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Green Mac and Cheese

March 6, 2013

Almost immediately after Valentine's Day I started getting messages from weelicious readers asking me for St Patricks Day recipes. While it would be simple to squeeze a few drops of green food coloring into a bunch of recipes, I avoid food dyes as I think they are dangerous. I made the decision to come up a weeks worth of festive, green, dye-free St Patty's Day recipes that you can feel good about feeding your family.

Since every kid I know seems to love mac and cheese, I wondered how I could bring some verdant color to this classic dish. Offering kids green takes some creativity. While some have no issue eating green foods there are plenty who do. Kenya happens to be a great eater, but he took one look at this emerald mac and cheese and instantly said no. Chloe, on the other hand, managed to be on her third serving while he and I continued to discuss why he wouldn't even try it.

Never wanting to push, I told Kenya it was fine with me if he didn't want to eat it. As time passed he started to eyeball me as if he wanted to eat it, however I could sense that he couldn't back down from his original defiant declaration. Kids can instinctively say no to new foods they aren't used to -- a lot of it has to do with their comfort level, and you need to work around that. My solution was offering to grate a little more cheese on top for Kenya and he was finally game to try my new recipe (sometimes I think I could grate cheese on an old shoe and that child would eat it). Two servings later I got the feeling Kenya was very happy with his decision and I was thrilled that it ended as a win for the both of us.

This mac and cheese is not only super creamy and cheesy, it's packed with nutritious veggies like spinach, broccoli and sweet peas which only add to the heavenly nature of this traditional, kid friendly recipe. See, it's easy being green!

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Green Mac and Cheese  (serves 8 )

  • Prep Time:10 minutes,
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes,
  • Total Time: 40 minutes,

Ingredients

  • 1 pound elbow macaroni (you can also use campanelle, cavatappi or shells)
  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 1 cups packed fresh spinach
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 4 cups grated white cheddar cheese
  • 2 cups chopped broccoli florets
  • 1 cup peas

Preparation

  1. 1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
  2. 2. Cook pasta in salted water for about 3 minutes less than package directions call for, until al dente. Reserve half a cup of the pasta water and strain.
  3. 3. While the pasta is cooking. Place the milk and spinach in a blender and blend on high speed until smooth.
  4. 4. In a large pot melt the butter and then add the flour, whisking continuously over low-medium heat for 2-3 minutes to make a roux. Slowly whisk in the milk mixture and bring to a boil.
  5. 5. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, 3 to 4 minutes, or until sauce is gently bubbling and starting to thicken.
  6. 6. Add reserved pasta water and cheese and whisk until melted. Stir in the pasta, broccoli and peas.
  7. 7. Transfer to a greased 13″ x 9″ baking dish and bake for 20 minutes, or until cheese is bubbling and the pasta is set.
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Comments






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  1. Lynne

    May 21, 2013 at 7:07 am

    Reply

    Have since made this adding fried onions and garlic at the beginning and topping it with a mixture of grated cheese and breadcrumbs before placing in the oven – even more yummy!

  2. kate h

    May 17, 2013 at 4:25 pm

    Reply

    hi

  3. Elizabeth

    May 13, 2013 at 8:33 pm

    Reply

    How could I turn these to muffins? Can I just bake for 20 min like the mac chicken and cheese muffins? My picky eater will only eat in muffin form!

  4. dig this

    April 24, 2013 at 6:05 pm

    Reply

    I just like the valuable info you provide in your articles. I will bookmark your weblog and take a look at again here frequently. I am somewhat certain I will be told many new stuff proper right here! Best of luck for the following!

  5. Rita

    April 19, 2013 at 10:21 pm

    Reply

    Can I omit the spinach? The recipe sounds yummy but i don’t have any spinach on hand. Thanks!

  6. NYC mom

    April 13, 2013 at 7:30 am

    Reply

    Can this be done with whole wheat macaroni or partial whole wheat like Barilla Plus? Or not reccommended?

    • catherine

      April 15, 2013 at 1:53 pm

      Reply

      Any type of short macaroni pasta should work!

  7. Emilia Robert

    April 10, 2013 at 1:15 am

    Reply

    Thanks so much for the yummy, nutritious and awesome recipe. I avoid using food colors and dyes myself. I’ll make it with shell macaronis tomorrow.

  8. Karen

    March 19, 2013 at 10:15 pm

    Reply

    This was a huge hit! Even my 12 month old loved it.

