I've always been taught you put the noodles in a collinder to get the extra water out after the noodles are cooked then put it back in the pot and add all your seasoning packets, butter, extra cheese whatever else and stir as it all melts onto the noodles. Trust me on this, it tastes amazing.
Yes that's the standard way. But whenever we cook pasta we are supposed to save some of the pasta water to put back in. The starch in the water helps to emulsify the sauce or something. This method doesn't have any EXTRA water to drain off. I guess they kept measuring until they figured out the right amount. When I'm out of milk I've used plain unsweetened yogurt or sour cream instead. That makes it pretty creamy too. And I like putting some shredded cheese on top.
Why the fuck wouldn't you do that? That's how you cook pasta. You drain the water. What you just described is literally the only way to make it. Those are the instructions.
For anyone interested, the extra starch from the cooking of the pasta (which would normally be thrown out when you strain the noodles) is what makes it so creamy. It acts as an emulsifier so that the fat from the butter and cheese mixes with the water and milk to make a homogeneous sauce. That is why the instructions on the box tell you to strain the noodles, but not to rinse them. The little bit of extra starch left on the noodles helps the sauce come together. That's also what the white powder in the microwavable Easy Mac is for, starch to help make the sauce. For those who like to make it from scratch with just pasta, real cheese, and milk or cream, you can achieve similar results by adding some of the pasta cooking water back into the sauce. Start by using a little less water than you normally would to cook the pasta, then scoop the pasta out of the water when its done cooking instead of straining it into a colander. Then let the pasta water continue to boil for a couple of minutes to concentrate the startch. Save that in a heat safe bowl and pour some bit by bit into your cheese and milk mixture until you get the desired creaminess. This is also the secret to how authentic Fettuccine Alfredo is so creamy from just butter, parmesan, and a bit of hot concentrated pasta water to melt and emulsify the butter and parmesan together. Enjoy.
@@onradioactivewaves Sorry to have to give you the bad news, but if your Alfredo has heavy cream in it then it is NOT authentic Fettuccine Alfredo. You can Google it pretty easily and discover that the only ingredients are fettuccine noodles, butter, and parmesan cheese. That is literally the recipe as described by the Italian restaurant owner who created the dish. Several famous people visited Alfredo di Lelio's restaurants, including prominent Hollywood actors. When they got home to America and tried to have the dish recreated, they added heavy cream to the recipe because they were going off only a description of the dish and how it tasted and had trouble getting it right without the cream since they didn't know the process of making it. The "Alfredo" sauce most Americans are familiar with is actually closer to a mornay or bechamel sauce than the sauce on authentic Fettuccine Alfredo.
Here in Canada we have spicy Kraft Dinner. That flavor is da bomb. The noddles are thicker macaroni and the cheese powder is delish with only a tiny kick to it
I've never understood why the instructions say to drain and return the noodles to the pan when making the sauce. I drain the noodles, then use the hot empty pot to melt the butter, add the milk and cheese powder, and simmer until creamy. Then I add back in the noodles. It's so much better this way. Fun fact: Kraft Mac and Cheese in Canada used to be called Kraft Dinner, but is now simply known as KD.
This is the way I do it. I like the sauce hot and well mixed. I also add a tiny bit of cheese whiz and if feeling adventurous, a small bit of imperial cheese.
I would suggest melting the butter and mixing it with the powdered cheese first to make sure it's all homogenized well. Then cook it all together. I have invariably had problems with powdered stuff clumping no matter how long I'd cook stuff for. Discovered if you mix the powders with fats/oils before you let water touch the powder, it mixes so much better.
After boiling the noodles, drain them in a colander and then rinse them with hot water. Now return them to the cooking pot, add 1/4 stick of butter (it's a lot, yeah) and the cheese powder then mix until the cheese is as dispersed as you can get it. Now add 1/4 cup of milk and mix again. Any unincorporated cheese powder should dissolve into the milk. Add more milk if it's too thick for your liking, but don't go overboard or the cheese will wash off your noodles
I'm all for a more rich and creamy option for Mac and Cheese, or just Kraft Dinner as we refer to it up here in Canada, so I'm gonna try it tonight. Looks delightful. :3
Here are my tips. Wait for the water to boil before adding the pasta. Once the pasta is your desired softness, drain it and then IMMEDIATELY and quickly stir the butter into the pasta. The heat from the pasta and the constant stirring emulsifies the butter. Once the butter is melted, stir in the cheese package. Once that's as mixed in as you can get, now you add the amount of milk asked on the package. You'll get the same creaminess without having to use 2 packages.
