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This classic gluten free baked mac and cheese is made with or without cooked pancetta or bacon in the casserole-style to creamy, crusty perfection. This is our family's go-to gluten free meal when everyone's hungry and the cupboards are nearly bare!
Why this recipe works
Casserole-style mac and cheese is warm and comforting, and it tastes and smells like home. Everyone loves a classic! It's also super easy on the cook, can be assembled ahead of time and baked at the last minute.
For a complete meal, serve this with a quick house-style salad or fold some lightly blanched broccoli right into the dish before baking.
The only ingredient that requires any cooking is the pancetta or bacon. It adds depth of flavor to the dish, but it's optional. Plus, the only fresh ingredients you absolutely need are shredded cheese and eggs. Even the milk is canned, and has a long shelf life.
Recipe ingredients
Here are the ingredients you need to make this recipe in your own kitchen, with a few words about the role of each in a successful result:
- Gluten free pasta: My favorite gluten free elbow macaroni (and current favorite brand in general) is Rummo gluten free. It's the closest to “regular” pasta I've found in texture and taste, maintains its texture when it's no longer warm, and reheats well. Bionaturae pasta is also great. Barilla is cheap and widely available, but it does fall apart easily. Be extra careful not to cook it until very soft.
- Pancetta or bacon: Chopped and sautéed cured pork as either pancetta or bacon adds depth of flavor and richness to the dish. Pancetta is unsmoked, so bacon adds that smokiness, but pancetta is so easy to buy already cubed, so it's less messy. You can leave this out entirely, and add 1 tablespoon dried mustard powder for some extra flavor.
- Eggs: Act as a binder to create a custard that holds the casserole together and make it firm. For a looser casserole, use 2 instead of 3 eggs. For a firm, very sliceable one, try 4.
- Evaporated milk: Combine with the eggs to create the custard that binds the casserole dish together. Adds richness without too much moisture, which regular milk would contain. You can try using half-and-half or 3/5 cream and 2/5 milk in its place, but the dish will bake up less firm.
- Butter: Coats the cooked pasta in buttery flavor and adds richness.
- Cheese: Adds rich cheesy, savory flavor and creates a smooth texture. I use sharp cheese for the most flavor, but a combination of cheddar and better melting cheese like Gruyère or Monterey Jack is great, too.
How to make gluten free baked mac and cheese
Here are some photos to provide an overview of how to make this recipe, with an the reason for each step. For the ingredient amounts and other details, see the recipe card below.
Sauté the pork
The most active cooking is sautéeing any pancetta or bacon first to crisp the pork and render its fat. You'll use some of the fat to coat the pasta and discard and drain the rest so to avoid any greasiness and let the cheese flavor shine.
Whisk the eggs and milk
Whisk eggs with evaporated milk and salt for an evenly mixed custard without any clumps of eggs that will turn into scrambled eggs in the oven.
Boil the pasta
Cook the pasta about 1 minute less than the package directions so it doesn't fall apart as you add the other ingredients. If you're using Barilla pasta, which is very fragile, cook for nearly 2 minutes less. Don't rinse it so it stays warm enough to melt the butter.
Add the butter and cooked pork
Add the butter and any rendered pork fat for a total of 6 tablespoons to the warm, drained and cooked pasta, then the cooked and drained pork, and stir gently to combine. Avoid breaking the pasta. Make sure all the butter is melted or you'll have greasy pockets.
Add the egg mixture
If your egg and milk mixture is at all cold, or the past is still hot, add some of the pasta mixture to the whisked eggs and milk to bring it slowly up in temperature to avoid scrambling the eggs. Pour the egg mixture into the pasta and fold it in gently.
Fold in the cheese
Add most of the shredded cheese, and fold it in until it's almost evenly mixed, taking extra care not to break the pasta, which has been handled a few times already.
Transfer the casserole dish
Pour the mixture into a greased casserole dish, then shake softly and spread carefully into an even layer.
