We have a kid-friendly paleo recipe today that has been a childhood classic in most households. This easy to make macaroni and cheese recipe is dairy, gluten, and grain free and your children won’t even realize it’s paleo. It is a great recipe for side dishes, pot lucks, and BBQs. We hope you enjoy.
INGREDIENTS
- ¼ cup avocado oil or coconut oil
- ½ yellow onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced (I like a lot of garlic)
- 1 can whole coconut milk (not the lite version)
- 2 TBSP arrowroot powder
- ¾ bag sharp cheddar cheese substitute ( I used Parmela Creamery)
- ½ bag mozzarella cheese substitute ( I used Parmela Creamery)
- 2 boxes of your preferred grain-free/gluten-free macaroni
- Paleo bread crumbs (as desired)
INSTRUCTIONS
Pasta:
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil – I used a Dutch oven so I could put it straight into the oven after but you can use a regular pot and transfer it to a baking dish if you don’t have a Dutch oven.
- Add in the pasta and cook until al dente (still stiff but not crunchy).
- Drain the water out of the pasta and put it back in a Dutch oven or transfer it to a baking dish.
Cheese Sauce:
- Heat the avocado oil in a sauté pan.
- Turn heat to medium and add onion and garlic to a pan stirring to keep the garlic from burning; sauté until the onion starts to become translucent.
- Add in the whole can of coconut milk and let sit stirring every few moments so it doesn’t burn. Let the milk thicken up and slowly add in the arrowroot to help thicken to the consistency desired. There will be clumps of arrowroot – don’t worry we will take care of that later.
- Stir in almost all the sharp cheddar and mozzarella “cheese” (leave some to add to the top later).
- Continue stirring cheese sauce to keep from burning until the cheese starts to melt and blend in with the roux. After about 5-7 minutes I put the cheese sauce in the blender to combine everything thoroughly. *cheese substitute doesn’t melt quite the same as cheese so the blender helps get the creamy consistency
- After blending the cheese sauce, gently stir the cheese sauce into the cooked pasta to coat the macaroni. Place in the oven until the top is a golden yellow.
- Sprinkle the mozzarella, sharp cheddar and bread crumbs on top. Switch the oven to broil and put back in until the cheese on top is melted and golden brown.