Just made this a couple of days ago, turned out great. The leftovers used to be too dry, but these were good still. Not as creamy left over, but still good. I added some smoked sausage for extra yum.
@@damianmlamb Never tried the cheese ones before, but maybe I'll give it a try. Though I have the other half the sausage in the freezer to use first, lol
I love the Johnsonville Better Cheddar precooked sausages. Or even a half pound of fried up bacon with all the grease. I usually add a can of bag of frozen sweet corn too.
I grew up with making Kraft until I figured out I was lactose intolerant and now seeing this hurts so much Edit: Guys thanks for the tips now I can Enjoy Kraft without spending extra money on lactaid pills
jordan doesnt only give fast food hacks but also restaurant hacks, food hacks, and life hacks. He’s officially the best life hack channel there is* edit: i take that back everything is better than 5 minute crafts so he’s officially the best life hack channel there is
You see this is why I subbed to your channel. I’m learning so much that I’ve never found out before in my life either. I will keep this in mind. Maybe this is what they meant by Kraft being the cheesiest and many of us have been doing it wrong this whole time. 😳 Myself included. 😪
My grandma taught me to boil water with salt (however much you prefer) and wait for it to boil. I added a bit of butter to the water. Then, I cooked Kraft Dinner for 8 minutes and drained the noodles. Afterwards, I put the pot on low heat and added a generous spoonful of butter, waiting for it to melt. I poured in roughly the same amount of milk as the butter, mixed the powder with the milk and butter inside the still-hot pot until it was thick and well combined, and then added the noodles. The result tasted just like the original, despite claims it had been changed.
@@Yourlocalgay1 The salt evaporates as the water boils, it hardly affects taste If at all, It's used mostly for helping the water boil point rise faster.
@@Yourlocalgay1 I'm not trying to speed up 8-minute noodles into 1-minute & I'm not trying to pre-season my kraft dinner with a handful of salt that'll evaporate, There's hardly any effect In it's taste. What you should be asking yourself is do you wash your pasta off you're probably tasting starch assuming it's salt, or you're tasting the fuckton of salt you poured into it
@@LouMosin it is salt. Salt it like the ocean and tell me if you taste a difference. Literally cooked it today. Tastes better. Also, who in their right mind would wash off macaroni noodles from a box. Like I said before though, it doesn’t speed up the boiling. It makes it a higher temperature which means it cooks faster but the time it takes to boil isn’t affected.
I’ve been making it this way for years. With onions and garlic sautéed in a pan, the. Ground beef, then once cooked, drain fat and add to your cooked and ready Kraft dinner (that’s what we call it in canada lol)
The one secret i always use is to follow the recipe on the box as-is, but replace 2tblspoons of butter with 2 ounces of cream cheese. The cream cheese packets have separators for ounces like butter does for tablespoons. Its so much better than the regular boxed mac n cheese for zero extra effort. Add pepper to taste if you dont like the creaminess as strong.
Hey if you use heavy cream or evaporated milk instead of regular milk, it comes out even creamier! I do it with my cheesy ranch burger helper... I'll have to try it with this now! Thanks
There's certainly a difference between boxed Mac & Cheese and Easy Mac but the standard box directions work just fine. As others have said when draining don't drain to fully dry and the leftover pasta water will help thicken it up. If you want to get a little fancy throwing in some extra cheese (even a kraft american single slice adds some creamy gooeyness to it) and some onion and garlic powder will enhance that cheese flavor
I normally do a lazy strain about 2 minutes shy of being done (aka not using a colander just a spoon and a gentle pouring and some skill to not spill the noodles), reserving some pasta water to finish cooking the noodles while adding the final ingredients. Works pretty good, always better than following the directions. This does look extra creamy though, probably due to the extra milk and cheese, and the gluten being more developed in the sauce due to the stirring motion. Yum.
