This super simple and quick 4-ingredient kid-friendly pasta has been our family staple for decades, and I can’t wait to share it with you!
Macaroni, Eggs, and Cheese
It’s not fancy – the meal or the name – but it’s one of those meals that made up about 75% of my childhood. Some of us grew up on hot dogs or mac and cheese, but our go-to lunch when we were out of school was “Macaroni, Eggs, and Cheese.” And it’s exactly what it sounds like.
The only 4 ingredients you need:
- pasta
- butter
- eggs
- Parmesan cheese
What makes this pasta kid-friendly?
See above. It can’t get any easier to please a kid with these ingredients. There’s no meat, no veggies, no weird spices, probably not much nutritional value. This is all about comfort food, and it’s a quick lunch that your kids can learn to whip up themselves. I can’t tell you how many times my brother and sister and I made this for ourselves over the summers! And the fact that it takes only 15 minutes is even better when you’ve got a hungry kiddo tugging on your side.
Your pasta choice:
I could go on and on about why your sauce should determine your choice of pasta, but since this meal is all about simplicity, I’ll keep it brief.
Honestly, we’ve made this hundreds of times with whatever pasta was in our pantry. And it turns out just fine. More times than I can count I’ve used up the last little bit of multiple almost-empty pasta boxes to make this meal. I actually think the variety makes it even more fun for the kids!
Over the years our grandma made it with wheel pasta, orzo, ditalini, shells, or elbow macaroni. In my humble opinion, the smaller the better. I love the texture and the bite. (I also may lose my Italian card for this, but I always, always cook my pasta past al dente. It may be against the rules, but I don’t like chewy pasta – the softer the better!) But you do you, boo.
The only recommendation I would make here is to use a smaller, shorter pasta. Since there isn’t much of a sauce or meat, a spaghetti or linguini would coat ok, but just isn’t my top choice. The more surface area you’ve got to work with, the better. But, again, there’s no pasta police, so use what your family likes!
How you make this 4-ingredient kid-friendly pasta:
Cook your pasta. While your pasta is cooking, beat the eggs in a bowl (I usually use one egg per person). When your pasta is finished, drain it well, and add it back to your pot with the butter. Stir the butter around until it melts. This will keep your pasta from sticking and also give it a nice coating for your next ingredients.
While the pasta is still hot, add your beaten eggs and stir. The pasta is usually hot enough to cook the eggs, but if you’re worried about it, you can turn the heat back on low while you stir. Otherwise, you can leave the burner off altogether. Stir for 2-3 minutes to ensure your eggs have coated your pasta and cooks thoroughly. (Sometimes you can see your eggs turn a little white and opaque, and sometimes they stay more yellow; but I promise if your pasta is hot, they’re cooked. In all of my 42 years of eating this, I’ve never had undercooked eggs.)
After your eggs are cooked, stir in your Parmesan until coating the pasta. And you’re done! Parmesan is so salty that you shouldn’t even need salt or pepper. Cracked black pepper or red pepper flakes would make some nice subtle heat if you want, but seriously, you shouldn’t need to add anything here.
Cooking With Your Kids
Macaroni, Eggs, and Cheese was one of the first meals I learned to make. I’m pretty sure that’s true for my siblings too. We always had the ingredients on-hand, it was easy and quick to make, and it taught us some of the basics of cooking pasta and eggs. Memories of watching my grandma and mom make it are some of my first kitchen memories, so it will always be one of those comfort foods that take me back. I hope it can be the same for your family too.
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Macaroni, Eggs, and Cheese
Ingredients
- 16-20 oz. pasta
- 4 Tbs. butter
- 5 eggs
- 6 oz. grated Parmesan
Instructions
- Cook your pasta, and while it’s cooking, beat the eggs in a bowl. Set aside. Once your pasta is cooked, drain well and return to the pot with the butter. Stir in the butter until melted. Add the beaten eggs and stir for 2-3 minutes, making sure to coat the pasta. You can return to low heat if you prefer, but as long as the pasta is hot while stirring, the eggs will cook. After the eggs have cooked, stir in the Parmesan. Serve hot.
Want more Italian?
Find more of our Italian family recipes here: Here for Sunday Italian