This Macaroni Pie from Barbados is the ultimate comfort food. Barbados has made macaroni and cheese their own by adding evaporated milk, ketchup, and honey mustard to the dish. This baked casserole is creamy, savory, and slightly sweet, with a perfectly crunchy breadcrumb topping.
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A Personal Story
The Beginning: A Macaroni Love Affair
Mac and cheese– duh, one of the biggest comfort foods known to man. I don’t have to tell you that there’s nothing like sitting down to an ooey gooey bowl of creamy mac and cheese or smoked mac and cheese… you already know that. Everyone does!
When I was young, I’m pretty sure that my body consisted of 57% Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Every time my parents would go out for date night, they would leave the babysitter with a box of noodles, a package of neon powdered cheese, some milk and some butter. Kraft Mac and Cheese and chicken nuggets. Fish sticks with Kract Mac and Cheese. Kraft Mac and Cheese and pear slices. An easy lunch or dinner, and something I thought I loved.
What a Twist: A New Way to Enjoy the Mac
When I was about 12 years old, I was at our cabin in Northern Michigan with my dad and his lifelong friend. “Let’s make some macaroni and cheese for lunch,” he said. I was confused…. We had no Kraft in the house.
He boiled some water and added some noodles from the box. When the noodles were cooked, he strained them and put them back in the pot. He walked over to the refrigerator and removed a massive block of Velveeta cheese, which he chopped into squares and dropped right in the hot pot. He added a couple splashes of milk and some frozen peas and… Viola!
This macaroni and cheese was the creamiest, cheesiest pot of macaroni and cheese that I’d ever had in my entire life. Instantly I knew that the crap Mac and Cheese and I had eaten my whole life would never again suffice. Of course, I knew that Velveeta cheese still wasn’t the healthiest option, but my oh my was it good. In later years, I learned how to whip up a milk-based roux to make a creamy, delicious cheese sauce with real cheese.
Happily Ever After: A Mac n’ Cheese Snob Meets Macaroni Pie
From that day to this, I have been a mac and cheese snob. I enjoy it creamy, not baked; preferably without breadcrumbs but with peas.
That is, until this Barbadian Macaroni Pie recipe came along…
Get the Full Barbados Macaroni Pie Recipe Below!
Why is Barbadian Macaroni Pie So Unique?
I don’t like baked macaroni, but I love this recipe. I don’t like macaroni with breadcrumbs, but I love this recipe. Typically in any other recipe, baking with breadcrumbs makes the mac and cheese dry. But not in this recipe.
This Barbadian recipe with evaporated milk, ketchup, and honey mustard cannot help but be incredibly, perfectly creamy. Despite being baked, it is still oh-so-gooey and delicious.
Barbadians LOVE their Macaroni Pie. In fact, in Barbados, it’s just called “Pie!” The Macaroni Pie first came to be because of American influence on the country. As the years have gone on, Barbadians have made this dish their own. The evaporated milk (check out everything that you can do with a can of evaporated milk here) adds some sweetness to the dish, and the ketchup creates a vibrant orange color. I kept my Macaroni Pie recipe simple with just salt, pepper, and garlic powder, but you can also add thyme or marjoram to get that traditional Barbadian flavor.
What Ingredients You Need to Make This Macaroni Pie Recipe
You’ll feel silly for ever relying on the boxed junk once you realize how easy it is to make the best macaroni and cheese from scratch! With just a handful of basic ingredients you can create an amazingly creamy, flavorful dish that eats as an entire meal or is perfect for a side that compliments nearly any main dish.
Here’s what you need:
- Pasta – I prefer Italian Trottole, but feel free to use whatever pasta type you like
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Evaporated milk
- Ketchup
- Honey mustard
- Bread crumbs
- Spices – salt, pepper, and onion powder
Tips for Making Macaroni Pie from Barbados
This recipe is so simple to follow, but here are a few suggestions to make sure your macaroni and cheese is perfectly creamy with that crave-worthy crunchy top:
- I used Italian Trottole for this version, but you can choose another pasta if you prefer. It’s just wise to use something that is nice and hearty, like large elbow macaroni.
- Sharp cheddar cheese is my favorite, but feel free to try different cheeses and mix up the flavors! Let me know in the comments any fun combinations you discover.
- If you don’t have honey mustard you can swap with whatever mustard you do have like stoneground or Dijon. Your pie won’t be quite as sweet but will still have that yummy savoriness.
- Try adding a bit of thyme and/or marjoram to make this macaroni pie more authentically Barbadian!
- For an extra crunchy crust, gently spray the breadcrumbs on top of the pie with cooking oil before baking.
- This macaroni pie will keep well in the fridge for up to 4 days. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months once completely cooled and sealed in an airtight container.
If you are at all a fan of macaroni and cheese, you’ve got to try making this dish for yourself!
And if you enjoyed this noodle recipe, be sure to also try this Vegemite Pasta from Australia or this Armenian Mantiabour. Please and thanks for leaving a comment on the blog post to let me know what you think!
Macaroni Pie (Barbados)
Ingredients
- ½ lb pasta, I used Curly Elbow Macaroni, but you can use whatever you'd like
- 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 12 oz can evaporated milk
- ⅓ cup ketchup
- 1 tbsp honey mustard
- ¼ cup bread crumbs, Italian Style
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Boil water and cook the noodles according to the package until they are al dente. Drain the noodles.
