Mac and cheese with a veggie twist (from Canada's food guide)
Give mac and cheese a makeover by adding bite-sized vegetables into the creamy sauce. This ooey gooey recipe is sure to be a favourite. Don’t have time to cut the vegetables into small pieces? No worries. Cook larger pieces a bit longer until they are tender.
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Servings: 4
Freezer-friendly
Kid-friendly
Vegetarian
Ingredients
375 mL (1 ½ cups) whole grain macaroni or fusilli
10 mL (2 tsp) soft non-hydrogenated margarine
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, finely chopped
125 mL (½ cup) finely chopped red bell pepper
125 mL (½ cup) grated zucchini
30 mL (2 tbsp) all purpose flour
500 mL (2 cups) skim milk
5 mL (1 tsp) chopped fresh thyme or 2 mL (½ tsp) dried thyme leaves
250 mL (1 cup) shredded light old Cheddar cheese
5 mL (1 tsp) Dijon mustard
Pinch fresh ground pepper
Directions
In a pot, bring water to boil. Add macaroni and cook for about 6 minutes or until pasta is tender but firm. Drain well and set aside.
In a large saucepan, heat margarine over medium heat and cook onion and garlic for 1 minute. Add carrot, red pepper and zucchini and cook, stirring for about 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in flour and cook, stirring until flour is absorbed. Slowly pour in milk and stir until smooth. Add thyme. Cook, stirring for about 5 minutes or until starting to bubble. Stir in cheese, mustard and pepper. Remove from heat and stir until melted and smooth. Stir in cooked macaroni until well coated.
Tips
What kid doesn’t love mac and cheese? Ask your little chef to help grate the cheese using a box grater.
Make it yours. Personalize this recipe by switching up the cheese.
Here’s how you can use frozen vegetables in this recipe. Leave out the carrots, red pepper and zucchini and substitute 500 mL (2 cups) diced, mixed frozen vegetables in the sauce.
Ask your kids to choose what pasta shape they want to use. There are lots to choose from, like penne, scoobi doo, shells and wagon wheels.
Try using less of the ingredients that are high in added sodium, sugars or saturated fat. Adding salt or sugars directly to your recipe? Remember, a little often goes a long way.
Recipe developed by Emily Richards, P.H. Ec. for Health Canada and the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Source: © All rights reserved. Canada’s Food Guide: Recipes. Health Canada. Reproduced with permission from the Minister of Health, 2022.