  9. Jenna

    March 18, 2013 at 7:21 pm

    Reply

    I just made this for dinner tonight. My husband and I loved it! All the creamy comfort goodness of mac and cheese without guilt, thank you green veggies. Our daughter started off liking it but changed her mind half way through – but that happens. Give it a try – super yummy dish!

  10. Amy L.

    March 17, 2013 at 11:20 am

    Reply

    I just made this for the kiddos for St. Paddy’s Day and the kids loved it.

  11. Amanda

    March 17, 2013 at 2:21 am

    Reply

    Just made this for my sons lunch and dinner. It was a success! My 3 year old, who doesn’t like peas or broccoli, or spinach, LOVED this! He had 2 helpings. I love how many veggies are packed into this.

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  13. Sandi

    March 16, 2013 at 10:58 pm

    Reply

    Made this tonite ahead of time for tomorrow’s St. Patrick’s Day dinner. Any tips on reheating? I only tried a forkful tonite so i’ve got the whole baking dish full.

    • catherine

      March 18, 2013 at 12:54 pm

      Reply

      I would throw the entire pan back into the oven and reheat at 350, covered, for about 10-20 minutes, or until it is heated through!

  14. Eli

    March 16, 2013 at 6:40 pm

    Reply

    Nice article. Question – do you “know” for sure or “think” that coloring dyes are bad for you? I’m just asking to be sure, because some people will inquire about facts and data just to be sure. Thank you for the recipe.

  15. Adriene

    March 16, 2013 at 5:28 pm

    Reply

    Do you think you can use gluten free macaroni noodles? And non dairy cheese?

    • catherine

      March 18, 2013 at 1:17 pm

      Reply

      Yes to the gluten-free noodles! As for the non-dairy cheese, just make sure to buy a good quality “melting” cheese! Sometimes non-dairy cheese don’t melt, but find one that calls itself a melting cheese!

  16. Hsiaolei Parks

    March 16, 2013 at 4:56 pm

    Reply

    Bummer, I couldn’t get mine to thicken. :(
    I’ve made roux before and it worked fine…not sure what I did differently. love all the veggies in this.

    • Very Proud Marine Mom

      April 10, 2013 at 12:00 am

      Reply

      After making the roux add the milk slowly in increments of 1/4-1/2 cup at a time then stir vigourously til thickened and then add another 1/4-1/2 cup let that thicken and so on til you have added all the milk to the mixture and then you have a perfect what they call a “Beshamel Sauce” aka “White Sauce”

  17. Jennie

    March 16, 2013 at 8:54 am

    Reply

    I made this last night and my 32 month old daughter loved it! She loves broccoli and peas so she was happy to see it was all green. I thought it was delicious and a great way to get in spinach, too! We froze about 3/4 of it, so I’m hoping it will be just as great later. Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe!!

  18. Theresa

    March 12, 2013 at 5:40 pm

    Reply

    wah. I’ve done similar recipes and I just can never get it to thicken… I try to follow to the letter and somehow it fails every time. Any advice?
    thank you!!
    Theresa

    • Very Proud Marine Mom

      April 10, 2013 at 12:01 am

      Reply

      After making the roux add the milk slowly in increments of 1/4-1/2 cup at a time then stir vigorously til thickened and then add another 1/4-1/2 cup let that thicken and so on til you have added all the milk to the mixture and then you have a perfect what they call a “Beshamel Sauce” aka “White Sauce”

    • catherine

      March 13, 2013 at 11:27 am

      Reply

      You need to melt the butter, then add the flour and stir it until that mixture thickens before adding anymore ingredients into the mix. This should take 2-3 minutes, but depending on your heat it could take longer like 5 minutes. Also, whole milk really is the best because it thickens quicker and easier.

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  22. Karen

    March 10, 2013 at 9:22 pm

    Reply

    I love that the veggies are so integrated into the dish! My 3 yo is a fantastic eater, but can still pick around the veggies if they are big enough in a mixed dish of pasta/veggies. Gotta try this!!

  23. Kristina

    March 9, 2013 at 8:02 am

    Reply

    I would like to make this ahead of time, can this be frozen?

    • catherine

      March 11, 2013 at 4:06 pm

      Reply

      I think so! I actually am testing a few right now to see how they come out! I’ve got two different (including this one) mac and cheeses in the freezer right now! I think you might need to top it with some more cheese while reheating to keep it gooey and not dry!

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