Sourdough Mac and Cheese

A close up photo of a white bowl filled with a serving of sourdough macaroni and cheese.

This creamy sourdough mac and cheese uses sourdough starter to thicken the silky cheese sauce, giving a classic comfort food favourite a unique sourdough twist. Serve it straight from the stovetop for a quick and easy dinner, or bake it with crunchy sourdough breadcrumbs for a golden, bubbling finish.

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword Sourdough Discard

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

Servings

Calories 367kcal

Author Kate Freebairn

Equipment

Large Saucepan
Baking Dish (9" x 9" square)

Ingredients

Macaroni Ingredients

250 g Macaroni
15 g Butter (can be salted or unsalted)

Topping Ingredients

50 g Sourdough Bread Crumbs (see notes)
40 g Butter (can use olive oil if you prefer)

Sauce Ingredients

60 g Butter (can be salted or unsalted)
100 g Sourdough Discard (can be active or discard - see notes)
650 g Whole Milk
250 g Shredded Cheddar Cheese
100 g Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
5 g Salt (see notes)
1 tsp Garlic Powder (optional)
1 tsp Mustard Powder (optional)

Instructions

Cook the Macaroni

First cook the macaroni to the instructions on the packet. Once the macaroni is cooked, drain it (don't rinse it). Place into a bowl with 15g of butter and toss though to stop it from sticking together. Cover and set aside.

Make the Sauce

Now in a saucepan add butter, sourdough starter and a dash of the milk and whisk over very low heat to form a roux. As it comes together and starts to cook, add a little more milk and continue whisking.
Continue whisking over a medium heat as you add more of the milk, a little at a time, until all of the milk has been added. Continue whisking for around 5 minutes and you'll see the white sauce begin the thicken.
Once the sauce is thick and coats the back of a spoon, remove the sauce from the heat and add the shredded cheeses, mustard powder and garlic powder (if you're using them). Continue whisking until all of the cheese has melted through (it really doesn't take long).
Add the pasta on top of the cheese sauce and stir to coat all of the macaroni.

Prepare to Bake

Preheat the oven to 200ºC (400ºF).
Add the bread crumbs to a bowl and coat in melted butter. Set aside.
Now pour the macaroni cheese into an oven safe square baking dish and top with the buttered bread crumbs. Bake in the oven at 200ºC (400ºF) oven for around 30 minutes or until the bread crumb topping is golden and the sourdough macaroni cheese is bubbling underneath.
Once the sourdough mac and cheese is done, remove from the oven and allow it to sit for around 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition