Oh how I love mac and cheese. It’s so creamy. I can talk myself into it being healthy (especially if I use whole wheat pasta!). But with the addition of spinach, I really do believe its a healthier version of a comfort food.

The best part about this mac and cheese though is that I don’t start with a roux. Generally, the recipes that I see for mac and cheese require you to mix flour and butter together first to create a roux. I find that this is difficult to do when there is a toddler standing at your feet trying to eat, because any distractions mean that the roux gets lumpy, and then it’s hard to get the mixture to incorporate into your sauce.

With this recipe, I don’t believe that the absence of a roux makes it any less creamy or thick. And it’s so quick! From start to finish I think this recipe is about 10 minutes, which is faster than it would take to make the pasta.

RECIPE

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of whole milk

2/3 cup heavy cream (or milk)

2.5 to 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or other cheese of choice)

1 very packed cup of spinach

2 tablespoons whole wheat flour

 

Steps:

1. Immersion blend the heavy cream together with the spinach. If the mixture is too thick, add some more heavy cream.
2. Over medium heat in a medium pot, heat 1 cup of milk.
3. While milk is heating up, quickly mix the remaining 1/2 cup of milk with the flour.
4. When the milk that you are heating starts to show bubbles, but does not boil, add in the milk/flour mixture.
5. Allow new milk mixture to heat, but not boil.
6. When mixture is warm, add in the cheese, one handful at a time, stirring in between handfuls.
7. Once all cheese is incorporated, add in the spinach/heavy cream mixture. Allow the new sauce to warm up, but not boil (you don’t want to cook the spinach).
8. If mixture seems too thin, add in another couple handfuls of cheese.
9. Serve over whole wheat pasta!

Please do let me know what you think!

 

 

 

 

Pin for Later: