We’re going way off the rails today with this recipe for gluten-free four cheese mac & cheese. But it’s fine, because no one would dare complain about a free recipe on a free website, right? And anyone who does is just clearly outing themselves as someone who is dreadfully boring at parties.
gluten-free four cheese mac & cheese
In all seriousness, though, this site is mostly devoted to Paleo recipes, but since the header clearly says “gluten-free and paleo recipes from a chef’s perspective”, the boss gave me permission to post a non-paleo, grain- and dairy-filled recipe. The boss is pretty cool.
PIN THIS RECIPE!
Gluten-Free Four Cheese Mac & Cheese
The epitome of comfort food.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Gluten-Free Four Cheese Mac & Cheese
prep time: 20 minutes
cook time: 25 minutes
yield: 6 servings
For the Topping:
2 slices gluten-free white bread, torn
2 tablespoons butter, plus additional for greasing the baking dish
1 ounce grated parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
For the Cheese Sauce & Macaroni:
1/2 pound gluten-free elbows (I like Tinkyada)
2 large shallots (about 6 ounces), roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon cassava flour
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces (about 2 packed cups) grated cheese (my favorite combo is cheddar, fontina and gruyere in equal parts; feel free to use one or all or your own favorite combo)
1 ounce grated Parmesan (about 1/2 cup)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Grease an 8×8 (or similar volume) baking dish with butter.
- Cook the pasta in salted water for slightly less time than it says on the package directions, so it’s al dente.
- Make the topping: Place the bread, 2 tablespoons of butter, Parmesan, salt and garlic powder in the bowl of a food processor with the chopping blade and pulse 8-10 times, or until it’s ground and uniform. Remove to a bowl and wipe out the food processor (you’re going to use it again)
- Add the shallots and garlic to the food processor. Pulse 8-10 times, or until very finely minced
- In a medium pot, melt the 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring often, or until softened.
- Add the cassava flour and cook for another minute or so, stirring constantly, to cook out the raw taste of the flour.
- Add the cream and scrape up any bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pot. Turn the heat up to medium-high and cook for another two minutes, or until the mixture is thickened.
- Remove from the heat and add the cheese. Stir until it’s melted.
- Stir in the macaroni and transfer to the prepared baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes or until the crumb topping is golden brown and the inside is bubbly and you just cant’t handle how good it smells in your kitchen. Allow to rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.
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dchurchill28 says
Making this tomorrow. Please thanks the boss for me
Donna Knipp says
Looks lovely. But all that dairy and grain make it off-limits for my poor cranky gut.
However, I have the New Yiddish Kitchen cookbook and would like to offer praise — and a question!
First your praise — really nice work. Most paleo cooks are doing pretty unsophisticated stuff, with unsophisticated results. Not you! I’ve tried many of your recipes (website and book) with consistently satisfying results.
(Anytime I see a recipe that says, “only 5 ingredients,” I run for the hills. If it only has 5 ingredients, it’s going to taste like gak. (technical term))
So, here’s my question: I just made the marble rye bread (“light rye” variation from Bubbe), and it’s a beautiful loaf, I’m thrilled that I made it. I followed the recipe with one exception: instead of palm shortening, I used butter.
I don’t quite believe there is such a thing as sustainable palm oil products. Or, there probably is such a thing but there’s no way to tell if you’re getting it. Corporations enforce themselves, and they can make any claims on their labels that they like.
Anyhow the loaf is lovely but maybe a tiny bit gummy in its texture. Not by much, and that may improve as it sits for a day or two.
But is this slightly over-moist texture the result of using butter instead of palm shortening?
thanks.
zenbellyblog says
Hi Donna,
Thanks so much for the sweet words! You’re probably right about the palm shortening. I’ve heard good things about Spectrum being legitimate. The gumminess is sometimes just a thing when it’s super fresh, it tends to dry out and change a bit in texture quite a bit. I don’t think it is a result of using butter though.