Steak Mac And Cheese. All in one pot. Totally frugal and the cheap meals for two of your dreams. Serve it up with garlic bread, have it as it is and then freeze the leftovers for later.
I have to say that whether you call it mac and cheese, macaroni cheese or just a baked pasta, it is one of those dreamy comfort foods that we should all eat whenever we can.
It makes you feel so, so good, it is filling and perfect for one of those cheap meals for two.
Then add some cheap frying steak into the meal and OMG and you will wonder how something that tastes so amazing could be classed as a cheap healthy meal.
Though in my Mrs Beeton book it was long before beef was added to it. It was in the early days of macaroni and usually involved either tomatoes or cheese.
Or if you really want to go for it with some steak mac and cheese, then you don’t always have to use beef frying steak.
When some pork steak is cheap, or lamb or even fish you could just throw it in there for a delicious take on cheap meals for two.

In the Mrs Beeton Book of Household Management in the 1960’s the use of pasta was just evolving and the only pastas that was eaten on a regular basis was either spaghetti or macaroni.
As well as this, cheap cuts of meat were the fashion. Making this Steak Mac & Cheese perfect for my Mrs Beeton transformation into modern day cooking.
Why Cheap Meals For Two?
Well after how popular our fakeaway recipes were in 2017 we decided to do more of them in 2018 and share with you our favourite fakeaway recipes in 2018. Once a fortnight on a Friday I will show you how to make your classics for a date night for two with cheap ingredients.
Or if you are looking for a great family meal, then you can simply bulk up the recipes or just not have any leftovers for the freezer.
What I love to do on a Friday night with my cheap meals for two, is throw everything into one pot and then have a drink, get into my lazy weekend clothes and then curl up in front of the TV with Netflix with what I have made.
This Steak Mac and Cheese ticks all those boxes.
Steak Mac and Cheese is priced as follows:
- Macaroni = 0,19€
- Onion = 0,13€
- Garlic = 0,05€
- Olive Oil = 0.06€
- Frying Steak = 0,79€
- Soft Cheese = 0,89€
- Cheddar Cheese = 0,35€
- Seasoning = 0,03€
- Total Cost = 2,49€
- Per Serving = 0,62€
Prices may adjust from country to country, but these are the prices we paid in Portugal and works out at $2.92 for four people. Though this Steak Mac and Cheese is at the time of writing this post based on current exchange rates.
We find that compared to the US our prices are identical. This is because we pay a lot more for our meat and dairy, yet a lot less for fruit and vegetables that it levels itself out.
Even though I have aimed this Steak Mac and Cheese as one of my cheap meals for two, in reality it is enough to feed four.
Therefore, what I ended up doing was freezing half and then eating half, so if you are feeding four then no need to adjust this recipe.
I also made this recipe with my Dutch Oven. Then I can cook it on the hob with the lid on and then if I needed to delay eating, I could keep it warm in the oven.
One Pot Steak Mac And Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- Dutch Oven
- 1 Medium Onion
- 1 Medium Slice Beef Frying Steak
- 250 g Macaroni Pasta
- 5 Cloves Fresh Garlic
- 200 g Soft Cheese
- 50 g Grated Cheddar Cheese
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Beef Oxo Cube
- 1 Tbsp Basil
- 1 Tbsp Parsley
- Salt & Pepper
Instructions
- Peel and dice your onion. Peel and grate your garlic and place them both with your olive oil into your casserole dish or dutch oven.
- Cook for a couple of minutes on high or until you have colour to your onion and garlic.
- While cooking, dice the frying steak and add it to the one pot.
- Boil the kettle and add 250g of pasta and 300ml of boiling water to your one pot. Sprinkle in the Oxo cube and mix well.
- Bring to the boil.
- Cook on medium for 5 minutes with the lid on.
- Remove the lid, stir in the soft cheese, the rest of the seasonings, cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Stir in the cheddar cheese and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Where To Source Your Beef Frying Steak To Make One Pot Steak Mac & Cheese:
Is “frying steak” what we across the Pond would refer to as “Round Steak” ?
Hi Jim
If a round steak is a cheap cut and cut quite thinly then yes it could be like a round steak.
Kind Regards
Sam
Hi. Is soft cheese the same thing as cream cheese? thanks
Hi Sarah,
Yes i believe it is the same thing just called something different.
Kind Regards
Sam