This low-fat, creamy and easy to make Buckwheat Macaroni Cheese is a delicious, healthier alternative to the classic macaroni cheese.
BUCKWHEAT MACARONI CHEESE
This easy Buckwheat Macaroni Cheese was an attempt to encourage my children to eat more buckwheat. I thought if I could make it taste like their favourite dish in the world or at least make them think they are almost eating their favourite dish in the world then maybe buckwheat won’t be such a ‘healthy’ (i.e. to be avoided at all cost) ingredient. It worked!
My Buckwheat Macaroni Cheese got their full approval even if it wasn’t the ‘real’ macaroni cheese.
A simple cheese sauce can be used in a variety of dishes but it goes particularly well with buckwheat. On its own, buckwheat can be a little dry and unexciting, certainly not easy to successfully pair with other ingredients because of its distinct flavour. As this recipe proves buckwheat can be turned into a delicious side dish with a little help from a not too cheesy and quite ‘skinny’ simple cheese sauce.
I have adapted my basic white sauce recipe for this dish. Check out ALL my recipes where I’ve used this simple white sauce. You won’t believe how versatile it is!
This recipe does not take long to prepare (approximately the same amount of time that is needed to make the classic macaroni cheese). You can also cook buckwheat in advance – when you are ready to make the recipe just rinse the cooked buckwheat with a bit of hot water (in a strainer) and give it a good stir. It’s also a good idea to cook buckwheat in salted water – you won’t have to add too much salt to the actual dish. Do be generous with the pepper though (I find white pepper to go particularly well in this dish).
Serving suggestions: great with salad, hot vegetables, chicken, pork or turkey dishes.
This recipe was shared with Cook Once Eat Twice, Saucy Saturdays (hosted by Take Two Tapas, La Petit Chef, The Flavor Bender and Mid-Life Croissant) and CookBlogShare (co-hosted by Hijacked by Twins and Easy Peasy Foodie)
- 1 cup buckwheat uncooked
- 1.5 cup semi-skimmed milk
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1.5 tablespoons cream cheese either full-fat or low-fat
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 120 g mature cheese I used Cheddar, grated
- 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
- Sea salt and white pepper to taste
- Olive oil for drizzling
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Cook the buckwheat (in salted water) according to packet instructions. Place in a medium size (about 6 cm deep) baking dish and set aside.
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Preheat the oven to 450 F/ 230 C/ gas mark 8.
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In a large saucepan melt the butter, add the flour and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Add the milk, increase the heat and continue cooking until the mixture has thickened a little, stirring occasionally (but don't boil the sauce).
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Lower the heat, add the cream cheese, mustard, seasoning and 2/3 of the grated cheese.
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In a bowl combine the rest of the cheese with the breadcrumbs and stir thoroughly. Set aside.
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Remove the sauce from the heat and stir thoroughly (using the whisk). Adjust seasoning as necessary. Pour the sauce over the buckwheat, stir thoroughly ensuring the sauce is distributed evenly, sprinkle the breadcrumb -cheese mixture on top and drizzle with some olive oil.
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Bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.
Preparation Time does not include the time needed to cook the buckwheat.
Oooh Monika this looks and sounds delicious! I love macaroni cheese and one that is a bit healthier works well for me! A must try! Popping over from #CookOnceEatTwice x
Thank you Kirsty! Cheese makes everything taste better, even buckwheat:)
Definitely going to try this – I’ve been looking for a way of making buckwheat a bit more Peachick Appealing!
Thanks! I’ve also been trying to cook buckwheat a bit more, and this is a really easy way to do it:)
I’m going to have to try this Monika – I have a lot of buckwheat that needs to be eaten!
I hope you like it if you do try it. I find buckwheat on its own a little dry, it’s much tastier with a sauce.
I have never tried buckwheat! This looks like a great recipe to start me on it though x
Thanks! Buckwheat tastes better with a sauce, on its own it can be a little dry, in my opinion. It’s very healthy so it’s worth trying:)
This sounds delicious Monika! I have a bag of buckwheat in the cupboard that has been opened for far too long and I keep thinking I should use it in something. This sounds really tasty and I do love anything with a cheesy sauce. Thank you so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice!
Thanks Corina! This is one of my favourite ways of eating buckwheat, and it’s so simple too.