This Deluxe Mac and Cheese for Two is quick and easy to throw together and makes the perfect vegetarian meal for two or side for three or four.
Hey, happy Monday! How was your weekend?
I have a couple Mac and Cheese recipes on the site already. There is my classic Quick Mac and Cheese for One , which has been super popular, and Bacon Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese , but today’s mac and cheese is the deluxe version. It’s made with cheddar cheese and Parmesan (or Pecorino Romano if you have it–my favorite) and topped with buttery, toasted bread cubes.
It’s my FAVORITE way to eat mac and cheese and soooooooo good. The macaroni is super cheesy and creamy, and the toasted bread topping is crisp and crunchy and makes for a perfect combo.
This is a fabulous vegetarian meal for two or an easy side for three to four people. It’s also very simple to make since all you have to do is boil pasta, whisk together butter, flour, milk, and cheese for the cheese sauce, and toss some bread with butter to go on top. It comes together in less than 15 minutes and then gets popped into the oven until the bread is toasted and it’s ready to go.
More Cheesy Recipes
- Chicken Parm Soup
- Homemade Cheese Fries
- Baked Ziti
- Salsa Chicken
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- ▢ 7x5-inch baking dish
Pasta
- ▢ 1 cup ( 5oz ) elbow macaroni or small shells
Cheese Sauce
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 1oz ) salted butter
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 15g ) all-purpose flour
- ▢ 1 cup milk any percentage
- ▢ 1 cup ( 4oz ) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese divided
- ▢ 1/2 cup ( 2oz ) shredded Parmesan or Pecorino Romano divided
- ▢ Pinch of cayenne optional
- ▢ Pinch of nutmeg optional
- ▢ Salt and pepper to taste
Topping
- ▢ 2 slices white bread cut into 1-inch cubes
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ( 1/2oz ) butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F and lightly grease a 7x5-inch baking dish (or any oven-safe dish of a similar size).
- In a medium pot of salted water, cook macaroni according to package instructions until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- While your pasta is cooking, in a medium pot, over medium heat, melt butter. Add flour and whisk together until golden, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Whisk in milk and continue whisking constantly until mixture thickens and becomes bubbly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add 2/3 of the Cheddar and 2/3 of the Parmesan and stir until smooth. Add a generous pinch of cayenne and nutmeg (if desired) and salt and pepper to taste.
- Add drained pasta to your cheese sauce and stir. Pour mac and cheese into your prepared baking dish. Sprinkle remaining Cheddar and Parmesan over the top.
- Place your bread cubes into a medium bowl and pour melted butter over the top. Stir to coat all the cubes. Pile bread over your mac and cheese. (If your baking dish looks precariously full, place on a cookie sheet before putting it into the oven to avoid overflow.) Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until bread is toasted.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
This Small-batch Cream Cheese Frosting recipe is silky smooth, tangy, and very cream cheesy, basically everything you could possibly want from cream cheese frosting!
I have another small-batch frosting recipe to share with you today, Small-batch Cream Cheese Frosting.
This frosting is smooth, tangy, and intensely cream cheesy, which I think is an absolute must for cream cheese frosting.
I hate it when I bite into something with a “cream cheese frosting” and the cream cheese is barely a whisper of a flavor.
This cream cheese frosting, you take a bite and you know immediately what you’re eating. It has a 1:1 ratio of cream cheese to butter, so you still get all the richness of a buttercream, but also the smooth tang of cream cheese, which is exactly what you want from a cream cheese frosting.
Ingredient Notes
- Cream cheese: Philadelphia cream cheese is my go-to cream cheese for desserts.
- Room temperature butter: Make sure you’re starting with room-temperature butter (and cream cheese) or you’ll struggle to get a smooth and creamy frosting. You’ll know your butter is at the right temperature when you can smoosh an indentation into it with your finger, but the butter around it should still hold its shape.
- Powdered sugar: I prefer my cream cheese frosting a little softer than traditional American buttercream, so this recipe uses only 2/3 cup powdered sugar. For a stiffer frosting that will pipe really cleanly, add up to 1/3 cup more of powdered sugar.
How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract. Beat until well-mixed and fluffy.
- Add powdered sugar and salt and continue to beat until sugar is completely incorporated and frosting is smooth and creamy.
- Pipe or spread over something delicious and enjoy!
