Skillet Mac and Cheese with Tomato

Elbow macaroni cooked just to al dente while a roux of butter and flour builds in a large deep skillet, seasoned with Dijon, garlic powder, salt and pepper as milk whisks in.

Sharp cheddar melts into the base over low heat, then the drained macaroni and well-drained diced tomatoes fold in together and warm through before the dish goes straight to the table from the pan.

Why This Recipe Works

• A real roux, not a cornstarch shortcut. Two tablespoons each of butter and flour, cooked a full minute, is what gives this sauce body without a bag of pre-shredded cheese and its anti-caking starch fighting the texture.
• The cheese goes in over low heat, after the milk has already thickened. Cheddar added to a sauce that is still at a simmer tends to seize into strings rather than melt smoothly.
• The tomatoes are drained well — the recipe says so twice, in the ingredient line and the method. Canned tomato liquid would thin a sauce this size out of shape.
• Dijon rather than dry mustard powder. A teaspoon of it sharpens the cheddar without adding a mustard flavour on its own, which is the point of using it in a cheese sauce at all.
• The pasta and tomatoes are folded in and warmed for two minutes, not simmered. Longer on the heat would break the sauce apart rather than warming it through.

How to Make It

1. Cook the macaroni

   Cook macaroni in salted water until just al dente; drain.

2. Start the roux

   Melt butter in a large deep skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute.

3. Build the base

   Gradually whisk in milk, then add Dijon, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Simmer 3 to 4 minutes until slightly thickened.

4. Melt in the cheese

   Lower heat and stir in cheddar until smooth.

5. Fold in pasta and tomato

   Fold in macaroni and drained tomatoes. Cook 2 minutes until hot.

6. Serve

   Top with parsley if desired and serve from the skillet.

Ingredient Notes

Shredded sharp cheddar

Two cups, added over low heat rather than while the sauce is still simmering, which is what keeps it smooth instead of grainy.

Canned diced tomatoes, drained well

One 14.5-ounce can. Draining is called out twice in the recipe because undrained tomatoes are the single biggest risk to the sauce's texture.

Dijon mustard

A single teaspoon, whisked into the milk base. It sharpens the cheese flavour without reading as mustard in the finished dish.

Whole milk

Two cups, whisked gradually into the roux. Whole milk gives the sauce the body a lower-fat milk would leave thin.

Success Tips

• Cook the macaroni just to al dente — it finishes softening in the hot sauce.
• Whisk the milk in slowly so the roux never lumps.
• Drop the heat before the cheese goes in.
• Drain the tomatoes as thoroughly as the recipe asks.
• Fold, don't stir hard, once the pasta and tomatoes are in — the sauce is already finished.

Serving Ideas

Straight from the skillet, as the recipe serves it — no separate serving dish needed. Extra parsley and a crack of black pepper at the table finish it well.

Storage and Reheating