- Pasta is enveloped in a creamy, dairy-free “cheese” sauce, mixed with spinach (or your favorite greens), and sandwiched between two pieces of toasted bread with fresh basil.
- The Best Dairy Free Mac And Cheese Recipes on Yummly Dairy Free Mac And Cheese, Beef Ribs With Vegetables And Macaroni, Seafood Macaroni Soup.
Dairy free mac and cheese with broccoli is lovely with tofu on the side. Here are some of the tofu preparations that go well with this recipe: baked BBQ tofu; baked chicken fried tofu; crispy air fryer.
Have you had good gluten-free Macaroni and Cheese since going GF? Today, I’m here to help with an easy and wonderful recipe for Mac and Cheese. Extra Cheesy Gluten-Free Macaroni and Cheese.
My mom has traditionally been the one who makes Macaroni and Cheese for all our family gatherings. She started making gluten-free Macaroni and Cheese during the holidays several years ago so that I could enjoy it with everyone else. I was so grateful, especially because I know my mom can make it truly safe for me. (As we know, not everybody understands how to do that.)
This year at Thanksgiving, Mom wasn’t planning to make Macaroni and Cheese. She told us that her contributions to Thanksgiving for our driveway sharing of menu items before eating safely on our own would be mashed potatoes and deviled eggs.
And we were quite happy that she chose to make those two dishes as both are much-loved recipes of hers. As an added bonus, she’s been making her mashed potatoes without dairy whenever Son will join us at the table and they’re always as delicious as ever.
However, Mom has not ventured into making her Macaroni and Cheese dairy free. I get that. Using dairy-free “cheese” successfully in recipes can be more complicated—sometimes a lot more complicated—and dairy-free cheese is not always readily available in our area.
Son requested gluten-free, dairy-free Mac and Cheese this year so I decided to break my personal hiatus from making Macaroni and Cheese and make a version that he could enjoy. Because my mom always delights us with her recipe, I’ve only made the classic dish myself a handful of times.
Surprisingly, the last time I remember making it, I actually made it in the microwave. It was my same basic recipe, with an attempt to expedite its completion by using the microwave. It worked but quite unsurprisingly, it didn’t have that same baked goodness without actually being baked in the oven.
So, I planned to skip the microwave this time and make a gluten-free Macaroni and Cheese dish that would taste wonderful whether it was made with “regular”—aka dairy-full cheese—or dairy-free cheese.
I also have strong opinions on Macaroni and Cheese recipes and which ingredients should be included—or which ingredients should be left out. I’m a big fan of recipes that focus on the macaroni and the cheese. I’m not as keen on recipes that have a bunch of other add-ins.
I’m not saying that Macaroni and Cheese recipes that include other ingredients like eggs and gluten-free flour can’t be delicious. I’m sure there are many such recipes that are special but as always on gfe, I like to keep things as simple as possible.
But because I was making a dairy-free version for us, I wanted to be sure that the cheese factor lived up to our expectations. At the last minute, that meant adding three different kinds of cheese—ones that I had on hand—and the combination of those cheeses with the usual basic ingredients in my Macaroni and Cheese worked. They worked so very well!
At the last minute, Mom actually did make her gluten-free Macaroni and Cheese this year and gave us a small container to take home. We all ate the Mac and Cheese recipe that I’d made for our Thanksgiving meal but later when the leftovers came out, Son’s girlfriend ended up eating Mom’s Mac and Cheese.
She loved it—as she has always loved all of Mom’s cooking—but she reported that it was not quite as good as my Extra Cheesy Gluten-Free Macaroni and Cheese. Wow.
Hearing her review, I beamed of course. Admittedly, I think the fact that three different types of cheese are used in this recipe definitely take it up a notch.
Oh, and we all agreed that we would never share the “even-better-than-Grandma’s” assessment with Mom. Never ever. So, keep that tidbit quiet! Please.
I apologize for the lack of photos of this dish but we felt famished by the time we got home from our visit and quickly chowed down on our Thanksgiving meal. It was only when we were re-heating leftovers that I had time to snap photos—and that was of a single serving after reheating.
Of course, I could make you wait until I make this Mac and Cheese again and have time to take lots of photos but I really don’t want to do that. Because you’ll want to make this recipe soon!
It should not be reserved just for holidays and other special occasions either but it is certain to make any meal special. And that’s always a good thing in my opinion.
