Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Macaroni Pie
Baked macaroni bound in a sharp, mustardy cheese custard and cut into firm squares, the Bajan Sunday-lunch staple.
Barbadian · easy · serves 6
prep 15 min · cook 40 min
~542 cal · 24g protein · 60g carbs · 23g fat · 3g fiber · 5g sugars · 14g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Macaroni pie is the baked macaroni cheese of Barbados, and no Bajan Sunday lunch or cook-up is complete without it. Firmer and more sharply seasoned than the creamy American version, it is baked until set, then cut into neat squares to sit beside rice, peas, and meat.
What sets the Bajan version apart is the seasoning: plenty of sharp cheddar, but also mustard, a little ketchup, hot pepper sauce, grated onion, and often a beaten egg to set it firm. The result is savoury, tangy, and sliceable rather than saucy.
It is a fixture of the lunch plate, the beach picnic, and the fete, and every Bajan cook has strong opinions about it. A good macaroni pie holds its shape on the fork and carries a proper kick of pepper and mustard.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
1 lb macaroni
3 cups sharp cheddar, grated
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
2 tbsp yellow mustard
1/2 onion, grated
1 tsp hot pepper sauce
2 tbsp butter
Instructions
1
Boil the macaroni until just tender, then drain.
2
Stir the hot macaroni with the butter, most of the cheese, the milk, mustard, grated onion, pepper sauce, and beaten egg.
✎ Chef’s note
Season it more boldly than feels right. Bajan macaroni pie is meant to be sharp with mustard and pepper, not mild.
3
Spread into a baking dish and top with the remaining cheese.
4
Bake at 375F (190C) until set and golden, about 35 minutes.
5
Let it rest 10 minutes so it firms up, then cut into squares.
Barbadian Sunday-lunch tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Bridgetown. Bridgetown is the Bajan capital, where flying fish and cou-cou, a cornmeal and okra mash, is the national plate. Barbadian cooking is sharp with the yellow scotch bonnet pepper sauce that sits on every table, and macaroni pie appears at every gathering.
🗺️
Barbados. Saturday belongs to pudding and souse: pork pickled in lime, cucumber and pepper, served with a savoury sweet-potato pudding steamed in a casing, bought from a particular vendor whom families stay loyal to for years. Macaroni pie, which is what Barbadians call macaroni cheese, turns up beside almost everything else.
🌍
North America. The most consequential technique on this continent is nixtamalisation, cooking maize with lime or wood ash. It loosens the skins, makes the dough that becomes tortillas and tamales, and frees up niacin the body cannot otherwise absorb, which is why maize spread around the world without the technique and took pellagra with it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Barbados
Cou-Cou & Flying FishSilky okra-studded cornmeal cou-cou beside flying fish steamed in a spicy Bajan tomato gravy, the national dish.
Bajan Saltfish CakesCrisp, fluffy fritters of salt cod, flour, and herbs fried golden and eaten hot with pepper sauce, a Bajan breakfast and street favorite.
ConkiesSpiced cornmeal, coconut, and pumpkin steamed in banana leaves, a Barbadian treat tied to Independence season.
Browse all Barbados recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Oven.
Storing it: Best fresh. Leftovers keep 2 days refrigerated; loosen with a splash of water or oil as you reheat so they do not clump.
Make it a Barbados meal
Bajan Rum PunchDrink
ConkiesDessert
Cou-Cou & Flying FishDinner
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Cuisine
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Frequently asked questions
What is Macaroni Pie?
Baked macaroni bound in a sharp, mustardy cheese custard and cut into firm squares, the Bajan Sunday-lunch staple.
Where does Macaroni Pie come from?
Macaroni Pie is a Barbadian dish from Bridgetown, Barbados.
Can Macaroni Pie be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Macaroni Pie recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Macaroni Pie safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Macaroni Pie take to make?
About 55 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 40 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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