Protein Packed Healthy Mac and Cheese
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Published Dec 19, 2018, Updated Nov 01, 2022
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A healthy mac and cheese recipe that is packed with protein, broccoli and spinach. Perfect as a full meal and a sneaky way to get your kids to eat more veggies. This post is sponsored by Barilla®.
Mac and cheese will forever be one of my favorite meals. It instantly brings me back to my childhood and reminds me of my sister. She taught me how to make all the pasta dishes you need to know how to make in high school and/or college — mac and cheese, buttered noodles and ramen. So, this recipe is for you, sis! With a little added nutrition oomph. 😉
Macaroni and cheese is a staple for most American families, but there is a miiiiinor problem with traditional mac and cheese — it’s pretty low in nutrients.
Since most kids I know are surviving off of mac and cheese, and because I miss having a bowl every now and then, I wanted to take a stab at turning a traditional recipe into a full meal that’s protein packed and sneaks in some green veggies. Challenge = accepted!
Ingredients in Protein Mac and Cheese
- Barilla Chickpea Rotini – I love using Barilla’s line of legume pastas because they’re made with one simple ingredient, packed with plant-based protein and have an excellent source of fiber. And as an added bonus, all of the Barilla legume pastas are certified gluten-free and non-GMO Project Verified.
- broccoli and spinach – because you can’t have healthy mac and cheese without some veggies.
- butter – I prefer organic butter, but you can use whatever you have on hand.
- milk – I used unsweetened almond milk, but you can use regular milk as well.
- Laughing Cow spreadable cheese wedge – for this you need just one cheese wedge. You can find them at almost every grocery store in the cheese section. If needed, you can leave this out or sub it for cream cheese (dairy or non-dairy).
- reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese – I used organic Irish cheddar cheese and shredded it myself, but you can use whatever you prefer including reduced fat cheddar cheese.
- sea salt and pepper – for a little seasoning.
Notes & Substitutions
Pasta: As I mentioned above, I love using legume pasta to amp up the nutrition count. That said, you can totally use whatever pasta you prefer.
Veggies: Not a fan of spinach and broccoli? Feel free to use other veggies!
Cheese: I used organic Irish cheddar cheese and shredded it myself. In case you were wondering, let me just confirm that real cheese is 100x better than powdered cheese or even pre-shredded cheese. Fresh is always better and shredding the cheese takes no time at all. However, you can use whatever you prefer including reduced fat cheddar cheese.
Vegan + Dairy Free: If you want to make this recipe vegan or dairy-free you can use vegan butter, vegan shredded cheddar cheese and 1 Tablespoon of vegan cream cheese instead of the spreadable cheese wedge. I also have a Vegan Mac and Cheese recipe if you’re interested!
How to Serve This Protein Mac and Cheese
This mac and cheese is hearty enough to be served as a meal on its own, but if you want additional protein I recommend pairing it with an easy protein option like roasted chickpeas, tofu, shrimp or chicken. It pairs perfectly with my grilled apple cider vinegar chicken.
You can also serve it alongside a salad for extra veggie goodness. I’d recommend one of these salads: Garlicky Kale Salad, Easy Spinach Salad or Easy Caprese Salad.
How to Store Protein Mac and Cheese
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This mac and cheese will keep for 3-4 days.
More Pasta Recipes to Try
- Healthy Pasta Salad
- Creamy Pesto Rutabaga Pasta
- Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta
- One-Skillet Enchilada Pasta
- Penne alla Vodka
- Mushroom Stroganoff
- Creamy Pumpkin Pasta
- Healthy Baked Mac and Cheese
- Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
More Broccoli Recipes to Try
- Broccoli Salad
- Roasted Broccoli
- Broccoli Noodle Stir-Fry
- Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa Casserole
- Roasted Broccoli Quinoa Salad
- Vegan Broccoli Raisin Salad
Be sure to check out all of the dinner recipes on EBF!
Protein Packed Healthy Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 box, 8 oz Barilla Chickpea Rotini
- 4 cups broccoli florets
- 1 Tablespoon organic butter
- 1 cup milk, I used unsweetened almond milk
- 1 Laughing Cow spreadable cheese wedge
- 1 1/2 cups 6 oz reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese (more, if needed)*
- 1 handful chopped baby spinach
- Sea salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Boil pasta & broccoli: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add chickpea rotini pasta, return to a boil and cook for a total of 8 minutes, adding in the broccoli florets at the four minute mark. Drain pasta and broccoli.
- Add remaining ingredients: In the same large pot over low/medium heat add butter, milk, salt and pepper. Once butter has melted add in drained pasta and broccoli, spreadable cheese wedge and shredded cheese. Let cheese melt a little, about 30 seconds. Use a spoon to stir everything together until pasta is well coated with cheese, adding more cheese if needed. Add in chopped baby spinach and toss until wilted.
