I have been looking and testing homemade gluten free mac n cheese recipes for a long time. And every attempt has not met my expectations. Once upon a time, in a delightful restaurant in Minnesota, I had the best mac n cheese I’ve ever had in my entire life. I could have eaten that meal every single day of my life and been happy.
I am happy to report now that I have finally made a homemade gluten free mac n cheese that meets my expectations! This is NOT a weight-watchers dish! BUT, it is so, so good. It uses four different cheeses: White Cheddar, “regular” Cheddar, Mozzarella, and Parmesan. Now, please be careful with the parmesan cheese you choose- they are not all created equal. My favorite inexpensive, yet delicious, brand is Bel Gioioso and you can get it at Walmart for under $6.
The pasta I like to use for this dish is Full Circle gluten free elbows. This pasta cooks up perfectly, and is my favorite brand to use in soups and dishes that the pasta continues to cook in. I can usually find this brand at associated foods stores near me. It might take a bit of searching if you don’t have that type of store.
Gluten Free Mac N Cheese
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Before you begin, take a few minutes to measure out your cream, milk, and seasonings so that they are ready to go.
- In a large ceramic coated cast iron pot, bring water to boil. You will want to fill the pot until about 2-3 inches from the top. Generously salt the water with sea salt.
- Once the water has come to a boil, add the pasta and stir. Cook for about 8 minutes, stirring occassionally- making sure the pasta isn't sticking to each other or the bottom of the pot. You want your pasta to be al dente because we will cook it the rest of the way in the sauce for several minutes, and then again when we broil it for the finishing touch.
- While the pasta is cooking grate your cheeses. In a large bowl, place the grated cheddar, white cheddar, and mozzarella cheeses. Gently toss to mix them. Set aside. Grate the parmesan cheese into a separate bowl and set aside.
- Once the pasta is al dente-almost fully cooked, quickly drain the pasta into a strainer. Be careful as the cast iron heavy pot will be very heavy with all that water and pasta in it as well.
- Once the pasta has been drained, put it into a large bowl and drizzle a small amount of olive oil onto the pasta. Just enough to keep it from sticking while you make the sauce. Set pasta aside.
- In the same coated cast iron pot, add the cream, whole milk, all the seasonings(salt, pepper, dry mustard, thyme, smoked paprika), and the whole crushed garlic cloves. Cook on medium heat until the sauce is warmed through, but NOT boiling. You do not want to boil this sauce! REMOVE THE GARLIC CLOVES. The garlic is only in there to flavor the sauce while cooking. Don't forget this step!
- Once the sauce is warmed through, and the garlic cloves have been removed, add about 2/3 of the three cheese mixture slowly to the cream sauce. You will save the rest to layer in your baking dish. Continue stirring the cheese in at medium heat until the cheese is melted. This should take several minutes. The sauce will begin to take on the yummy stringy cheesy texture we love in a homemade mac n cheese.
- Add the al dente pasta into the cream/cheese sauce in your pot. Stir and continue to cook and warm the pasta back up for several minutes on low-med heat, making sure not to boil the sauce.
- Turn on your oven to LOW BROIL to begin warming up your oven.
- At this point, the sauce should be nice and smooth and very cheesy with the pasta in it. Take a moment to do a taste test and see if you need to add more salt or pepper. Keep in mind you will still be adding the parmesan cheese which is a salty cheese as well.
- Lightly grease your baking dish with olive oil. And using a ladle, scoop half of the mac n cheese mixture into the dish. Add the remaining 1/3 of the 3 mixed cheeses. Then add the rest of the mac n cheese on top of that.
- The pasta comes to about an inch from the top of my 3 inch deep dish. Be careful not to over-fill the dish!
- Top with the grated parmesan cheese.
- Place baking dish on a sheet pan- just in case- you don't want to make a mess in your oven!
- Place the dish on the baking sheet in the oven set to LOW BROIL. And cook for 6-8 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. The parmesan cheese will make little browned spots as the dish is in the oven. Check at six minutes because every oven is different. And if you only have a high broil function on your oven, you will only need it in there for 2-3 minutes. In my oven, 8 minutes on Low Broil is perfect.
- Once it is lightly browned, removed from the oven and let the mac n cheese rest for about 10-15 minutes before serving to let the cream and cheese thicken back up.Enjoy!
This dish has depth of flavor and the perfect stringy cheesy texture. It is my opinion that people who normally eat gluten will not be able to tell that this is gluten free. My family members who still eat gluten loved this dish.
Gluten free Mac N Cheese will soon become your family’s favorite dish and you will be making this on repeat. Although, due to it’s ingredients and the state of our grocery prices in this country, it is a bit of an expensive side dish, so when cheese or cream goes on sale, stock up to make this dish!
Happy cooking!
Emma
PS Looking for a great main dish to serve this with? Try my Popcorn Chicken. You will be so glad you did!
