Gluten Free Mac and Cheese | Easy, Cheesy Stovetop
Fast and easy gluten free mac and cheese is made on the stovetop in 20 minutes or less. Leave the oven off and have everyone's favorite creamy, cheesy side dish anyway!
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 12 ounces small dried gluten free pasta I like Rummo brand GF elbow macaroni
- 1 ¼ tablespoons (18 g) extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter chopped
- ¼ cup (35 g) gum free gluten free flour blend (See Recipe Notes)
- 12 fluid ounces evaporated milk at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (12 fluid ounces) (regular) milk plus more as necessary, at room temperature
- 3 cups (12 ounces) cheddar cheese shredded
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
Instructions
Prepare the pasta
- Boil the pasta in a large pasta pot to an al dente texture, according to the package directions.
- Drain the pasta, rinse it with lukewarm water, and drain it again.
- Return the cooked pasta to the pasta pot and toss it with olive oil to prevent it from sticking together.
- Cover the pasta pot and set it aside.
Make ahead option
- You can place the cooked pasta in a large bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and leave it out at room temperature for up to 8 hours before proceeding with the recipe.
Make the cheese sauce (see recipe notes for alternative sauce)
- In a medium-sized, heavy-bottom saucepan, place the butter and cook over medium heat until it’s just melted.
- Add the flour blend and whisk to combine well. The mixture will clump at first, and then smooth out.
- Cook the butter and flour mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it has just begun to turn a very light brown color (about 2 minutes).
- Add the evaporated milk to the roux very slowly, stirring constantly to break up any lumps that might form.
- Add 1 1/2 cups of regular milk, and whisk to combine well.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer, still over medium heat.
- Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced by about one-quarter (about 7 minutes).
- When it's ready, the sauce should coat the back of a spoon and be thickly pourable. If it seems too thick to pour, whisk in a little bit more milk to loosen it up a bit. If it's too thin, allow it simmer for a bit longer.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and place it on a heat-safe surface.
- Add the grated cheese and mix to combine with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon.
- Add salt and pepper to taste, and add more milk a bit at a time if you prefer a thinner cheese sauce.
Finish the dish
- Pour the hot cheese sauce over the cooked pasta in the pot, and fold the pasta into the sauce using a silicone spatula.
- Turn it over gently, to avoid breaking the pasta, until all of the pasta is coated in the sauce.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
For the gf flour blend
In place of the gum-free gluten free flour blend, you can use an equal amount of superfine sweet white rice flour or half superfine white rice flour and half tapioca starch/flour.
Alternate flourless cheese sauce
You can avoid using any flour entirely by making a cheese sauce with dehydrated cheddar cheese:
- 12 ounces gluten free elbow macaroni prepared as described above
- 3/4 cup (6 fluid ounces) milk
- 3/4 cup (84 grams) dehydrated cheddar cheese powder
- 7 tablespoons (98 g) unsalted butter chopped