| Disclosure: This recipe was created for Ancient Harvest. See below for more details. |
With summer nearly upon us (it really will be here before we known it), I've been thinking a lot about get-togethers. You know the drill- picnics, cookouts, and potlucks of all kinds. Summer really brings out the communal aspect of food and with the landscape of food changing, so does what the average get-together looks like. Get-togethers in my family have definitely changed over the years and we focus packing as many vegetables into dishes, having vegetarian options, and in the past couple of years- keeping nearly everything gluten-free (trying to cover all the family members!) So many of our traditional 'party' foods have gotten a drastic makeover and we don't miss the potato salad/hot dog cookouts of yesteryear.
This recipe is a slight adaption from one of the variations of Mac and Cheese from The Easy Vegetarian Kitchen. I thought it would be fun to show that it doesn't necessarily have to be hard to adapt a recipe to be gluten-free (especially when it only take swapping out two ingredients!) I used Ancient Harvest's shells (which are a mix of corn and quinoa flour) that hold together well in this type of dish and a gluten-free all purpose flour for the thickener (I keep a stock of my own- a combo of rice flour, sorghum flour, millet flour and starches, but you can always buy- there are quite a few options on the market now).
With this recipe I'm also excited to announce that over the next few months, I'll be bringing you one fresh, gluten-free recipe a month thanks to Ancient Harvest as part of their ambassador program. If you're not familiar with Ancient Harvest, they highlight ancient grains in products like gluten-free pastas (featured in today's recipe), polenta, and my favorite: quinoa. And with my recipe archives as proof, I eat a ton of quinoa so this partnership seemed pretty obvious (plus their products are organic and ones that help me easily adapt non-gf recipes.) If you would like to try one of their products (like the pasta for this mac and cheese), you can grab a $1 off coupon from their site.
PrintGouda and Spinach Shells and Cheese
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 3 to 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 6 ounces gluten free pasta shells
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1⁄2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons (16 g) gluten-free all-purpose
- flour
- 11⁄2 cups (355 ml) whole milk
- 4 ounces smoked Gouda, shredded
- 2 ounces mozzarella, shredded
- 2 cups packed, shredded spinach
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 ̊F (190 ̊C, or gas mark 5). Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to box (make sure you don't overcook the pasta!)
- In a saucepan, melt the butter and add the minced garlic, salt, and pepper over medium-low heat. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, 60 seconds . Add the gluten-free flour and cook for another minute. Stir in the milk and heat until thickened, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and add half (3 ounces) of the cheese.
- In a 9 by 9-inch (23 by 23 cm) baking dish (or its equivalent), combine the pasta with spinach then pour the cheese sauce over, stirring until well combined. Top with the remaining half of the cheese. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown on top.
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
This looks delicious Erin. I love that you used gouda!
Millie | Add A Little says
This looks wonderful Erin!
Mwashite - GVOM says
This right here looks so amazing! Itwould perfect for picnic with some salad and other tasty stuff on the side!
McKenzie says
A pasta made from quinoa? That's really cool! I'll definitely swipe a coupon and test that out. P.S. I think you forgot the onions in the directions 🙂 Love this healthy take on mac and cheese!
erin says
Thanks for the catch! (It's actually supposed to be garlic anyway!)
Cassie says
Lovely photos! 😀
Ewelina says
This looks so yummy. I definitely need to try this gluten free pasta. I quit most grains a while ago but this pasta looks like worth trying. Thanks xx
Ewelina
★★★★★
Cristina says
This sounds incredible! Love pasta and cheese! Yum!
Suzanne says
I love gouda cheese. This recipe looks delicious and healthy...love that. I look forward to trying this.
I also love your mission: "live natural. be healthy. eat delicious" We all need to connect with real food. Farm to Table Adventures is hitting the road to explore what we eat, one ingredient at a time. It should be quite an adventure. I hope you will join us
Betty says
oooo yes yes yes! All of the yummy ingredients in the world!
I will be baking this next week! Ta for the recipe!
Betty x
S Lauren | Modern Granola says
Yum! This looks like a crowd-pleaser for sure!
Kathryn says
This is an exciting collaboration! I'm a big fan of shells and cheese at any time - even better when it's gluten free and when you manage to get some greenery in there too!
Katie says
Wowsa, Erin. This looks so good! I love ancient harvest - when I was gluten free for a short while, I found that their pastas were the only kind that had the same consistency as gluten-full varieties. Also I love gouda on everything.
Kat Smith says
I can't wait to try this!!!
Kat
Madeleine Burke says
This looks phenomenal! Definitely adding it to the must try list!
Barbara (BarbB) says
This looks amazing. I can't wait to try it.
Tobie says
I made this a couple of nights ago. It's delicious and that smoked mozzarella really makes it very special.
Sally M. says
Wondering when to add the third clove of garlic?? Can't wait to make it!!
erin says
Ah- no need for the 3rd clove, only the two!
vivian says
This was unbelievably good. I love smoked flavour and the addition of spinach is tasty, nutritious and pretty too. I will definitely make this again. Thanks!
★★★★★
Nadine says
Tried for the first time last night and my husband and I absolutely loved it. Super easy to make also. My coworker tried a bit and was in love. She's going to make it tomorrow, thank you!
★★★★★
Lindsey says
I’ve made this several times now for dinner and it’s my favorite recipe right now; perfect for winter. I double the recipe and bake the pasta in my 9x13 casserole dish. That way I have dinners for two or three nights a week. It keeps very well in the fridge.
★★★★★
Kerri says
I love anything involving Spinach, shells, and cheese. I made this as directed and it is the BEST Mac & cheese I have EVER eaten.
I used a bag of frozen chopped Spinach instead of fresh and it is amazing. The flavors blend well together. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
★★★★★