Traditional Finnish Macaroni Casserole (Mac in a Box!)

Name: Traditional Finnish Macaroni Box (Casserole)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Finnish
Ingredients: 2 cups elbow macaroni; Water to boil macaroni; 1 onion; 1 lb ground beef or beef/mixed beef and pork; 2 cups milk; 4 eggs; 1 teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon ground allspice, black pepper, oregano and paprika powder; Grated cheese on top, e.g. emmental, about 150 g / 1 cup; Olive oil

May 14, 2024

Traditional Finnish Macaroni Casserole (Mac in a Box!) - Feels like Finland

Macaroni box or Macaroni casserole must be one of the most-eaten traditional Finnish dish! It's loved by both kids and adults.

Many Finns make this dish at least every month. It has been common in the Finnish households since the 1950's. Finnish Macaroni box is also available as ready-to-eat meal in all grocery shops.

Macaroni box is not a casserole..

Important note: Finnish macaroni box is supposed to keep it's form when cut. It would be considered "not baked enough" or raw if there is any running sauce. That is why there are plenty of eggs, to form milk-egg mixture that will hold everything together.

The only sauce to enjoy with Makaronilaatikko (translated directly to macaroni box) is ketchup. Most Finns like to add ketchup on top of this dish, on their plate.

Can I add cheese into Finnish macaroni box?

During the last decades, adding cheese to this Finnish dish has become more popular. Originally on top there were only breadcrumbs. Now many like to add cheese in between the layers and also on top.

The best cheese to add in between is Finnish Koskenlaskija ("raftsman") that is a block of processed cheese that you can actually cut pieces of. It melts in the oven to a nice gooey pieces that go very well with this dish.

Nowadays there are also several varieties of Koskenlaskija cheese available, e.g. spreadable. But the original is the yummiest! (I do eat it just like that without anything..!😂)

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Traditional Finnish Macaroni Box (Casserole)

Tuija

Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users

Cuisine

Finnish

Author:

Tuija

Servings

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

45 minutes

Soo crunchy on top! This tasty and popular Finnish dish is an easy dish in the rush of everyday life. Every Finn loves it and it also keeps the hunger away for a long time.

In less than 20 minutes you can cook the macaroni, fry the onions and ground beef, add them to a pan, top with milk-egg mixture and spices and then just wait the oven to work it's magic and create a super tasty crust on the top of the casserole.

Ingredients

2 cups elbow macaroni
Water to boil macaroni
1 onion
1 lb ground beef or beef/mixed beef and pork
2 cups milk
4 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground allspice, black pepper, oregano and paprika powder
Grated cheese on top, e.g. emmental, about 150 g / 1 cup
Olive oil

Directions

Boil water
Add the macaroni and a bit of salt to the water. Cook for 8-10 min. Remove water.
Chop the onion to small pieces, add oil to the skillet and fry
the onion. Remove the onion from the skillet
Add more oil and fry the minced meat in the skillet.
Add salt, spices and the fried onion to the meat and mix.
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs lightly and add milk.
Add spices to egg-milk mixture, ½ teaspoon of salt,
oregano and paprika and some black pepper.
Take a baking dish, brush it with vegetable oil and add half of the macaroni.
Add meat-onion mixture layer and rest of the macaroni on top.
Add the egg-milk mixture on top of the casserole, make
sure that it almost covers all ingredients. This way it will not dry up in the oven.
Add grated cheese on top.
Bake in 400 °F for 30-45 minutes. If it still looks whitish
from below after 30 min, adjust the oven to heat the
lower element only and continue baking until it is nice
and brown all over.
Enjoy with ketchup.

Recipe Video

Recipe Note

Adding more cheese between the layers or on top is a popular option nowadays. Processed Finnish cheese Koskenlaskija is the most popular option to add.

You can sure change the spices to your taste. I don't recommend adding garlic. I love garlic but it just does not work so well with this dish.

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