It’s easy and nutritious to indulge in veggie mac and cheese, a dish where pasta and shredded cheddar meet broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. The recipe uses some of the healthiest vegetables at the market to amp up classic baked macaroni and cheese. Each spoonful is packed with crunch and color!
Veggie Mac and Cheese Ingredients
- Elbow macaroni: It doesn’t get more classic than cute elbow noodles. That said, any short, tubular pasta shape works for homemade mac and cheese.
- Broccoli: This superfood should have a place at your table. It’s easier to convince kiddos (and adults) to eat broccoli when cheese is involved.
- Cauliflower: The combination of cauliflower and cheese sauce is unbeatable, as proven by cauliflower casserole and cauliflower gratin.
- Carrots: Carrots bring beta carotene, vitamin A and other vitamins to this recipe.
- Celery: Because it’s boiled for six minutes and then baked, the celery in this dish will be super tender.
- Butter: Use salted or unsalted butter. The amount of salt in a pat of butter won’t be enough to impact the recipe.
- Onion: Choose a white or yellow onion—either works here.
- Flour and milk: You need flour and milk to make the base of the cheese sauce. The recipe calls for 2% milk, but use whatever you have on hand.
- Chicken broth: Using chicken broth in the sauce gives the mac and cheese a subtle, savory backbone. For a vegetarian version of this recipe, swap out the chicken broth for vegetable broth.
- Cheddar cheese: The rich, tangy flavor of sharp cheddar is a perfect match for pasta.
- Dijon mustard: French-style Dijon mustard has a rich, tangy flavor that melds perfectly with a cheese sauce. Other mustards won’t cut it!
- Seasonings: Salt, freshly ground black pepper and paprika round out the flavors of this dish. Don’t forget that even when we include a measurement for seasonings, it’s important to taste the dish before serving and adjust as needed.
Directions
Step 1: Cook the pasta and vegetables
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a 6-quart stockpot, cook the macaroni according to package directions. When your timer has six minutes remaining, add the broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and celery. Everything should be done cooking at the same time.
Drain the pasta and vegetables, then transfer the ingredients to a greased 13×9-inch baking dish.
Step 2: Cook the cheese sauce
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat the butter over medium-high heat and saute the onion until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually whisk in the milk and broth, then bring to a boil. Cook and stir until thickened, around two minutes.
Whisk in the cheese, mustard, salt and pepper.
Editor’s Tip: To prevent the flour from forming clumps, sprinkle it in nice and slowly, whisking all the while.
Step 3: Combine and bake
Add the cheese sauce to your macaroni mixture, stirring to coat. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake, uncovered, until heated through, 15 to 20 minutes.
Recipe Variations
- Shop for different vegetables: Fold in sauteed zucchini, mushrooms or peppers and onions right before baking. I would also try marinated artichoke hearts and either snap or shell peas.
- Shred more cheese: Use any smooth and melty cheese for this recipe. Tangy sharp cheeses will make tasters sit up and take notice, while gooey, mild cheeses—such as mozzarella and Monterey jack—are straight-up comfort food. You can make a cheesy mix, too.
- Top the mac with meat: To make an all-in-one meal, stir in leftover roasted chicken or hunks of pork roast.
- Heat things up: Use hot sauce, chili powder and chopped fresh or canned chiles to add heat to this veggie macaroni and cheese.
- Sprinkle on bread crumbs: If you like a crisp topping, sprinkle on regular bread crumbs or Japanese panko bread crumbs before baking.
How to Store Veggie Mac and Cheese
Veggie mac and cheese should be stored in a tightly sealed container in the fridge and used within four days. This dish is great for lunches on the go, so consider dividing it into individual portions before storing it.
Can you freeze veggie mac and cheese?
If you’d like to freeze your mac and cheese with veggies, stop after mixing the ingredients together but before baking. Cover the casserole dish tightly and freeze for up to three months.
How do you reheat veggie mac and cheese?
If your casserole is in the fridge, heat leftovers in a 350° oven until warmed through. In a saucepan, start by heating some milk, stirring in the mac and cheese and cooking until hot.
For frozen veggie mac and cheese, thaw it overnight in the fridge, and then continue to follow the instructions for baking, adding a few extra minutes in the oven since the dish will start off cold. Just make sure your baking dish is safe to transfer from the fridge to the oven!
Veggie Mac and Cheese Tips
How can you make this “hidden” veggie mac and cheese?
To sneak veggies into the mac and cheese, cook them in boiling water prior to cooking the pasta until they’re nice and tender. Then, in a blender, puree the cooked veg with a few splashes of pasta water, and whisk the mixture into the cheese sauce.
In this case, it might help to skip the broccoli and use extra cauliflower since bright green is easy to detect!
How do you keep mac and cheese creamy?
It’s important not to overcook the sauce, as that will make the dish less creamy. However, there’s an easy fix…simply add extra milk until the sauce has the consistency you’re looking for.
What can you serve with veggie mac and cheese?
Since this dish contains starchy noodles and some veg, it’s best served with a dish that includes protein. To complete a healthy menu, consider a seafood dish such as spiced salmon, lemon parsley baked cod or some party shrimp. Want poultry? You can’t go wrong with crispy baked chicken thighs.
