This month we’re thrilled to share a fantastic new blog post from author and blogger Sarah Howells, aka The Gluten Free Blogger. Sarah shares a recipe from her brand new book Delicious Gluten Free Meals and offers her top tips for buying gluten free ingredients.  

When I first put together the recipe list for Delicious Gluten Free Meals, this mac and cheese recipe was pretty much at the top of the list. And given that we gluten free folk tend to miss out on indulgent treats like this when eating out, I wanted to make sure everyone could enjoy the ultimate mac and cheese at home. 

I remember eating the most incredible gluten free mac and cheese in New York City, and this recipe is the result of about 10 years of trying to recreate that exact meal. This really is my favourite comfort food, and baking it with a cheesy crumb topping is the pièce de résistance.  

It’s also an excellent recipe for batch cooking, you can portion the finished mac and cheese into foil tins, adding the crumb topping before freezing. Batch cooking definitely makes it more cost effective too - this works out at around £1 per portion so is a budget friendly meal the whole family can enjoy.

Tips for buying gluten free ingredients

• Start with the free from aisle: Here you can find products that are certified gluten free and will be completely safe to those with coeliac disease. If there’s a gluten free label, it’s going to be gluten free. This is where I shop for things like gluten free pasta, bread and flour.  
• Look out for ‘may contain’ warnings: Even if a product has no cereal containing gluten in the ingredients list, it may have a disclaimer on it stating it ‘may contain’ a cereal containing gluten e.g. wheat, rye, barley or oats. If a product has no gluten containing ingredients but displays a ‘may contain’ warning then it is not suitable for people with coeliac disease. These can often be found in unexpected places, such as chocolate spread or baking ingredients.
• Download the Coeliac UK app: If you’re in any doubt, a great place to start is joining Coeliac UK and downloading their Live Well Gluten Free app. There are over 150,000 products listed in the app and you can easily tell if something is suitable or not by scanning the barcode. It makes shopping so much easier! 
• Always double check! Whether you're new to gluten free life or have been following the diet for some time it can be easy to assume certain foods are suitable. But gluten can be lurking in all sorts of places - including things like soy sauce, baking powder, chocolate, crisps, miso and more. Recipes can change over time, and you may also find one brand of something is safe while another has a ‘may contain’ warning.  

Sarah’s Ultimate Mac and Cheese  

Serves: 4 

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes 

Ingredients

• 400g gluten free macaroni* 
• 50g unsalted butter, plus an extra knob 
• 2 tsp chopped garlic 
• 50g gluten free plain flour* 
• 500ml milk 
• 275g mature Cheddar cheese, grated 
• 75g mozzarella cheese, grated 
• 4 processed cheese slices

For the topping 

• 45g gluten free breadcrumbs* 
• 50g Cheddar cheese, grated 

*Check Coeliac UK’s Live Well Gluten Free app for suitable products 

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/Fan 180ºC/Gas Mark 6. 
2. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the macaroni in it for 5–6 minutes, until al dente. 
3. While the water is heating and the pasta is cooking, place the butter and garlic in a large saucepan over a low heat. Once the butter has melted, gently fry the garlic for a further 2 minutes. 
4. Add the flour and use a whisk to mix into a thick paste. Continue to cook for 30–60 seconds, stirring constantly so it doesn’t stick. 
5. Pour in about 100ml of the milk and stir constantly until it forms a smooth, thick paste. Continue adding the milk about 100ml at a time, stirring constantly after each addition, until the mixture is smooth again. Once all the milk has been added, you should have a smooth, thick white sauce. 
6. Drain the macaroni, then pour back into its pan and stir in a knob of butter until melted. Set to one side. 
7. Add the grated cheddar and mozzarella to the white sauce, then crumble in the cheese slices. Stir until all the cheese has melted, then remove from the heat. 
8. Add the cooked macaroni to the sauce and mix well. Pour the mixture into a 23cm ovenproof dish, then sprinkle with the breadcrumb and cheese toppings. Bake for 20 minutes, until the surface is golden and bubbling. 
9. Serve with a good helping of peas or a fresh green salad. 

Top tips 

If you want to make portions to freeze, I recommend following the recipe up to step 6, then dividing it between foil trays and adding the topping. Simply cover, cool and freeze until needed. The portions can be reheated from frozen in 30 minutes at 200ºC/Fan 180ºC/Gas Mark 6 – just like a ready meal, but miles better. 

What to serve it with 

To be honest, you can’t beat a bowl of mac and cheese on its own, but if you want an extra treat you can serve it with my Gluten Free Pizza Garlic Bread. 

I also have a recipe for Gluten Free Cheesy Doughballs which are really quick to throw together and would be perfect for mopping up the sauce!