Mac & Cheese Meal in a Jar

4.41 from 15 votes

A classic comfort meal! Convenient and easy to make - perfect to keep on hand for emergencies or even just a quick-to-fix dinner on a busy night!

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Total Time20

Course: Meals in a Jar

Cuisine: American

Keyword: food storage, gifts in a jar, homemade gifts, kid-friendly, mac & cheese, macaroni and cheese, Meal in a Jar, meal in a jar recipe

Servings: servings

Calories: 414kcal

Author: Candi

Equipment

Ingredients

2 2/3 cups elbow macaroni
2/3 cup cheese powder
2 tablespoons instant non-fat dry milk
4 teaspoons butter powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard (powdered mustard, not prepared - OPTIONAL)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (OPTIONAL)

Instructions

Place pasta in clean, wide-mouth quart-size mason jar.
Place remaining ingredients in small sandwich bag.
Twist or seal sandwich bag and place on top of dry pasta in jar.
Place new canning lid on top of jar. Using wide-mouth attachment for a FoodSaver, vacuum seal lid onto jar following instructions from your FoodSaver manual. (You can also insert an oxygen absorber before putting on lid if you'd like.)
Remove vacuum attachment and put ring on. Tighten by hand, but don't over tighten.
Label and date. Be sure to include the instructions from the package for cooking the pasta. Store in cool, dry location.

To cook:

Remove plastic bag of ingredients from jar and set aside, and discard oxygen packet if present. In large pot, prepare boiling water for pasta. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 7-8 minutes. Drain pasta, then place back in cooking pot or large bowl. In separate bowl, add contents of plastic bag from jar and 1 1/2 cups of water (can use pasta water if desired). Whisk until smooth (mixture will thicken). Pour cheese mixture over pasta while it is still hot and wet and stir to combine.

Notes

You can cook the pasta and then add the dry ingredients and water all together in the cooking pot, just like you do with the commercial varieties, but I find that the powdered ingredients sometimes clump this way, so I prefer to whisk the sauce mixture separately, then add it to the pasta.

UPDATE: Recipe updated October 2023 to add optional seasonings AND to adjust amount of water needed. Recipe was re-tested with Augason Farms Cheese Blend Powder and required additional water. Other brands may not need as much.

Nutrition