Do you think it takes special ingredients or equipment to make REAL homemade mac&cheese?!??! It doesn't - I promise! This is so easy and so good. You can use any cheese you like but - trust me in this- use freshly shredded cheese off the block. It does take a little more effort, but the results are amazing and well worth it!
When my kids were little, they loved mac&cheese - A LOT. We ate a lot of the little blue box and I thought, there has to be a better way. I loved cooking even back then, but the internet wasn't what it is now, nor did I know really how to use it to my advantage. I tried making cheese sauce so many times and each time, it would fail. It would be stringy or lumpy, flavorless, dry - like, how is that even possible!??!? Then it hit me. When I make the blue box, I let the butter and milk get hot, then add the cheese. DING DING DING! We've had perfect mac&cheese since.
In the last few years, I started adding the veggies. My kids have always been great veggie eaters, but I love adding veggies anywhere I can. You can make this without veggies, just increase the pasta to 4 cups to account for the lack of veggies, if you'd like - or not, and have it be even cheesier! This reheats nicely for leftovers too! I usually add a splash of milk when reheating a serving size.
I've tried other methods, searched the internet for how others do it, but for me and my family, this way was just perfect for us. I know it will be perfect for you too! Please, try it out and let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Veggie Mac&Cheese
Ingredients
- 3 cups fusilli or cavatappi pasta any small to medium sized pasta will work
- 2 cups chopped broccoli and cauliflower fresh is best, frozen works well too
- 2 cups 2% milk see notes
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 tablespoon butter
- 3 cups, divided shredded cheese see notes
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 375°
- Cook pasta according to directions, in the last minute, toss in the broccoli and cauliflower. Drain and set aside.3 cups fusilli or cavatappi pasta, 2 cups chopped broccoli and cauliflower
- In the same pan, on low to medium heat, add the milk, butter, and all the seasonings, stirring until nice and hot, but not boiling. Might have to adjust your burner to make sure you get it hot, but do not boil it.2 cups 2% milk, 1 teaspoon dry mustard, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 4 tablespoon butter
- Once the milk/butter are hot, start adding the cheese ½ cup at a time stirring well after each addition. You'll put in about 2 cups of cheese.3 cups, divided shredded cheese
- Add in the pasta, broccoli, and cauliflower. Toss gently to get all the cheesy goodness on every single piece!
- Put into an oven safe pan (we love the cast iron skillet for this!), top with the rest of the cheese (about 1 cup). Bake in 375° oven for about 15 mins until cheese is melty.
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