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A bowl of creamy, healthy protein packed mac and cheese made with chickpea pasta, broccoli and spinach. Macaroni is topped with extra cheddar.
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5 from 3 votes

35 Healthy Comfort Food Recipes (+ Healthy Mac and Cheese Recipe)

Here's a recipe for healthy mac and cheese that's packed with protein as well as 34 other healthy comfort food recipes you'll crave!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Lunch/Dinner
Cuisine: Vegetarian
Keyword: healthy comfort food
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 8oz box Barilla Chickpea Rotini
  • 4 cups broccoli florets
  • 1 Tablespoon butter
  • 1 cup milk I used unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 Laughing Cow spreadable cheese wedge
  • 1 ½ cups reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese (more, if needed)* about 6 ounces
  • 1 handful chopped baby spinach
  • sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • 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.
  • 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 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: 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.

Nutrition

Serving: 1(made with reduced fat cheddar cheese) | Calories: 395kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 354mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 3g