Hidden Veggie Mac and Cheese Recipe
The hidden vegetable trend-What do you think of it? My opinion has always been- I’m all for it! And not for the intention of “tricking the kids” but rather increasing the nutrients of our meals. Plus, if you get the added bonus of less complaints, why not?! We still try to add a side of veggies so the kids are used to seeing veggies on their plates at every meal, but if we can include them in the main dish, I totally think we should.
Our garden became taken over by some wild and massive summer squash recently. The only thing I really wanted to do was cook it down and puree it for “increasing the nutrients in our meals”, AKA hiding some veggies! We love summer squash, sauteed or broiled with a bit of olive oil and Parmesan cheese, but when they grow jumbo size, dry out, and get those horrible huge seeds, roasting and sauteing just isn’t as tasty.
After our summer squash gets preserved as frozen puree, we take it out to add to things like Macaroni and Cheese!
Hidden Veggie Mac and Cheese Recipe
Step 1- Prepare the Squash
So, here are the basic steps I went through this weekend to do this:
|
|
| 1) Get some summer squash- grow them or buy them! | 2) Peel and chop. I left the seeds in for the smaller squash, but the big ones, with the HUGE seeds, I scooped them out. It doesn’t matter if you don’t! |
|
|
| 3) Boil all chopped squash for about 20 minutes | 4) Once boiled, drain the water- there will be enough water in the squash to puree smoothly. |
|
|
| 5) PUREE in a high powered blender. I tried this with a hand mixer, but it just doesn’t get as smooth. The blender got every single chunk, so it was completely smooth. | 6) Disperse into two cup portions in quart size freezer bags. Lay flat first on a baking sheet, then you can stand them up for storage. |
Step 2- Make Your Macaroni Cheese Sauce
Once you have packages of frozen squash puree, defrost one at a time to include in your Macaroni and Cheese. For this recipe we followed these steps:
|
|
| 1) Make your roux- 1 Tablespoon of butter, with 1 Tablespoon of flour (full recipe below). | 2) Once thickened, add 1/2 cup milk, and stir till thickened again. Then add 1/2 cup of your summer squash puree and 1 Tablespoon of cream cheese. |
|
|
| 3) Cook noodles according to package directions and drain. Add the noodles to your squash sauce and top with shredded cheese. | 4) ENJOY!! |
Serve with slow roasted tomatoes!
Oh man, don’t you love these!! We put some cherry tomatoes on a cookie sheet. Drizzled with olive oil, and baked at 250 for about 3 hours! YUMMY!
That’s it!! What other dishes would you add summer squash puree to?
Need more Macaroni and Cheese recipes? We’ve also got:
Hidden Veggie Mac and Cheese 2
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup macaroni pasta, dry
- 1 tablespoon butter, unsalted
- 1 tablespoon flour, all-purpose
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 medium squash, summer
- 1 tablespoon cream cheese, low fat
- 1 teaspoon salt
Toppings
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Puree summer squash. You will need 1/2 cup.
- Cook elbow noodles according to package directions and drain.
- In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add 1 tablespoon of flour and mix until thick and bubbly (but not burned!).
- Add 1/2 cup of milk and stir till it begins to bubble again.
- Add 1/2 cup summer squash puree, and stir till fully smooth and mixed in. Add cream cheese and mix until smooth. Add salt. Add the cooked macaroni to your thickened cheese sauce.
- Top with shredded cheddar or our favorite, Colby Jack! (based on Deceptively Delicious Macaroni and Cheese 1)
Nutrition
www.superhealthykids.com
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
Learn More about Natalie
I’ve been doing this same thing for years! My kids even know it’s in there and don’t care. It’s amazing that they’ll probably eat half a squash in their serving size and there’s no whining or complaining
Hi Jamie!! I love that they love it!
That sounds amazing! And healthy! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
good article for mothers about kids eating http://kidoocorner.blogspot.com/2013/09/why-kids-dont-eat.html
This is great. I love tricking my kids into eating healthy!
It?s actually a great and useful piece of information. I am glad that you shared this helpful info with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.
I made this to go along with xmas dinner and LOVED it! I will never eat macaroni from a box again. However, now I am very curious as to what other recipes you use for the rest of the puree.
Hi Katie- we add it to anything from soups to baked goods. Or if you have babies, just serve it up as baby food.
I have like 15 new pins today because I just found your site! They all look amazing, can’t wait to try them!
Hi Amy, Just wondering if you could post the nutrition facts for the mac and cheese.. it sounds so very good but would still like the nutrition info.. Thanks 🙂
Can I ask…what nutrients survive in the veg once it has been cooked and then cooked again in the meal? Is it really worth it?
