How to Cook Elbow Macaroni in Milk

By: Kurt Schrader

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When boiling elbow macaroni, or just about any type of pasta for that matter, you're not limited to just salted water. For extra flavor infusion, many chefs will cook pasta in flavorful stocks and even wine. Milk is also deliciously flavorful option for cooking macaroni, especially for dairy-based dishes like macaroni and cheese. One helpful, and tasty, benefit of cooking pasta directly in milk is that the starches in the pasta naturally thicken the milk into a great sauce base

Cooking the Macaroni

Step 1

Add salt, macaroni and 2 1/2 cups of milk to a saucepan, stir the mixture thoroughly and place on a stove-top burner.

Step 2

Turn heat to medium and bring milk to a low simmer, stirring constantly. When the milk reaches a simmer, reduce heat to low.

Step 3

Cook pasta, stirring delicately but frequently, until al dente. Al dente literally translates as “to the tooth” from Italian; the pasta should be tender -- and not crunchy -- but still firm to the bite. Pasta should reach al dente in about 15 to 25 minutes depending on the thickness of the macaroni. If nearly all the milk absorbs into the pasta before the pasta fully cooks, add a small amount of milk as needed and continue cooking until done.