Divine Gouda mac and cheese: creamy, oozy, and delightful. Made with only five ingredients and ready in about 15 minutes.
This Gouda mac and cheese recipe is a family favorite. Comforting macaroni in a velvety rich cheese sauce made with Gouda cheese and milk. Just a few ingredients and super fast, but so much pleasure.
Who doesn't love a good mac and cheese? I don't know anyone who doesn'tโฆSo incredibly delicious and comforting.
For more ideas, check out Mac and Cheese without Milk, Mac and Cheese without Flour, Mac and Cheese with Cream Cheese, White Cheddar Mac and Cheese, or Tuna Mac and Cheese.
Ingredients: 5 + salt and pepper
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
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Recipe ingredients
Elbow macaroni is the classic, but should you not have it in the pantry, don't stress about it; any short pasta shape will do.
Cheese: Gouda, regular or smoked. Two different flavors, both equally delicious. Use what you like best or what you happen to have in the fridge. Try the Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese next.
Milk and all-purpose flour make the sauce creamy and unctuous.
Dijon or regular yellow mustard for a bit of extra flavor.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make Gouda mac and cheese?
- Cook pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt generously, and cook the macaroni al dente.
- Cheese: While the pasta cooks, grate the cheese (1).
- Place cheese, milk, flour, mustard, salt, and pepper in a large pan and whisk well to combine (2).
- Heat: Just 1 minute before you have to drain the noodles, add cheese and heat the cheese mixture on very low heat, stirring occasionally to help melt the cheese and combine the ingredients (3).
- Combine: Immediately, add the drained noodles (4) and stir well to coat the macaroni with the Gouda sauce (5).
- Adjust the taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Tips
Don't overheat the cheese mixture, or it might clump. Heat it on the lowest heat and just long enough to help the cheese melt; it will not take a minute. If the Gouda is not completely melted, it's ok; it will continue to melt when you mix it with the hot pasta.
Baked Gouda Mac and Cheese: Place the cheesy pasta in a baking dish. Top it with breadcrumbs, preferably Panko breadcrumbs previously roasted in a pan until golden. Bake at 350ยฐF (180ยฐC) for about 15-20 minutes.
Portion control: Mac and cheese is often listed as serving 8 as a main or even 16 as a side, but that rarely matches reality. In our family of four, we usually finish almost the whole dish in one go, with a small portion left for lunch the next day. It's rich, but I'd rather balance it with lighter meals afterward than limit everyone to a few spoonfuls.
Make ahead and store
Make ahead: You can prepare the dish, keep it refrigerated, and reheat it before serving. In this case, it's probably best to reheat the dish in the oven as instructed above.
Refrigerate for 3-4 days in an airtight container and reheat before serving.
Freeze for up to 3 months and defrost in the fridge.
Reheat in the oven or on the stovetop. If reheating on the stovetop, add a good splash of milk and stir often.
What to serve with it?
How about chicken wings? We have plenty of recipes here. Try the Garlic Butter Chicken Wings, the Hot Lemon Pepper Wings, or the Cajun Chicken Wings. Or any other of our chicken wing recipes.
To serve this as a main dish, make a refreshing green salad or cucumber salad; you will need nothing more.
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๐ Recipe
Gouda Mac and Cheese (5 Ingredients)
Equipment
- 1 large pot
- 1 large skillet
Ingredients
- 1 lb elbow macaroni Note 1
- 2 cups full-fat milk or semi-skimmed
- ยฝ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ยฝ tablespoons Dijon mustard or yellow mustard
- 1 ยฝ teaspoon fine sea salt or Kosher salt Note 2
- โ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 9 oz Gouda Note 3
Instructions
- Cook pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt generously, and cook the macaroni al dente.1 lb elbow macaroni
- Cheese: While the pasta cooks, grate the cheese.9 oz Gouda
- Place cheese, milk, flour, mustard, salt, and pepper in a large pan and whisk well to combine.2 cups full-fat milk or semi-skimmed + ยฝ cup all-purpose flour + 1 ยฝ tablespoons Dijon mustard or yellow mustard + 1 ยฝ teaspoon fine sea salt or Kosher salt + โ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Heat: Just 1 minute before you drain the noodles, add the grated cheese, and heat the cheese mixture on very low heat, stirring occasionally to help melt the cheese and combine the ingredients. Don't overheat the cheese mixture, or it might clump. Heat it on the lowest heat and just long enough to help the cheese melt; it will not take a minute. If the Gouda is not completely melted, it's ok. It will continue to melt when you mix it with the hot pasta.
- Combine: Immediately, add the drained noodles and stir well to coat the macaroni with the Gouda sauce.
- Adjust the taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Notes
- Or any other short pasta shapes, like penne, fusilli, bow tie, orecchiette, rotini, etc.
- Start with less if using table salt, it's more potent than sea salt. You can always add more at the end.
- I usually have regular Gouda, but smoked Gouda or a blend of the two is excellent.
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