Plus, we officially head into Winter next week and winter is the ultimate season for enjoying comfort food. This Extra Cheesy Macaroni and Cheese is Comfort Food with a capital “C” and a capital “F.” Enjoy!
Oh, and try to stay warm and cozy like my grand dog, Mochi, clearly was at the moment I took this photo. As you can see, as soon as Mochi left the spot but only after I turned the heater off, Dozer took her place. With his size and all his magical fibers of joy and love flying around, I’m really glad he waited until the heater was turned off!
More Gluten-Free Comfort Food Dishes
Homemade Mac And Cheese
A Few of the Comfort Food Dishes on gfe
~ Chicken and Rice Casserole
~ Creamy Slow Cooker Swiss Steak
~ Easy Mexican Casserole
~ Pot Pie
Some Gluten-Free Comfort Food Dishes from Friends
~Brisket and Cornbread Casserole
~ Cheeseburger Fries
~Potato-Vegetable Chowder (Instant Pot or Slow Cooker)
Easy Dairy Free Mac And Cheese Recipe
~Waffled Tater-Tot Tostada
Extra Cheesy Gluten-Free Macaroni and Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 ounces uncooked gluten-free pasta (elbows, penne, spirals, etc.)
- 4 tbsp butter or margarine (I use the soy-free Earth Balance in pink tub)
- ½ cup milk, whole, 2%, or full-fat canned coconut milk (I use canned full-fat coconut milk)
- 7 ounces American cheese slices, chopped into small squares (see notes and I use Follow Your Heart dairy-free American slices)
- 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese (I used Follow Your Heart dairy-free medium cheddar shreds)
- 2 to 3 tbsp Parmesan cheese, shredded/grated (I used Follow Your Heart dairy-free shredded Parmesan)
- ½ tsp salt (more or less to taste)
- ½ tsp black pepper (more or less to taste)
- ½ tsp paprika (more or less to taste; I used smoked paprika)
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. (I like to add a little extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt after the pasta comes to a boil.) Drain pasta using a colander running a little cold water over the pasta to stop it from cooking further.
- Do a quick hot water scrub, rinse, and wipe of pot in which you cooked the pasta to remove the sticky residue that results from cooking the pasta.
- Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly grease 2-quart baking dish and set aside.
- While pasta continues to drain, add butter and milk to the now clean pot that you cooked the pasta in. Over medium-low heat on your stove top, keep stirring until the butter is melted. Add in drained noodles, American cheese, and cheddar cheese. Stir vigorously a minute or two until most of the cheese melts.
- Pour mixture into greased casserole dish.
- Bake 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle Parmesan evenly over the top of the pasta mixture and sprinkle paprika over all. Turn on broiler, place casserole on second rack down from broiler and broil for a couple of minutes until the cheese on top of the casserole is melted. Watch carefully to ensure the cheese topping does not burn.
Notes
With the American cheese slices stacked on top of each other, I use a knife to make a grid and cut all the way through the slices to get small squares of cheese to ensure better melting when the squares are stirred in with other ingredients.
Enjoy this healthy, vegan version of mac ‘n’ cheese. Creamy and nutty, cashews take centre stage, along with plant-based milk, vegan cheese and plenty of veg
Dairy-free
Ingredients
- 500g macaroni
- vegan parmesan, grated, to serve
For the sauce
- 100g cashew nuts
- 1 large carrot, cut into chunks
- 1 medium floury potato, cut into chunks
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 1 celery stick roughly chopped
- 150g sweet potato or butternut squash, cut into chunks
- 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp mustard powder
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
- 200ml plant-based milk
To bake
- 150g cherry tomatoes
- 50g wholemeal breadcrumbs
- a few basil leaves, finely chopped
- 50g vegan cheese, grated
Method
- STEP 1
For the sauce, put the cashew nuts in a saucepan of water and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 mins, then add all the vegetables and the garlic. Continue to simmer for at least 10 mins until all the veg is tender.
- STEP 2
Drain and transfer to a blender. Add all the remaining sauce ingredients and season with salt. Blend until smooth.
- STEP 3
Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add a good pinch of salt. Tip in the macaroni and cook following pack instructions. Drain and mix with the vegetable sauce. If you like, sprinkle with vegan parmesan to serve. The macaroni cheese can be eaten like this or you can bake it in the oven.
- STEP 4
To bake the mac n cheese, heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Transfer to an ovenproof dish and stir through the tomatoes. Mix the breadcrumbs with the basil and vegan cheese, then scatter ver the top and bake for 25 mins until piping hot and bubbling.