Two-Cheese Mac and Cheese

I agree, this is a terrible version of mac & cheese.  

Of all the lightened up mac and cheese recipes we've tried, we enjoyed this the most. I used Monterey Jack cheese because my cheddar was reduced fat. I also put the cheese in the sauce (just a preference) but I still baked it for a bit. This did not come out too runny for our tastes. The Monterey Jack worked well. I will make again but will be sure to try the cheddar next time.

I don't even like normal macaroni and cheese, but this is delicious. My whole family loves it! (Including the kids who eat mac and cheese out of the box.)

Meh. The sauce didn't really thicken up well and I prepared it exactly as written. I found it to be somewhat boring. I added red pepper flakes at the table. My teenager wouldn't touch it. Doubt I'll be trying this again.

Love, love, love this mac & cheese! Have made it several times, including as a side on Thanksgiving, and always get rave reviews. My family really likes the browned cheddar cheese topping so my husband suggested using not as deep a dish so I make it in 9x13 casserole, only thing I've changed from original recipe.

Surprisingly good. The last mac n cheese I made from cooking light was bad. My bf and I loved this. We did have to add a little more flour to thicken the sauce but it turned out great.

I was concerned about this being runny as I made it, but once I added the cream cheese, it was perfect. Also, because it did have some extra sauce, I baked it for about 30 min with the cheddar on top. I loved it and my very picky son loved it too, :-)

I love homemade Mac cheese but never make it due to the high calories and fat. I clipped this one form C.L. and decided to try it. I did some of the suggestions others made like adding cheddar to the sauce along with additional garlic powder, hot shot, and onion powder. It was really good. As good as my full fat version? No, but worthy of seconds without guilt. Will definitely make again! Update: When I made this Mac and cheese previously, I made the chicken stock using chicken stock granules mixed with boiling water. I didn't realize those granules have sodium. When I made the recipe using the unsalted chicken broth ( as called for by the recipe) from a can it was SO bland. Definitely skip the unsalted version of chicken broth! I won't do that again. We had to add a bunch of salt and pepper to make it edible!

This Mac and Cheese recipe is extremely bland - needs some cheese with a bite (like swiss or gruyere) in the center. Also needs additional spices. The broccoli and red pepper side dish was also a disappointment. I will not either of the recipes again,

I liked this one OK. The sauce was a little thin. My husband didn't like it at all and since I'm not a big mac & cheese eater, I probably won't try it again with the recommeneded spice ups in the other reviews.

My girlfriend and I really liked this recipe, although (because I'm new to cooking) I followed the recipe to the T and realized I should have put some shredded cheddar cheese in the center of the dish as well as the top. That's what I'm going to be doing next time! But it was awesome, I recommend it!

Made this for a weekend lunch and it was good. I think it makes a better side than main. Like others have stated, it's a little bland, but I'm thinking a tiny bit of chipotle or a pinch of nutmeg (not together!) would help a bit, depending on what else is being served. I like that it's light with out using frankenfood ingredients like lite Velveeta or just being downright weird like one on this site calling for cottage cheese and sour cream.

I should really learn that ANY "light" mac & cheese recipe from C.L. is going to be bland. I wasn't disappointed when I tried this and it lacked any flavor. I added garlic powder (on top of the fresh garlic in the dish), onion powder, ground red pepper, smoked paprika, salt & pepper and some additional cheddar cheese to the base (as well as on top) to get some flavor in this one. After those seasoning additions, I really thought this was a good mac & cheese recipe. As another reviewer pointed out, it was really creamy and not dry after the cook time; fit nicely in an 8 x 8 square casserole dish. Definitely, with the modifications, it's worth making if your family really enjoys mac & cheese and you want a "traditional" taste. Enjoy!

We all agree that this is the best mac & cheese!! Liked having a little bit thinner sauce - reheats nicely (is not too dry like most mac & cheese). You do need to let it sit when the recipe states - I found that 10 mins each time is better than the 5 stated. Also first made this with sharp cheddar cheese and found it a little bland - using the EXTRA sharp cheese made all the difference. Love the garlic in the recipe as well. Did add about 2/3 of the cheddar cheese into the sauce with the cream cheese, and used the remaining to broil on top. Finally found a mac and cheese recipe my WHOLE family loves!! Thanks CL!!

All my boys loved this!! I used reduced-sodium stock and added shredded sharp cheddar to the sauce for added color and flavor. Made a great partner to chicken wings for an easy football game meal.

Overall my family enjoyed this. I thought the garlic was a bit to pronounced and would add slightly less (and I LOVE garlic. Go figure). Instead of putting all the chedder on top I mixed half into the cream cheese mixture. This was a nice lighter alternative to the normal comfort food version.

Just needs a little ground red pepper to kick it up a notch. Otherwise it was excellent.

yum! made this last night during a power outage.... I didnt have elbow noodles, so I used spirals... also, I made a double batch so the casserole dish didnt fit in the broiler. I also used Fat Free half & half.... and why whisk when you have an emmersion blender. I do think it needs a bit more pepper and a bit of nutmeg....

This was delicious. I liked that it used two inexpensive cheeses. It has lots of potential for jazzing it up too. We ate this as a side dish to the pork medallions with mustard sauce also in the same issue (Sept. 2013). That was also very good.

Hello, I made this Mac&Cheese Labor Day weekend and I must say it was delicious, I did how ever add 2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper I like to have a little kick to my food, but this recipe was so easy, I will probably make it again and the left overs will be great to take to work for lunch!

This was very tasty and very quick to make. We used it as a main course and served with salad and broiled okra! Yummy!

Best Mac and Cheese I've ever made... and the roasted broccoli & red pepper side recommended in the September 2013 issue completed the dish! :-) P.S. Mine was not runny at all... and I followed the recipe exactly!

I thought it was quite tasty and my husband enjoyed it as well. It is a tad soupier than the old standard mac and cheese. I used chipolte pepper in the recipe to give it a bit more zip but I was impressed with how it turned out minus all the usual fat present in the dish.

Delicious!

This is a pretty good version. I was impressed that everyone in my family (husband, teen,preschooler) enjoyed this Mac and cheese. It was very tasty. The only thing I would be aware of is this is a runny recipe so don't expect baked Mac and cheese. Still very good and I would make it again.

Thin, flavor free sauce. Added cornstarch to thicken it, put the cheddar in the sauce to add flavor. Still not very good. There are much better mac & cheese recipes on this web site.