Green Mac&Cheese Bake Pasta. Veggies have never been so inviting!

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Green Mac&Cheese Bake Pasta: when comfort food meets highly nutritious food! It’s a win-win situation. If you want to find creative ways to serve tons (really tons) of green vegetables to your kids, you might want to try this recipe.

The big idea is to create a cheesy green Béchamel sauce made with a puree of mixed greens (spinach, kale…) and dress any kind of pasta you like. On top of that, to give more texture and natural sweetness, I added even more vegetables with a mix of broccoli, sweet peas and carrots. The final bake in the oven allows the ingredients to softly combine together and also adds another layer of cheese to the recipe.

Every single spoon is an ovation of green and deliciousness. Double thumb up from the kids.

It’s creamy, cheesy, tasty….and GORGEOUSLY GREEN!

Would you like to try?

PROCEDURE:

In a food processor add the spinach, kale and milk of your choice. Blend for 1 min to obtain a smooth and uniform green liquid. The more you will blend, the more uniform the color will be.

In a large saucepan melt the butter at medium heat. Add the flour and whisk to create a silky compact cream also known as Roux. Remove the saucepan from the flame and incorporate the green milk mix whisking constantly. Season with sea salt and nutmeg. Add also the grated Parmesan cheese. Whisk regularly for 6/8 minutes at medium heat up until you will see the sauce thickening. It’s time to turn off the heat when the sauce thickens enough to stay on a dipped spoon. The right consistency is dense liquid.

While preparing the béchamel sauce you can heat a large pot with water. When the water is boiling, add one tablespoon of sea salt and the pasta. Any short shaped pasta will work. Set the timer 5 minutes before the suggested cooking time. The pasta will finish cooking in the oven while baking.

Before draining the pasta reserve 1 cup of the starchy boiling water.

In a large bowl mix the pasta, the green béchamel sauce, the fontina cheese in small cubes, the sweet peas&carrots and broccoli. Add as much starchy water as needed to obtain a creamy mix.

Transfer the pasta in a baking dish, sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs and olive oil on top. Bake in preheated oven to 400F for 20 minutes. Let it rest 5 minutes and serve. Enjoy every single spoon!

WHAT KIND OF VEGETABLES CAN I USE?

For the béchamel sauce I would suggest leafy greens. I used spinach and kale. Any kind of spinach or kale will work, but also Swiss chard, Collard greens, Bok Choi, Beet Leaves, Endives. For the veggies to add chopped before the bake phase I used broccoli, sweet peas and carrots but asparagus, green beans, zucchini, Brussel sprouts, artichokes will work too! And you can also add carrots, cherry tomatoes or bell peppers for color.

IS THE RECIPE FREEZER FRIENDLY?

Oh yes! I still have a tray of green Mac&cheese pasta in my freezer ready for crazy weekdays nights or lazy cooking days 🙂

I froze the pasta right before baking it. It’s already cooked and mixed, I will just need to move it directly from the freezer to the preheated oven and bake it for 20/25 minutes. That’s it!

CAN I MAKE IT LESS GREEN?

Lol, I get it. For some kids green can be too green. No problem! There are so many variations you can make to gradually offer the greens to your little ones.

• Skip the broccoli/sweet peas/carrot mix at the end. You will have a smooth and creamy green Mac&cheese.
• Reduce the green veggies in the béchamel sauce. Cut the quantities of the greens in half or even 1/4. You will obtain a pale green sauce.
• Use a mix of the two options above.

The recipe doesn’t need to be super green at the first try, you can gradually add them a bit at the time.

MORE PASTA & VEGGIE RECIPES?

• Quick & Easy Summer pasta with zucchini, fresh tomatoes and olives.
• Healthy & Easy Chickpeas Zucchini Pesto Pasta – One family, one recipe.
• Awesome Creamy Orzo Pasta with Vegetables – Ready in no time!
• Broccoli Pasta with Cashews cream
• Zucchini Pistachio Pasta +9M
• Pasta with Veggie Bolognese Sauce
• Caprese Pasta