Recipe Yield
This recipe makes between 3/4 and 1 cup frosting depending on how much sugar you use and how much air you beat into it. That will cover:
- 4 to 6 cupcakes with a piping bag
- 8 cookies
- 1 single-layer 6-inch or 7×5-inch cake or brownies (top and sides)
- 1 8-inch cake (a thin layer over top only) – This is for the folks who don’t LOVE frosting. Double the frosting if you’re a big fan.
Where to Use Cream Cheese Frosting
- Mini Carrot Cake
- Small-batch Vanilla Cupcakes
- Small-batch Chocolate Cupcakes
- Small-batch Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Mini Pumpkin Cake
- Small Banana Cake (double the frosting)
- Red Velvet Cake (double the frosting)
How do I avoid lumps in my cream cheese frosting?
To avoid lumps, starting with softened cream cheese and butter is essential. If they are too cold, they will not mix well.
When you start beating your cream cheese and butter together, if they are not mixing nicely, don’t add the sugar yet. Let everything sit for 5 to 10 minutes at room temperature and try again. This isn’t usually much of a problem in summer, but can be an issue in cold kitchens during the winter.
Can I freeze cream cheese frosting?
Yes. Cream cheese frosting freezes quite well. Store in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to use it, allow it to defrost in the fridge and then set it out on the counter until it comes up to room temperature for easy spreading.
Does cream cheese frosting need to be refrigerated?
Yes. Cream cheese frostings and desserts topped with them should be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Can you make this frosting in advance and store it in the refrigerator?
Yes. You can store this frosting covered in the refrigerator for about 48 hours, but the frosting is extremely firm cold, so you’ll need to let it come to room temperature on the counter before using.
Can I double this recipe?
Absolutely! You can scale up this recipe with no preparation changes needed. To change the recipe yield, hover over the serving size in the recipe card below or click if you’re on mobile, and slide the slider.
More Cream Cheese Desserts
- Easy Cheesecake
- Cheesecake Bites
- Oreo Cheesecake Bites
- Kahlua Cream Cheese Cup Pies
- Small-batch Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
More Small-batch Frosting Recipes
- Van illa Frosting
- Chocolate Frosting
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cookie Dough Frosting
- Strawberry Frosting
- Oreo Frosting
Ingredients
- ▢ 2 ounces cream cheese softened
- ▢ 4 tablespoons ( 2oz ) unsalted butter softened*
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ 2/3 cup ( 80g ) powdered sugar sifted, plus up to 1/3 cup more for stiffer frosting
- ▢ Pinch of salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract. Beat until well-mixed and fluffy.
- Add powdered sugar and salt and continue to beat until sugar is completely incorporated and frosting is smooth and creamy. For a stiffer frosting, add up to 1/3 cup more of powdered sugar. Enjoy!
Notes
Easy Chicken in Cream Sauce for Two, crispy breaded chicken served over orzo or rice with a two-minute basil and Parmesan cream sauce.
I’ve shared a few of my favorite date-night or special-occasion meals on the site already. These are dishes taste great, look a little fancier than your average dinner, but are secretly incredibly easy so you don’t have to stress about them. Those dishes include my Bacon and Feta Stuffed Chicken , Chicken Parmesan , and Broiled Steak in Mustard Sauce . I have another one for you today, Chicken in Cream Sauce for Two.
This is a perfect dinner for special occasions because it looks fabulous and fancy on a plate, but is very simple to make. The chicken is just cut into cutlets (you can also buy cutlets if you prefer) and coated in seasoned bread crumbs and then pan-fried on the stove.
Since you are working with very thin cuts of chicken, they cook quickly and are much easier to fry than larger pieces of meat. Once the chicken is cooked, you deglaze the pan with a little chicken broth and make a quick pan sauce of cream and Parmesan with toasted red peppers and basil.
You end up with a rich and creamy sauce that looks fabulous poured over your sliced chicken breast and takes literally 2 minutes to make. I always serve this dish over orzo because I love orzo, but if you are a rice person, it’s also fabulous over rice. You slice your chicken, lay it over a bed of the carb of your choice, and spoon the sauce over the top.
The chicken looks and tastes like a million bucks, but really takes very little effort, and isn’t that the perfect dinner?
Chicken in Cream Sauce Recipe Tips
- If you’ve never cut a chicken breast into cutlets before, it’s super easy and I give instructions for it in the recipe, but here’s a good video tutorial if you want to see it done.
