Who doesn’t love macaroni and cheese? This is an easy, versatile recipe for low-FODMAP Macaroni and Cheese that can be served as a weekday meal, or alongside your beautiful low-FODMAP Maple Rosemary Roasted Chicken and low-FODMAP Stuffing at Thanksgiving!
For this recipe, I skipped the breadcrumb topping and mustard powder that is often added to more ‘adult’ mac and cheese recipes. Instead I added extra cheese on top. In my experience, kiddos really like a basic recipe for low-FODMAP mac and cheese. When did powdered cheese become a food group?
Just a note about gluten-free pasta. It does tend to get mushy if cooked too much. So for this recipe, try cooking the pasta al-dente (a little firm) and then adding it to the sauce before baking. That keeps the texture the way you are used to.
This low-FODMAP macaroni and cheese recipe is cheesy, creamy and so delicious. But is it low-FODMAP macaroni and cheese, or low-FODMAP cheese and macaroni??
Check out my blog for more family low-FODMAP recipe ideas, like my Kid’s Favorite low-FODMAP Chicken Nuggets and low-FODMAP Tacos… we have over 300 low-FODMAP recipes!
Be healthy and happy,
Rachel Pauls, MD
Kids-Favorite Low-FODMAP Macaroni & Cheese; Gluten-free
Although this recipe has not been tested, a single serving should be low-FODMAP based on the ingredients (using available FODMAP data at time of posting)
Serves 8-10 (depending on your portion size)
Prep time: 20 min
Bake time: 25 min
Bake 375 F
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients
- 16 ounces uncooked low- FODMAP, gluten-free elbow macaroni noodles
- I used Ronzoni brand: contains white rice flour, brown rice flour, corn flour, quinoa flour, mono and diglycerides
- Feel free to adjust by using penne, or shells if you prefer
- ½ cup (8 tablespoons) low-FODMAP vegan margarine (I like Earth Balance brand)
- ⅓ cup low-FODMAP, gluten-free flour (I use Authentic Foods GF Classical Blend)
- 2 cups low-FODMAP milk (almond milk or lactose free)
- 1 cup canned coconut cream
- Note: This is NOT the same as ‘Cream of Coconut”. Canned coconut cream is unsweetened, and can be purchased as the cream, or if you buy full fat coconut milk and chill it, you can skim the creamy layer from the top of the can and use that in recipes. See my low-FODMAP Coconut Whipped Cream Recipe for details! It does not have a strong coconut flavor.
- 3 cups shredded cheese (cheddar or colby jack, based or your preference), divided
- 1/2 cup cheese is 40 g, or one low-FODMAP serving for cheddar and colby
- if unsure, weigh your cheese on a small scale
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 F
- Prepare low-FODMAP macaroni noodles in large saucepan, drain and set aside
- Remember to boil these to be al-dente and feel free to stir a little vegan spread in while these stand so they don’t stick together
- In the same saucepan melt the vegan spread over medium
- Stir in low-FODMAP, gluten-free flour using a whisk
- Slowly add the low-FODMAP milk while continuing to stir, followed by the coconut cream
- Bring to boil and stir for 2 minutes, sauce will thicken
- Add 2 cups grated cheese, salt and pepper and stir together until cheese is completely melted
- Add the low-FODMAP macaroni noodles and mix well
- Place mixture into a 2 quart casserole dish
- Bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees
- Remove casserole from oven, and top with the remaining 1 cup grated cheese
- Replace for about 5 minutes, until cheese is nicely melted
- Let cool 5-10 minutes before serving
- Yummy!
21 Responses
I am curious, can I substitute ghee for the vegan margarine?
Irene,
Ghee should also work well in this recipe. Thank you for your question and hope you love the Mac and Cheese!
Delicious!
I finally had an opportunity to make this recipe. I made a half recipe and halving everything still worked great!
The pasta was the perfect texture after baking and although I used coconut flour as my GF flour, it still worked great! Will make again and can’t wait to enjoy the leftovers tomorrow!
Irene,
Thank you so much for sharing! We love hearing feedback like this. Hope you enjoy the leftovers 🙂
Just finished making it. Yummy! I’m curious about the coconut cream. I found it at Trader Joe’s. The consistency was strange- thick, cream on top, lots of liquid at bottom. The can said to shake well before using, but after attempts to combine & mix it, the cream still separated from the liquid part. Do you just use the cream part and no liquid? I’m also wondering if there’s something else I could substitute for the coconut cream, I just wasn’t crazy about the coconut flavor in the Mac and cheese. Thanks!!
Thanks for the question Corm!
You actually shouldn’t use the liquid from the coconut cream, just the harder layer at the top. It softens with cooking. If you bought ‘coconut cream’, then there should be a very scant amount of the liquid, but if you bought ‘coconut milk’, then there would be about half the can with the liquid. See the tips on our low-FODMAP grocery shopping blog for details! If yours tasted like coconut (we don’t notice that in this recipe), then you could substitute low-FODMAP milk for a less creamy version of the macaroni. Heavy cream is harder to comment, because FODMAP levels haven’t been documented for this product. Test for your tolerance if want to try heavy cream in this recipe. Hope that helps!
Thank you!! Do you happen to know the brand of the coconut cream you used? The Trader Joe’s one said coconut cream on the label, but is very coconutty!
Unfortunately, Trader Joe’s has changed their formulation recently and there is some variation in these products. We tend to like their coconut milk better than their coconut cream (we skim the cream from the top). Another brand is Native Forest for coconut cream. There are photos of these in our low-FODMAP Vanilla Bean Coconut Whipped Cream recipe. Sorry yours was not the best. Hope is better next time!
Thank you so much!! I will definitely be making it again with that change 🙂
I needed to come back and report that the coconut cream from Fresh Thyme was PERFECT! Didn’t taste like coconut at all. Unfortunately the Trader Joe’s coconut cream ruined it with the extreme coconut flavor. So glad I found the right kind 🙂 Delicious recipe!!!!!
OMG That is AMAZING! And glad to hear about Fresh Thyme. We will have to try theirs too!!
This was soooo good! I used Native Forest coconut cream and could not taste any coconut. Thanks for the delicious recipe!
Angela
AWESOME to hear this feedback. You made our DAY!!!
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How do I make mac & cheese for one?
Hi Karen,
We do not have a recipe that specifically portions for one serving. If you divide the ingredients in this recipe by 6 then that would approximate a single serving. Hope that helps 🙂
Just Amazing!
I cannot say enough good things about this recipe, it was just wonderful!! We did add a lot more cheese than the recipe but that’s just because we’re a family of cheese lovers and there’s no such thing as too much cheddar! This is now the fourth recipe on this site we have tried and every one has been a hit – we’ve now bought your lovely book ?
Gemma!
You are AWESOME!
Thank you so much for your beautiful praise and support. You are the reason we love to post recipes.
Have a wonderful day 🙂
Nutritional Content
This is a great recipe for those on Low Fodmap. Delicious and super easy to prepare.
Wondering what the calorie and carb contents are as a family member is a diabetic and we count carbs and calories.
Thanks.
Hi Mary,
Thank you so much for your lovely review! Unfortunately we are not able to provide nutritional information for our recipes.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
I made this recipe for a family gathering. It was a hit and no one noticed it was gluten free/low fodmap. I would love to know if there is a slow cooker version of this recipe.
Hi J,
Great job! That sounds fantastic.
We do feel that the GF pasta can get mushy, so we would not recommend a slow cooker for this recipe.
Stay in touch!!