- Serve: Serve immediately with additional salt and pepper, if needed.
Notes
- Pasta: As I mentioned above, I love using legume pasta to amp up the nutrition count. That said, you can totally use whatever pasta you prefer.
- Veggies:Â Not a fan of spinach and broccoli? Feel free to use other veggies!
- Cheese:Â I used organic Irish cheddar cheese and shredded it myself. In case you were wondering, let me just confirm that real cheese is 100x better than powdered cheese or even pre-shredded cheese. Fresh is always better and shredding the cheese takes no time at all. However, you can use whatever you prefer including reduced fat cheddar cheese.
- Vegan + Dairy Free:Â If you want to make this recipe vegan or dairy-free you can use vegan butter, vegan shredded cheddar cheese and 1 Tablespoon of vegan cream cheese instead of the spreadable cheese wedge.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this tonight and it was yummy. It is very similar to a less healthy version I’ve made many times that starts the cheese sauce with butter and flour. I made your cheese sauce in a separate pan to help the cheese melt evenly. I added 2 wedges of Laughing Cow to make it thicker and coat the pasta better. If you cheese sauce separates into oily or milky liquid with cheese clumps, your heat is too high. You need to melt on a low heat. You can try the Alton Brown method to fix it by putting the sauce in the blender and then back in the pan before combining with pasta and broccoli.Sometimes this works for me, sometimes it doesn’t but it’s definitely an improvement for a broken sauce.
followed recipe except i did the sauce separately and melted everything together first before mixing. unfortunately even after almost 10 minutes my pasta still crumbled to bits when i added it. ultimately everything was melted but the pasta was a mess. it’s edible but i’m disappointed…the sauce was quite wet and i had to cook it down some more.
So sorry to hear that!! I made this recently and didn’t have any issues, so wondering if it might be the brand of pasta. What kind of pasta did you use?
I was just wondering what is your serving size is? Thank you!
Hey Kelsey – I don’t remember what the servings were in cups, but this recipe serves 4 🙂
Hello!
I’m so excited to make this for my family tonight. How many servings does this recipe make?
Excellent!! Will try it for sure.
Really enjoyed this quick, one pot meal. My 6 year old ate it up! The spinach is hidden and while you can’t hide the broccoli it’s covered in a yummy cheese sauce. Adding this to the regular rotation.
Yay!! So pumped to hear this recipe was a hit, Melissa! Thanks so much for the review and star rating. I really appreciate it!
I made this tonight in a double batch, using half chickpea pasta and half whole wheat. I used 2% milk and 4 c. cheddar, without any of the Laughing Cow cheese. I also didn’t get the spinach in because I didn’t have it prepared to go in the pot on time… Not understanding the chemistry issue others mentioned with cheese globbing together, I decided to just make my cheese sauce in a separate pot, adding the pasta and broccoli after they were cooked. This worked perfectly. Mine may have been a bit less healthy than the original recipe, but still healthier than other mac ‘n cheese recipes out there, and very tasty and filling!
So glad this recipe turned out for you, Charis!! Thanks for making my recipe and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it. 🙂
Agreed. A sad disaster. Had to throw it away after trying the stir the oily cheese globs in the pot of expensive pasta and broccoli. So frustrating and disappointing. I had this recipe saved for months and was almost in tears when it didn’t come together. (I know it sounds dramatic – but we really value good, healthy food here. We live in a rural area and it is hard to get anything other than basic white or wheat pasta for example).
Hey Kristen – I hated that this recipe didn’t work out for you so I decided to test it again over the weekend and I didn’t have any issues with the cheese melting. I’m trying to figure out what might have happened! What brand/style of cheese did you use? Did you use a laughing cow wedge as well?
I’ve always made mac&cheese from the box but wanted a less processed version that is easy/quick to make, and this is JUST THAT! I didn’t use the cheese wedge or butter, but still sooo creamy. I also used Banza chickpea shells and they worked fine. Also had frozen veg to use up so dumped those in. An A+ dinner!
Woo!! So glad you loved this recipe, Corin. Thanks for the review. I so appreciate it!
Absolutely fantastic!!! I’m a Mac and cheese fanatic and with adapting a healthier lifestyle I thought Mac and cheese was off the table, but it’s not! Thank you, Brittany, for always making delicious dishes that I can eat on my diet and that my kids will also eat (with their picky palates!!) Even my 9 month old approves!! As always, 5 stars!!
Woo!! So glad you loved this recipe. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. It means the world to me. 🙂