This is what I do too unless most of the water evaporates then I don't even really need to strain it at all but cooking it in milk instead of water is delicious but not so delicious that it's worth the extra money unless maybe ur rich lol
I see a lot of good advice here in the comments. I personally am a fan of draining the water and saving a bit aside to make the cheese but I also rinse the noodles afterward to get rid of the starch and firm the noodle. When recombined with the starched sauce it attracts to the noodle and hits differently on the taste buds (which Jordan no longer has). Also, don't be afraid to put a bunch of Parmesan cheese in it, make sure it's melted (like Jordan's taste buds) and hit it all with a bit of white pepper if you got it, black is good too. Also tempering your water with tabasco will give it a tang that is subtle but you'll miss it when it's gone (like Jordan's taste buds). :)
@@peehandshihtzu what do you think of adding onion powder? While I'm at it, why not BBQ dry rub seasoning or chili-con-carne seasoning? Damn, now that has me thinking of using a can of chili-con-carne with mac to make a sort of shortcut version of hamburger helper... but spicy. I have absolutely zero clue whether this would work... and I'm wondering. Hmmmm... dammit that's not keto. Grrrr...
Thank you!!! I was preparing as follows, then I would add extra butter & cheese, I'm going to try it that way & see how we like it!!! Tamelia Bodison from Florida
Whatever you do, DO NOT MAKE THIS RECIPE. You’ll waste 2 perfectly good boxes of Kraft and completely ruin the bottom of your pot. It doesn’t even taste better than normal Kraft. Take it from me, I learned my lesson.
I always just strained out the water when the noodles became al dente (slightly chewy, never mushy) since water thins the cheese flavour, stir in a bit of butter or margerine just to make sure it ain't tacky/sticky as I pour in the cheese powder (also adds a bit of saltyness to the dish), then you stir it up with just some milk to hydrate the cheese and make it a nice creamy consistency. Then after that you can toss some more cheese on top, or personally I hit it with a bit of paprika which just gives it a nice pop of flavour. Or if you're a heretical monster like most of my friends, you put ketchup on top (dunno if it's just a Canadian thing, but so many people do it).
I love your videos I’ll have to try it that way one time but idk I’ve always made the box kraft Mac and cheese different then that but I’ll have to try it!
Pro tip if you make it the traditional way: 1) Add your cheese, butter and milk only to the container you plan to store or eat the mac and cheese in. Do not put it in the pot or else you will have extra things to clean 2) As mentioned add extra cheese milk and butter for extra creamy cheesiness
Honestly if you use one of the noodles from a box for something else, then use 2 cheese packets on one box with just a square and a half of butter (no water milk) and stir until it melts together it's pretty epic. You could alternatively use one box of regular and 2 boxes of twisty kind, then use about 2 squares of butter and turn some powdered leche into liquid again and mix that in until you get your desired consistency, it's pretty bomb.
You CAN use half the ingredient and only use 1 box, that means 1 and 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 cup of milk, 1 table spoon of butter and other spices you might want to add.
we buy kraft delux and add milk, butter and more cheese. honestly, i dont know why we dont just make it from scratch at that point, but it's still delicious!!
My mom doesn't use box Mac and cheese, she buys the dried pasta as you would, and makes a homemade cheese sauce (using American cheese) and it's the best ever
I never had different ways to cook the mac and cheese, just things to add. I found the best way to make it when you're just having it straight is after draining the noodles, add the butter to the pan first and stir until fully mixed, then add the milk SLOWLY, a few tablespoons at a time (ish) and mix until the powder is fully mixed in. It gets super cheesy. If you're looking to add protein, hot dogs, sliced turkey, bacon, oe tuna are great to add. If you want something green, cut up some broccoli and add that to the water before you turn on heat so it has time to get fully cooked (the noodles get added once the water boils but you do not remove the broccoli).
I tried this tonight and I'm sold on it. The texture and sauce was a little better. Noodles were perfectly cooked with 8 mins, simmer was 6/max on stove setting, stir often.
I found this alterations from a “Thick & Creamy” version of mac’n’cheese. Double the butter, and halve the milk. Then I like to keep the burner on the lowest setting and continually stir while adding the cheese powder to remove any clumps.