Two reasons it’s worth it Rhonda! One, is while some of the nutrients are lost, not all of them are. And second, feeding kids is about exposing them to tastes, textures, and flavors of real food. When babies begin to learn to eat, they aren’t getting many nutrients from the tiny amounts of food we give them, but we are teaching them to eat. When we are teaching kids to be accepting of a variety of fruits and vegetables, we serve them in a variety of ways and forms to get them to like the taste of real food.
So glad you found us @Mickey!
@Laurie We haven’t calculated nutrition data for the recipes in our blog posts. You can analyze the recipe using this tool however:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/mynd/myrecipes/welcome?returnto=/mynd/myrecipes
Thank you Amy.
Hey the?e! Someone in my Mys?ace gro?p share? this website wit? us
so I came to look it o?er. I’m d?finitely enjoying the informati?n.
?’m b?okmarking and will ?e tweet??g this t? my followers!
Wond??ful blog and great style and design.
Love your site!! I have so many great ideas now. Just wondering what other names summer squash may go by at the supermarket? I can’t find this type of squash. I’m also thinking it may not be available here. I’ve also seen recipes where puréed cauliflower has been used in the Mac n cheese. Have you heard of or tried it? Thanks for everything you do for us. I have a 2 yr old and it’s been amazing feeding him.
HI Krystale- we also call it crookneck squash and yellow squash if that helps!
My son absolutely LOVES this. We have made it with all sorts of squash. We used yellow squash in the summer but now we use butternut or buttercup squash in the winter. We love the taste plus it makes it really orange so it looks super cheesy.
The veggies also provide fiber, which promotes healthy digestion! Any produce addition is a healthy fiber boost. Thanks for your recipes! I’m loving your site!
That’s great Ashley!! Glad he’ll eat it! 🙂
I made a tuna noodle casserole this weekend and added a pureed sweet potato to the sauce. My kids love the orange color and had no idea it was in there! Love the squash idea too.
I made a tuna noodle casserole this weekend and added a pureed sweet potato to the sauce. My kids love the orange color and had no idea it was in there! Love the squash idea too.
How is the texture when it’s reheated? I like to pack thermos lunches for my kiddos whenever I get the opportunity & it’s cool out. Can’t wait to try this out tonight!
250 fahrenheit or celsius? :))
@kinga it’s Fahrenheit
Thanks 🙂
I actually like it better re-heated @bobbi. The texture is great!
Just wanted you to know, we tried this tonight and it was super easy and super fast. My son is a picky eater so i told him mac and cheese and he gobbled it right up! I doubled the recipe and it turned out amazing.
Great ideas.
We LOVED this and used puréed winter squash instead of summer squash . I’d like to try it with canned pumpkin too. Per my 9 year old daughters request, I added steamed cauliflower florets and frozen peas so I needed to double the sauce recipe. Both kids asked for seconds and my daughter said it’s her favorite Mac & Cheese ever and wants to learn how to make it so I will teach her next time! BRAVO!
PS I told them it had a secret ingredient but neither kid wanted to know what the secret ingredient was! I think the key is it looked familiar so they ate it without thinking. But like you said, new flavors & textures and extra vitamins make it worthwhile!
Love it Claire!!
This looks yummy! Is there a possible substitute for the cream cheese?
Can you bake this or would it dry out?
Maybe a little dry Charlotte, but just add a little more liquid to it and it will help.
I made this on the weekend and my kids really enjoyed it. My son who does not eat vegetables asked for a second serving.
Thanks for sharing.
I cannot believe this came out so delicious… my motherly instinct is the only thing that helped me to be able to save some for my son!!
Hi Dear, are you in fact visiting this website daily, if so then you will definitely take fastidious knowledge. bcfeededdkddedfd
For the cream cheese, do you use whipped or regular?
Can I make the mac-n-cheese and then freeze small portions for quick lunches? Also, just wanted to say I love your recipes!! You have changed the way my family eats and I am forever grateful!
I loved it more the next day! I sprayed cooking spray in a frying pan, put left over Hidden Veggie Mac and Cheese in the pan and flipped it like a burger to heat both sides. Some of the noodles/sauce will get golden brown and a little crunchy…..like it would if it was baked! VERY YUMMY!!!
Thanks Dani! We love positive feedback like this! Great idea with the leftovers!
I love this recipe. My kids love it too. But I’m wondering if theres a way I could incorporate wheat Panko breadcrumbs to give it a little crunch? Any ideas?
Try cooking the breadcrumbs in a bit of butter or olive oil in a skillet until browned. You can season it with garlic powder or parsley. Sprinkle it onto your mac and cheese before serving!