Another time I swapped the ratio of Colby to Cheddar, using more Cheddar because I like its sharper flavor. One time I reduced the amount of whole milk and bumped up the chicken broth. Had I finally found the winning recipe? Yes! But this didn’t stop me from tinkering with it. Everything else I left the same.Īs promised, the sauce, even after baking, stayed creamy. I converted it to gluten-free by replacing the wheat flour needed to thicken the sauce with sweet rice flour and the wheat pasta with brown rice pasta. The amount of cheese in the casserole startled me a little. It called for….(wait for it) one and half pounds of cheese! CAN YOU EVEN?!! Since there was more cheese than pasta (it used one pound of pasta) I worried it might be too rich but I decided to try it anyway. Then, one day at the hairdresser (not kidding!), I flipped through an old copy of Cook’s Country magazine and saw a promising recipe for a creamy macaroni and cheese. Was it impossible to make a macaroni and cheese at home that was both flavorful and creamy? One version even used Velveeta, and the result was creamy but I didn’t like the flavor. One recipe called for eggs in the sauce, making it more custard-like, while another used evaporated milk and half-and-half, creating a rich sauce that muted the flavor of the cheese. If a frozen macaroni and cheese achieved a creamy sauce, a homemade one could too, right?īut they never did. It kept me from grabbing her plate, running off, and eating the whole thing in one quick go. My reaction? Well, thank goodness for willpower. In the name of food research, I swiped a forkful from her plate (I wasn’t gluten-free at the time.). As she ate, I saw the appeal: the creaminess of the sauce.

Like me, she generally prefers homemade to store bought. Years ago, I watched a friend zap a pan of frozen Stouffer’s macaroni and cheese in the microwave. Crazy, right? The few times I tried the American comfort classic, made with a cheddar sauce, I found it dry and unappealing.

Gluten-Free Macaroni and Cheese: How a frozen dinner turned me into a fan. If you prefer all Cheddar (or all Colby) go ahead and substitute to suit your tastes! The recipe uses both Cheddar and Colby cheese-the Cheddar brings the classic flavor of macaroni and cheese while the Colby makes it creamy. Creamy gluten-free macaroni and cheese! YES! Oodles of cheese and a sweet rice flour-roux combine to make this a creamy, dreamy mac and cheese.

Cheese roux recipe