Just tried this and it was great! But my wife and my favorite way to have boxed Mac and cheese was made by accident. I made it according to the box but then brown the butter before adding in the milk and cheese mixing with the noodles. It is sooooooooo good!
I’ve seen a hack where you use a sauce pan, then add just enough water to cover the noodles, add the cheese packet, butter, and seasonings, then after it starts to get real thick put in some milk, and stir until your desired thickness of sauce
I was literally just thinking about how I wanted to make mac and cheese once I got back from the gym and then you upload and now I am definitely going to try this
@@kanaefan372 very creamy. Though I wasn't sure how much extra cheese to put in since it's never told. Kinda eyeballed it. The texture was great, though the flavor tasted a bit different from regular mac and cheese. Imo, it was kinda bland. Should probably add spices for a greater kick
tossing in a couple of kraft singles and reserving a half cup of the boiling liquid does the same thing if you boil as directed, drain, toss back into pot, add milk, 2 to 3 cheese slices, reserved pasta water, and butter and stir on a low heat. dont add in the cheese powder packet until butter has melted and liquids are steaming (not boiling!). you also get the added benefit of pasta that isnt too mushy lol
You can also add a bit of canned chicken (if you don't have any leftover) and a bit of bbq sauce (i prefer sweet baby rays, but you do you) and it's Amazing!
Personally my favourite way to make KD is to cook the noodles and strain it, add in butter and the cheese and then evaporated milk until the desired creaminess. Some people think the evaporated milk is weird but it gives you creaminess without it being watery, which is the issue i have with using regular milk
I let the water boil with a pinch of salt, then add the pasta. When the pasta is cooked, I drain almost all the liquid (I leave about a tablespoon of the water in the pot). I then add the butter so it'll melt, then the milk and cheese. Leaving a little of the starchy water helps the cheese sauce stick to the noodles.
My phone was in the living room last night not even in view and out of earshot when I made homemade taco hamburger helper last night and then it recommended this to me this morning. If im not being watched or listened in on then Idk what else😂
I havent eaten kraft mac and cheese since I learned J Kenji Lopez-Alt’s recipe. One part pasta, one part cheese, one part evaporated milk. All you have to do is shallow boil the pasta until done and then throw everything in and your done. Takes 10 minutes tops and it’s fucking delicious!! You do NOT have to use American cheese either. You can use cheddar or any of your fav cheese and it will work because of the evaporated milk. P.S., It does come out cheaper per serving than 2 boxes of Kraft because of the amount of pasta you can make.
I grew up making boxed kraft Mac. I used to bit a bit of condensed milk in mine for a sweet and creamy vibe. I also added string cheese to mine to add cool cheese pulls😂
I do it this way, add a little mustard for an awesome unexpected taste. I also use a can of tomato with the water for some of it and just like hamburger helper, I start out with some beef,
I sometimes add a touch of sour cream.. it's been ages since I made it.. I used to make that for my wife, with some hamburger thrown in. It was our comfort food and struggle meal. Damnit, now I has a sad *and* I'm hungry. You're still awesome, Jordaan.
I've got the same thing going on in slightly different way. I boil the noodles in water, drain, return to pot, add the powder, add the milk, extra cheese if I got it, stir, boil down the milk for a couple of minutes. Once the milk is all gone (doesn't take long.) I've got something pretty good. Works with one box just fine.
Jordan, if you see this, you should try it, it's actually really good My grandma can make really creamy and delicious kraft mac and cheese. It's basically the recipe on the side of the box, boil water at medium heat, add the macaroni and boil for 7 mins, drain the water, add 4 tbsp of butter, 1/4 cups of milk, then add the cheese, but my grandma stirs around 4-5 times every minute, adds butter instead of margarine, and adds a full cup of milk. If it isn't creamy enough, then maybe another 1/4 to 1/2 cup of milk or another tbsp of butter. It's easy to eat, and it tastes really good. Try it out.
Hey Jordan, could you make sure to order stuff from the secret menu off of this cafe that us Canadians to regularly which is Tim Horton's. More specifically, the Gretzky or 99 (9 cream 9 sugar) and the 8-ball (ice Capp with whipped cream and chocolate Timbit). I just wanna make sure that they do exist.