Top with more cheese
Scatter the remaining cheese across the top of the dish to create a bubbly crust during baking.
Bake and serve
Cover the dish with greased or nonstick foil so the custard sets gently and the cheese melts before anything hardens. Uncover and finish baking until the custard is set. You can bake a bit longer to let the top brown, but I prefer a softer crust. Scatter with fresh parsley and serve warm.
Expert tips
Shred your own cheese
If possible, don't use pre-shredded cheese. It contains anti-caking agents that tend to dry out the dish and prevent the cheese from melting into the pasta quite as well. If you are using pre-shredded cheese, add the remaining 2 fluid ounces of evaporated milk in the can to compensate.
Don't overcook the pasta
Dried gluten free pasta has come a long way and tends to be relatively stable. But elbow macaroni cooks very quickly. If you overcook it at all, it may fall apart as you mix in the remaining casserole ingredients, no matter how gently you combine them.
Prep ahead
When my kids were young and had a lot of activities, I always prepared this dish ahead of time through step 10, right before baking it. Just cover the dish tightly and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or in the freezer for longer. Then, let it sit at room temperature while the oven is preheating, and bake as directed.
Ingredient substitutions
Dairy free
Instead of butter, use block-style vegan butter. Replace the cow's milk evaporated milk with evaporated coconut milk. I think that would work better than evaporated oat milk, which will be sweeter and more textured. For dairy free cheese recommendations, please see our dairy free mac and cheese post.
Egg free
If you need an egg-free dish, I recommend that you use our stovetop gluten free mac and cheese recipe instead rather than trying to replace the eggs in this one.
Vegetarian
Leave out the cured pork (pancetta or bacon), and replace with the full amount of butter, and this dish is vegetarian.
Gluten Free Baked Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 4 ounces cubed pancetta, or 4 strips thick-cut smoked bacon (See Recipe Notes)
- 12 ounces dried gluten free elbow pasta, my favorite brand is Rummo
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled (or less if using rendered fat)
- 3 (150 g out of shell) eggs, at room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups (10 fluid ounces) evaporated milk
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 12 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
- Chopped flat-leaf parsley, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish and set it aside.
- In a medium-size, heavy-bottom saucepan, cook the pancetta or bacon over medium-high heat until browned and crispy (about 5 minutes).
- Remove the cooked meat from the saucepan and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Drain off the rendered grease and set it aside.
- In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta to al dente texture (about 1 minute less than the package directions).
- Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Set the pot aside.
- In a medium-size measuring cup or bowl with pour spout, beat the eggs with the evaporated milk and salt. Set aside.
- Add a total of 6 tablespoons (84 g) of fat (melted butter, rendered grease or a combination of the two) to the cooked pasta, and toss gently to coat.
- Add the cooked pancetta or bacon and the milk and egg mixture to the pasta, and mix gently to combine.
- Add about 10 ounces of the grated cheese, and mix gently to combine.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Scatter the remaining shredded cheese evenly over the top.
- Cover the dish loosely with aluminum foil and place in the center of the preheated oven. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove the foil and continue to bake until the mac and cheese feels firm to the touch when pressed gently in the center, about another 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to set for 10 minutes before sprinkling with the optional chopped parsley, and serving warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Storage instructions
You can make the entire dish without baking it, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days (as long as all perishable ingredients are fresh). Then, remove the plastic, cover with foil and bake as instructed. If the dish is cold, you may need to add some baking time before uncovering.
The baked and cooled dish can also be refrigerated as leftovers, in a sealed container, for up to 5 days. Sprinkle lightly with lukewarm water and refresh either in the microwave or a 300°F oven until warmed through.
For longer storage, you can freeze the tightly covered dish, baked or unbaked, for up to 2 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then bake as directed.
Absolutely love this gluten-free macaroni and cheese! My entire family, gluten eaters, and non-gluten eaters alike gobble this down. I do not use the bacon, but everything else I follow exactly to the recipe. Thank you for providing such delicious Gluten-free recipes. I never feel like I’m missing out now