This healthy, creamy spinach mac and cheese is full of colour, goodness and loads of deliciousness your family will love. Simple to make, low in fat and ready in as little as 20 minutes!
Comfort foods are in high demand at this time of year and today's post features a well-known comfort food recipe with a twist - spinach mac and cheese.
I've lowered the fat content of this macaroni cheese with spinach simply by using less cheese. (I compared my recipe with several other macaroni cheese recipes and they all had more fat!) The sauce is still wonderfully creamy as I've used full fat rather than reduced fat cheese. I tend to use full fat ingredients in general (with the exception of the semi-skimmed milk in this particular recipe), only in smaller quantities, as I want great flavour without the extra calories.
I have used my simple white sauce recipe as the base for the healthy spinach sauce and halved the ingredients to make room for the cheese and spinach mixture. The sauce is still very simple to make, despite the additional ingredients.
Spinach mac and cheese ingredients
- Spinach: adds flavour, fibre and colour. I recommend using baby spinach.
- Onion and garlic: add flavour. Use more garlic if desired.
- Macaroni: I recommend cooking it a little al dente (for better texture).
- Butter.
- Flour.
- Milk: use semi-skimmed (1% milk).
- Cheese: I used a combination of mature cheddar and parmesan for added flavour.
How to make spinach mac and cheese: step-by-step
1.Cook the pasta (al dente) according to packet instructions. In the meantime briefly fry the garlic and onion until softened.
2. Add the spinach and stir until it wilts and reduces in volume. This should only take a minute or so as the spinach does not need to be cooked, only heated. Remove from the heat before it starts releasing moisture.
3. Puree the mixture until smooth.
4. In a saucepan melt the butter over a medium heat, add the flour and quickly whisk until the mixture thickens and becomes smooth.
5. Increase the heat and gradually add the milk, whisking all the time until the mixture thickens and starts bubbling up. Set aside for 2 minutes. The sauce will thicken.
6. Add the spinach mixture and cheese.
7. Stir thoroughly until smooth. Season to taste.
8. Combine with the pasta, stir thoroughly and serve your macaroni cheese with spinach immediately.
Serving suggestions
This spinach mac and cheese is delicious on its own, with grilled chicken, crispy salad, garlic bread, bruschetta, grilled vegetables, crispy bacon or toasted pine nuts.
Top tips
- Do NOT cook the spinach, only heat it up to reduce in volume.
- I recommend using baby spinach if possible as it's tastier than regular, mature spinach.
- Cook the macaroni a little al dente (for better texture).
- If you've cooked the pasta ahead and it's cooled by the time you've made the sauce you can reheat the pasta in the microwave before combining with the sauce.
- You can also crumble a vegetarian stock cube into the sauce as it's cooking for more depth of flavour (and omit the salt).
- To save time prepare the sauce while you are waiting for the pasta to cook.
- Best served immediately.
How to freeze this recipe
You can freeze any leftover sauce in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost it overnight in the fridge (or in the microwave), warm up and combine with freshly cooked pasta. I do not recommend freezing the sauce along with the pasta.
Related posts
- Roasted Beetroot Pasta Recipe
- Creamy Baked Buckwheat Casserole with Cheese
- Creamy Pasta and Broccoli (Low Fat)
- Roasted Asparagus Pesto Pasta
You might also like this collection of healthy vegetarian pasta meals.
Keep in touch!
How has your spinach mac and cheese turned out for you? Let me know in the comments below, thanks!
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Recipe
Creamy Spinach Mac and Cheese (Healthy)
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 10.58 ounces (300 g) macaroni uncooked
- 5.29 ounces (150 g) spinach chopped
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup (50 g) mature cheddar cheese coarsely grated
- 2-3 tablespoons (10 g) parmesan coarsely grated
- 1¼ cups (280-300 ml) semi-skimmed milk/light milk
- 1½ tablespoons (20 g) butter
- 2 tablespoons (15 g) flour
- Sea salt and white pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in salted water according to the packet instructions (al dente is best).
- While the pasta is cooking make the sauce. Heat up the oil and fry the onion and garlic for a couple of minutes over a low heat, stirring often, until softened. Add the spinach, stir, season and cook over a medium-high heat for about a minute, until the spinach has reduced in volume (stirring all the time). Remove from the heat before the mixture becomes watery. Puree until the mixture is silky smooth. Set aside.
- In a saucepan melt the butter over a low heat, add the flour and quickly whisk until a paste forms. Increase the heat and gradually add the milk whisking all the time until the sauce thickens and starts bubbling up. Remove from the heat and set aside for 2 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken further.
- Add the spinach mixture, cheese and stir thoroughly until the sauce is smooth and glossy. Add the pasta, season to taste, stir and serve.
Notes
- Do NOT cook the spinach, only heat it up to reduce in volume.
- I recommend using baby spinach if possible as it's tastier than regular, mature spinach.
- Cook the macaroni a little al dente (for better texture).
- If you've cooked the pasta ahead and it's cooled by the time you've made the sauce you can reheat the pasta in the microwave before combining with the sauce.
- You can also crumble a vegetarian stock cube into the sauce as it's cooking for more depth of flavour (and omit the salt).
- Best served immediately.
- Freeze the sauce without the pasta in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To serve defrost then heat up and combine with freshly cooked pasta.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.
**A note about baking: If using a fan-assisted oven refer to your appliance's instructions and adjust the temperature accordingly.
MM says
It was really good! The whole family like it, even my 2 and 4 year old!
Monika says
Fantastic!
Foodworks says
Thanks for sharing. It's an excellent idea. Kids will definitely like to eat this. 😇😇
Monika says
Thank you. My own kids loved it!
Mandy Mazliah says
Lovely idea to add spinach to macaroni cheese - gorgeous colour!
Monika says
Thanks Mandy! Glad you like it:)
Monika says
Thanks Angie! Both my sons looked skeptical too but that was because it was just so green, too weird for them. So maybe pureeing isn't always the best idea!
Angie | Fiesta Friday says
?? Kids!!