This Mac and Cheese Recipe has become a staple in my house. It’s super cheap, easy to make and best of all my picky eaters clean their plates.
I make a big batch using every bit of the ingredients so there’s zero waste. It freezes beautifully leaving me with quick and easy week night dinners for weeks.
Ingredients to Make Budget Mac and Cheese
- 500g Cheese £2.69
- 500g Butter 85p
- 4 Pints Milk (2 litres) £1.60
- 70g Plain Flour 3p
- 300ml Double Cream £1.29
- 2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard 5p
- 1kg Cooking Bacon £1.99
- 2kg Dried Pasta £2.38
Total = £10.88
Makes 28 servings = 39p per serving
Food purchased from Aldi. Prices correct at time of publishing.
This Budget Mac and Cheese recipe uses full packs of most of the ingredients. This means that there is absolutely zero food waste. No leftovers in the fridge to throw out later. No guilt. And no wasted money.
As with most recipes you can substitute butter for margarine. Real butter would taste better if your budget can accommodate it. I tend to opt for the fake butter which is a mix of butter and margarine.
Macaroni pasta tends to be more expensive than fusilli pasta that is often availible in better value bigger packs. The shape of the pasta doesn’t really affect the taste so you can opt for the better value fusilli and keep your budget down.
Cooking Equipment You Will Need to Make Budget Mac and Cheese
You do not need a lot of equipment to batch cook. You can get started with tools you probably already have in your kitchen.
To make Budget Mac and Cheese you will need:
- Kitchen Knife
- Chopping Board
- Large Pan
- Freezer Containers
A cheese grater isn’t absolutely essential but it does make grating your cheese much quicker and easier.
You’ll also need an oven proof container to cook your Mac and Cheese in the oven.
Budget Mac and Cheese Recipe
This Budget Mac and Cheese Recipe couldn’t be simpler.
Melt 500g of butter in a good sized pan. Real butter would be delicious but I use a mix of margarine and buttermilk because it’s much, much cheaper. You could use 100% margarine if you need to reduce the cost of this Budget Mac and Cheese Recipe further, although it won’t taste as good.
Once the butter has completely melted slowly add 8 tablespoons of plain flour. Cheap, budget range flour is absolutely fine. Just be sure to stir it in after adding each little bit before adding a little bit more flour.
You should have a thick paste of butter and flour. Slowly add 4 pints of milk. Again stir it between each additon and make sure it’s all mixed in nicely.
Now for the fun part – add 500g of grated cheese. I use cheap and cheerful budget brand cheddar. I buy mature cheddar because it has a stronger flavour but that’s entirely personal preference. You can use any type of cheese that you fancy or have to hand. Soft cheeses work great and mozzarella would be divine, although that would significantly increase the cost of this Budget Mac and Cheese Recipe.
Once the cheese has all melted add a tub of double cream and stir it in.
You could leave this Budget Mac and Cheese Recipe at that, it will be absolutely delicious. But I like to add an extra helping of budget protein and a huge flavour boost. I add a pack of cooking bacon. I buy my cooking bacon from Lidl because it’s very cheap and really good quality meat.
I chop the bacon into small chunks and fry them in my air fryer until they are super crispy and almost burnt.
By the way, when you fry bacon or other meats in an air fryer be sure to drain off the fat into a clean jam jar. It solidifies just like lard and makes the best roast vegetables, potatoes and chips. Click on the image below to see my full recipe for Air Fried Roast Potatoes.
Healthy Air Fried Roast Potatoes Recipe
Mix the crispy bacon bits into the cheese sauce.
How to Store Budget Mac and Cheese
Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
How to Freeze Budget Mac and Cheese
Portion your cooked Budget Mac and Cheese into freezer tubs.
These are the freezer tubs I use for most of my batch cook meals. They are a little better quality than some of the cheaper ones I’ve tried. I generally get about 5 years worth of use out of them.
Label the lids with a permanent marker. I’ve tried a few different ones but nothing beats the Sharpie brand markers. The marks easily wash away with a little pressure and a wet cloth.
Place the lids loosely on your tubs and leave them to cool.
Once your Budget Mac and Cheese has cooled down put the tubs into your fridge. Once they are chilled pop them in your freezer to freeze.
How to Defrost Budget Mac and Cheese
For best results (as they say) take your tub of Budget Mac and Cheese out of the freezer a day or two before you plan to eat it.
I like to plan my meals a few days in advance and choose from the defrosted meals on the day. That way there’s still some room for spontaneity.
But don’t worry if you forget, you can defrost your Budget Mac and Cheese in the microwave. Just pop it on defrost for about 10 minutes.
In a real pinch you could cook this Budget Mac and Cheese from frozen. Ease the frozen mixture out of the freezer tub and into a pan. Gently heat it on the hob until it’s piping hot. You will need to stir it pretty much constantly which is difficult with a solid frozen block. You’ll usually end up having to break it up in order to stop it burning.
How to Serve Budget Mac and Cheese
To serve Budget Mac and Cheese boil some pasta until it’s almost cooked but still on the firm side.
Of course traditionally Mac and Cheese is made with macaroni pasta. But frankly macaroni is more expensive that cheaper bulk bags of fusilli pasta. So I use the cheapest pasta to keep the cost of this Budget Mac and Cheese Recipe down.
I do get the supermarket own brand pasta not the budget range, so you could opt for the budget range and get the cost of this meal down even further if you need to.
Stir the cheese sauce into the cooked pasta and pour the mixture into an oven dish. You could serve this straight away without doing anything else. But I like to pop my Budget Mac and Cheese into the oven for about 20 minutes or so. It gets a lovely crispy top and finishes cooking the pasta.
For an extra cheesy treat you can springle the Budget Mac and Cheese with some more grated cheese.
I do hope that my Budget Mac and Cheese recipe has inspired you to have a go at making your own batch cook meals.
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More Budget Batch Cook Recipes
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A Note on Food Safety
Freezing and defrosting food really isn’t complicated. But it terrifies me how many people aren’t familiar with basic food hygiene so if you’re new to cooking from scratch and freezing please follow these safety guidlines.
The important things to remember are:
- Wash your hands and anything else that has been in contact with raw meat.
- Meals should last for about 3 days in the fridge.
- Do not defrost your meals at room temperature.
- Do not refreeze meals you have already defrosted.
- Consume food before the use by date.
A Little Bit About Me . . .
Hey there I’m Bridie, a busy mum to two amazing humans, a spirited border collie puppy and a pair of sweet guinea pigs. We homestead in a cherished Edwardian terrace in not so sunny Lancashire, England.
When I’m not spending time with my children and menagerie, I’m usually to be found in my craft room creating and blogging or in the kitchen cooking up a big batch of something tasty. I’m always looking for thrifty hacks to save money on my crafts and recipes. Crafting doesn’t have to cost a fortune!
I have been batch cooking for about 30 years (yikes that makes me feel old!) I’m sharing all my batch cook recipes, in depth batch cooking tutorials and all my tips and tricks to help you slash your food bills.
Each week I cook up a big batch of a single meal. Most of it goes in the freezer, then it’s just defrost and reheat or sling it in the oven. Even on busy school nights my family get to enjoy healthy home cooked meals that my kids actually eat.
Each week I share a new recipe on my blog. Most of my meals cost less than £1 per portion.
I really hope that my ideas can help you to stretch your budget.
I’ve included links to my favourite retailers for the products I’ve used to make my crafts. Click on any of the product images and links for full details. If you decide to buy any of these products I may get a small percentage of what you spend. There’s no cost to you at all.
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