The dish turned out creamy and cheesy, and I loved the addition of broccoli to the mix.
Mac and cheese is one of my favorite quick comfort dishes to make when I'm feeling too lazy to cook.
So, when I learned that Martha Stewart had a way to make this classic recipe even quicker, I decided to give it a try. Stewart's "Cheater's Mac and Cheese" recipe includes just six ingredients and takes 20 minutes to prepare.
Here's how I made the one-pot meal.
I started by gathering and prepping the ingredients.Stewart's mac and cheese recipe only called for six ingredients.
Paige Bennett
The recipe calls for six ingredients: 1 ½ cups of fresh or frozen broccoli, 4 ounces of a short pasta (penne is recommended), 2 ½ ounces (⅓ cup) of cream cheese, 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, ½ ounce (⅓ cup) of Parmigiano-Reggiano, and salt. Black pepper is also optional, but I decided to use it.
I opted for frozen broccoli since I always keep florets in the freezer, and because it reduced my prep time.
The only minor obstacle I faced during the prep process was measuring the Parmigiano-Reggiano. I used my kitchen scale to weigh the ½ ounce (⅓ cup) of cheese, but when I added it to the measuring cup, it quickly overflowed despite the scale only reading 0.1 ounces.
I had to tightly pack the finely grated cheese into the cup to get the desired ½ ounce.
Next, I cooked the pasta and broccoli.Before the pasta reached al dente, I added the broccoli to the pot.
Paige Bennett
I started by boiling the penne pasta in salted water. The recipe said to boil the noodles two minutes short of al dente, so I let them cook for nine minutes rather than the box's recommended 10-12 minutes.
When time was up, I scooped out 1 cup of pasta water to use later and added in the frozen broccoli. I let the broccoli cook with the pasta for two minutes before draining the water and setting aside them aside.
Then, it was time to make the cheese sauce.I used a whisk to break up the cream cheese.
Paige Bennett
From there, I simmered the butter, cream cheese, and ⅔ of the cup of pasta water in my empty pot.
The cream cheese didn't initially break down in the pasta water, so I had to use a whisk to smooth out the sauce, which was a small inconvenience.
When the sauce was ready, I combined all my ingredients in the pot.The cheese sauce was the perfect consistency for the pasta.
Paige Bennett
Then, I added the pasta, broccoli, and Parmigiano-Reggiano into the pot and stirred until the sauce completely coated the noodles.
The ½ ounce of cheese ended up being the right amount for the sauce, which was cheesy, but not overly salty, gritty, or stringy.
I didn't even need to add the final ⅓ cup of pasta water because the sauce was already clinging well to the noodles, creating a creamy, silky coating.
I finished the dish with an extra sprinkle of freshly grated cheese and some black pepper, as recommended.
This is now a go-to comfort recipe for me.I really enjoyed the mac and cheese, and am looking forward to experimenting with other vegetables.
Paige Bennett
The final pasta had some tanginess from the cream cheese, but plenty of saltiness from the Parmigiano-Reggiano and some earthy notes from the broccoli.
I also loved how quickly this recipe came together. I had a creamy, comforting pasta dish ready for lunch in a matter of minutes on a very busy workday.
Although Stewart's recipe called for broccoli, it also said peas or cauliflower florets would be good alternatives. I think this recipe would taste good with lots of different vegetables, like asparagus and mushrooms, so I'm looking forward to experimenting in the future.