- In the pot, add the evaporated milk over medium-high heat and whisk until it comes to a boil. Turn off the heat, then add the cheddar cheese and whisk until it melts fully into the milk. Then add the rest of the ingredients except for the noodles and breadcrumbs. Mix to combine again.
- Finally, add the macaroni into the cheese sauce, and mix so that the noodles are fully coated.
- Grease a 9×9 pan and put the macaroni and cheese into the dish. Top with bread crumbs.
- Bake the macaroni for about 35-40 minutes until heated all the way through and the breadcrumbs are slightly browned. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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Don’t forget to come back next week for more recipes from around the world!
Patricia Oliver says
I am a 76 year old Bajan. I was also a home ec. teacher. Our macaroni and cheese is savoury. You never add anything SWEET. We use dry mustard, freshly chopped onions and tomatoes. We also add beaten eggs to hold the pie together. What you posted above is NOT Barbadian. I will not tell you how it is made for you to sell the recipe as your own.
Denise says
Hi I am from Barbados, thanks for introducing our traditionally dish of Bajan Macaroni Pie. If you like spicy I normally substitute the Barbados hot sauce for the honey mustard, it gives it a bang!! and I also make a white sauce and add the cheese and the grated onion and the other ingredients.
The Foreign Fork says
Hi Denise,
Hot sauce sounds like such a fun addition! Thank you for the suggestion!
Wes says
In Barbados we usually use “real” onion (grated or finely chopped) rather than onion powder.
The Foreign Fork says
Thanks so much for the tip, that’s great to know! Do you cook it before adding it to the pasta or just put it in there raw? I’d like to add a note with your adjustment 🙂
Natasha says
Hi. We just add it in. It cooks while it bakes 🙂 (chip finely)
Katie Jo says
This was a really yummy twist on traditional “macaroni”. I didn’t have honey mustard since we don’t use it much, so I subbed regular mustard and a bit of honey and it turned out great!
The Foreign Fork says
Hurray!! So glad you liked it!!! It’s good to know that regular mustard is just as delicious 🙂
Susan Padgett says
Only one thing needs to be changed. You have “sweetened condensed milk” written in the picture of ingredients, which is entirely different from evaporated milk, which you correctly have listed in the ingredients. Just need to change that to keep people from getting confused and inadvertently making a dessert with noodles and cheese😉
The Foreign Fork says
Hi Susan! Whoops! I think this was a tired-Alexandria-at-2am-mistake haha. Thanks so much for pointing it out. I will update the photo 🙂
Nicole Luchetta says
Hi Alexandria! I am doing a cooking around the world project, alphabetically, just like you. I came to this passion project on my own and in my research never imagined how many other people I would find on the same journey. This week is Barbados and since we are in Quarantine, Flying fish and other similar things just doesn’t seems that easy find. I stumbled upon your recipe–and then entire blog– and this seems like the perfect meal with accessible ingredients during this quarantine time. I am SO excited to meet a fellow different-country-a-week chef and can’t wait to let you know how my Barbados Cuisine night goes tonight.
The Foreign Fork says
Hi Nicole! It is so great to (virtually) meet you! I feel the same… I came up with the idea on my own but had no idea how many other people would be interested in doing the same thing as myself! This is one of the most popular recipes on my site, so I hope you love it! Keep me up to date on how your adventures are going. I will check out your blog right now:)
Nicole says
Great to e-meet you as well! Cant wait to peruse your site for other awesome dishes. Im suuuuper behind on my blog posts so bear with me while I update it. I assume Ill have a lot of time in the coming weeks! haha. Thanks for checking it out and excited i found your site!
Nicole Luchetta says
Made this a few weeks ago and forgot to review immediately! What a fab dish. Really easy to find the ingredients and easy to make in a world wide food shortage and the best comfort food when you need a (food) hug during quarantine. Loved this and big hit with the boyfriend. Who wouldn’t like Mac n cheese?!
The Foreign Fork says
Hi Nicole!! This comment made me SO happy to read! Sometimes during this crazy time all we need is a nice food hug haha. Thanks for commenting! 🙂
Olivia says
Can we substitute GF noodles and leave off the breadcrumbs? Looks delicious!
The Foreign Fork says
Hi Olivia!
I’ve never tested this recipe with gluten free noodles, but I can’t imagine it would change the recipe that much because the noodles are cooked separately. You can omit the breadcrumbs if you’d like, or use gluten free breadcrumbs if you can find them! If you do make the recipe with gluten free noodles, please let me know how it goes!
Katie Jo says
Hey Olivia – I haven’t used them in this recipe specifically, but I used the Aldi GF fusilli noodles in Alexandria’s Creamy Mac and Cheese recipe and they worked great!
Marilyn Machin says
My Instant pot gluten-free elbow noodles mac & cheese.
I love your recipe! I take 1 lb. of gf elbow noodles & check the box for the suggested cooking time for wheat noodles. If it’s 9 minutes for the wheat, you would divide the time in half (4.5 bumped up to 5 minutes.) Cook in just enough water to cover the noodles. When the 5 minutes is up, do a quick release & start adding the other ingredients to the elbows. A splash of soy sauce really makes this lovely! If you have any questions, I’m at tonkmom@gmail.com. Happy eating! BTW since 1 lb of elbows doesn’t make a large portion, I use my IP 3-quart cooker!
Francesco Gatti says
I really love macaroni a lot. The ingredients and recipe to make this dish are very much helpful. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
My pleasure Francesco! I’m so glad you enjoyed reading it 🙂