White Cheddar Garlic Mac & Cheese

If there are two things that go perfect together… it’s cheese and pasta. You really can’t go wrong. This white cheddar mac and cheese is layered with home made garlic croutons which adds an extra level of flavor. TIP: I buy the roasted garlic in the deli section of the market. It is the best purchase to have on hand in the kitchen!

I choose orecchiette pasta because it sounded fancy.. Any pasta will work though! Unfortunately, I don’t have any tips to make this gluten free or dairy free… This one is one of the indulgent recipes you can let yourself enjoy :)

INGREDIENTS:

• Box of orecchiette pasta

• 2 cups white cheddar cheese

• 2/3 cups gouda cheese

• 2/3 cups gruyere cheese

• 1/4 cup almond milk

• 1 tbsp flour

• 5 tbsp butter

• 8 cloves roasted garlic

• 1 loaf of french bread

DIRECTIONS

• In a large sauce pot- bring water to a boil and add in the pasta. Let the pasta cook

For the croutons:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

2. In a blender- add 3 tablespoons of melted butter and 8 cloves of roasted garlic. Blend until mixed together.

3. Cut the loaf of bread into small chunks. Lay the bread chunks on a baking sheet. Drizzle the melted garlic butter over the top of the bread.

4. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

For the sauce:

1. In a sauce pan on medium heat- melt 3 tablespoons of butter. Once the butter is melted, add in the flour and whisk until it is a paste like texture. Add in the almond milk and continue to whisk.

2. Begin to add the cheeses to the sauce pan. Add in the cheddar and continue to whisk until melted. Add in the gruyere, whisk. Add in the gouda, whisk.

3. Continue to whisk until all the cheeses are melted. You can add in more milk to thin out the sauce if it is too thick.

4. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For the pasta:

1. Drain the pasta and add back into the sauce pot. Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and gently mix until the sauce is evenly distributed.

2. In a baking dish- Add a layer of the mac and cheese. Add a layer of the garlic croutons. Add a final layer of mac and cheese. Top with the last of the garlic croutons.

3. Bake in the oven at 325 degrees for 15 minutes