed crutons (instead of crackers).
great job
Fantastic! Very creamy. Added leftover ham and made it a meal.
My whole family loves this dish! It is so easy to make, and is a nice change from traditional mac n cheese. I would recommend this to anyone.
Followed it to a t and I change soup flavors to go with what it is going to be served with! Its a quick fix for a change of starch for dinner and usually have all ingredients on hand!