- I don’t recommend cutting the butter too much in this recipe. It helps to keep the breading on the chicken from burning in the pan. If you want to cut the butter completely, instead bake the breaded chicken on a lightly greased baking sheet for 8 to 15 minutes at 400°F, until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
- If you have a keto guest, this recipe is really easy to make keto-friendly! Just skip the milk and breading on the chicken and instead sprinkle with a little salt and Italian seasoning, and cook according to recipe instructions. Then replace the half and half with heavy cream, and serve over cauliflower rice.
- This recipe calls for half and half. Check out my post What to Do With Leftover Half and Half for freezing instructions and ideas on what to do with the leftovers.
Ingredients
Peppers
- ▢ 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ▢ 1/2 red bell pepper finely diced
Breaded Chicken
- ▢ 1/4 cup milk
- ▢ 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning *
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- ▢ 1 large boneless skinless chicken breast or 3 small cutlets
Basil Cream Sauce
- ▢ 3 tablespoons ( 1.5oz ) butter
- ▢ 1/4 cup chicken broth
- ▢ 1/2 cup half and half *
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 1oz ) shredded Parmesan cheese
- ▢ 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ▢ Salt and pepper to taste
Serve Over
- ▢ 4 ounces ( 2/3 cup ) orzo or rice
Instructions
Peppers
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and grease lightly with cooking spray or 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Cook diced bell peppers for 3 to 5 minutes, until the peppers just start to lose their crunch (this is all the cooking they will get, so if you prefer softer peppers, cook them longer). Transfer to a plate, set aside, and wipe out the pan.
- Place a medium pot of lightly salted water on to boil for the orzo.
Breaded Chicken
- Cut your chicken breast into 3 even cutlets by placing one hand flat on top of the breast and running a sharp knife horizontally through the breast 1/3 of the way down and then again with halfway through the bottom piece of the meat so you have three thin, even pieces.
- Place two containers on the counter large enough to fit your chicken breast pieces for dipping. To the first add the milk. In the second, stir together bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Dredge the first breast piece in the milk and then coat in the crumbs. Repeat with the remaining pieces.
- Start orzo and cook according to package instructions. Drain and keep covered when finished.
- While your orzo cooks, heat your skillet over medium heat and melt butter. Add chicken breasts to the hot pan and cook for 3 to 5 minutes per side until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the breasts reads 165°F.
- Transfer chicken breasts to a cutting board and tent with foil to keep warm.
Basil Cream Sauce
- Over medium heat, add chicken broth to the pan and use a spatula or wooden spoon to scrape the cooked bits of breading and chicken off the bottom. Add half and half and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 1 minute until slightly reduced.
- Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan, bell peppers, basil, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Cut chicken into strips and serve over the orzo. Spoon sauce over everything. Enjoy!
Notes
Recipe Adapted From AllRecipes
Deluxe Mac and Cheese for Two
Ingredients
Special Equipment
- 7x5-inch baking dish
Pasta
- 1 cup ( 5oz ) elbow macaroni or small shells
Cheese Sauce
- 2 tablespoons ( 1oz ) salted butter
- 2 tablespoons ( 15g ) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk any percentage
- 1 cup ( 4oz ) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese divided
- 1/2 cup ( 2oz ) shredded Parmesan or Pecorino Romano divided
- Pinch of cayenne optional
- Pinch of nutmeg optional
- Salt and pepper to taste
Topping
- 2 slices white bread cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon ( 1/2oz ) butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F and lightly grease a 7x5-inch baking dish (or any oven-safe dish of a similar size).
- In a medium pot of salted water, cook macaroni according to package instructions until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- While your pasta is cooking, in a medium pot, over medium heat, melt butter. Add flour and whisk together until golden, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Whisk in milk and continue whisking constantly until mixture thickens and becomes bubbly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add 2/3 of the Cheddar and 2/3 of the Parmesan and stir until smooth. Add a generous pinch of cayenne and nutmeg (if desired) and salt and pepper to taste.
- Add drained pasta to your cheese sauce and stir. Pour mac and cheese into your prepared baking dish. Sprinkle remaining Cheddar and Parmesan over the top.
- Place your bread cubes into a medium bowl and pour melted butter over the top. Stir to coat all the cubes. Pile bread over your mac and cheese. (If your baking dish looks precariously full, place on a cookie sheet before putting it into the oven to avoid overflow.) Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until bread is toasted.
- Serve and enjoy!
