Macaroni cheese

Healthier macaroni cheese
Recipe by Joe Jones
  • Recipe difficulty - easy
  • Preparation time - 20 mins
  • Cooking time - 25 mins
  • Serves - 4
  • Dietary - Vegetarian
  • Allergens - Milk wheat (such as spelt and Khorasan wheat)

This is my go-to macaroni cheese recipe when I feel like some satisfying comfort food. A great recipe to experiment with different vegetables, herbs and spices.

With the use of wholemeal pasta, reduced levels of saturated fat and steamed extra veggies, this recipe is a winner all around.

Ingredients

SERVINGS 4

Ingredients

  • 180g wholemeal macaroni or any other pasta
  • 200g broccoli, cut into thumb size pieces
  • 2 small carrots, washed and diced
  • 100g mushrooms sliced
  • 1 small leek, washed, trimmed and sliced
  • 600ml semi-skimmed milk
  • 50g corn flour
  • 100g extra mature cheddar cheese, grated
  • 25g Parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
  • pinch ground pepper

Utensils

  • Chopping board
  • Grater
  • Kitchen scales
  • Knife
  • Large ovenproof dish
  • Large saucepan
  • Measuring jug
  • Medium saucepan
  • Sieve
  • Small saucepan with a thick bottom
  • Vegetable peeler
  • Wooden spoon

Instructions

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 200ᵒC/gas mark 6 and put the macaroni in a large pan of boiling water to cook, follow the cooking times on the pack instructions.
  2. While the pasta is cooking, steam the all the veg except for the mushrooms until almost soft but still with a little bite
  3. Add the cornflour to a small pan with a little of the milk and heat gently while stirring with a whisk.
  4. While whisking, add the rest of the milk in a little at a time until it becomes thicker.
  5. Add the extra mature cheese, along with the mustard and pepper.
  6. Once the pasta and vegetables are cooked, strain the pasta and add back to the pan.
  7. Add the vegetables, sauce and raw mushrooms to the pan, mix together well and place into the ovenproof dish.
  8. Grate the Parmesan cheese on top.
  9. Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.

Nutrition per serving portion (serves 4)

Each portion provides on average

  • Energy

    1439kj 344kcal 17.2%

  • Fat

    14.6g 21%

  • Saturates

    8.47g 42%

  • Carbohydrates

    37.07g 37%

  • Sugars

    12.2g 14%

  • Salt

    0.87g 15%

  • Protein

    18.9g Med

  • Fibre

    5.98g High

Feeling fuller for longer

Using wholemeal pasta in this recipe, or even half and half wholemeal/white pasta increases the beneficial fibre content and keeps us feeling fuller for longer.

Variety of veg

This is a great recipe to use as a base, where you can experiment with lots of different vegetables, herbs and spice combinations.

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