The One-Ingredient Fix For Dry Leftover Mac And Cheese

Macaroni and cheese is the ultimate comfort food. It's easy to make, whether you're building a quick three-ingredient homemade version or buying a store-bought variety, but it does come with a downside in terms of leftovers. The pasta almost always absorbs the moisture, and coupled with the dry air from the refrigerator, you can be left with dry mac and cheese. Thankfully, there's a quick fix: just add milk.

Adding a splash of milk to your mac and cheese is an easy way to bring the dish back to life because the milk quickly reincorporates moisture into the dish, and it has more flavor than plain water. The amount of milk will depend on your preferred consistency and the amount of mac and cheese you're reheating, but start with around 1 tablespoon of milk per 1 cup of leftover mac and cheese. For an even richer dish, swap the milk for half-and-half or, for more decadence, heavy cream. Both of these are thicker than milk, so you might want to add a splash more to ensure it has the same effect. And if you don't have milk or cream, you can also use a mixture of melted butter and water. Butter is fatty and rich, so you need less of it to get more flavor, but mix it with a little water to create enough moisture to revive the pasta dish.

If you don't have butter or milk, just about any creamy ingredient will do the trick, though for the right consistency, you'll have to couple it with a little water. Cream cheese is one of the best ways to get a rich, creamy mac and cheese dish. Partially reheat the pasta so it's easy to work with, then fold in some softened cream cheese. Finally, add in a few tablespoons of water — depending on the amount of leftovers — and finish reheating the mac and cheese entirely.

If you want the creaminess of cream cheese without the rich taste, swap it out for a number of other options. Plain Greek yogurt is a good one if you don't mind the slight tang that it comes with, and sour cream would work as well, but with the same caveat of a little tang. For some extra protein and salty flavor, blend cottage cheese until smooth and fold some of that into the pasta. For a milder flavor and similar texture to cottage cheese, ricotta would also work. All of these will require adding a little water to create that moisture balance. Ultimately, the exact amounts you add depend on your own preferences and how much pasta you need to revive, so start with a spoonful of any of these ingredients plus a tablespoon of water, and increase the amounts as needed.