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Macaroni cheese with a twist Thermomix hidden vege recipe

skinnymixer’s Macaroni Cheese with a Twist

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Macaroni cheese with a twist Thermomix hidden vege recipe

My most favourite freezer meal in the world… Macaroni Cheese with a Twist (Macaroni Cheese Thermomix recipe with 4 different hidden vege!). 

This healthy kids Thermomix recipe is so incredibly easy to make and makes A LOT. I like to make this for dinner and then freeze any leftovers in portions for easy kids dinners.

Over the years this Macaroni Cheese Thermomix recipe has saved the sanity of so many Skinnymixers parents, who needed to try and get their children to eat more vegetables.

This Macaroni Cheese Thermomix recipe is a fantastic base recipe, that you can easily adapt to your family’s taste. Some prefer to swap the ham for crispy bacon or tinned tuna or even crispy chorizo… drool!

Whichever way you decide to go, one of the best tips when making this recipe is to cut your vegetables small and really make sure it is cooked well before blitzing. This will avoid any strange texture from slightly undercooked vegetables.

If you are making this Hidden Vegetable Mac n Cheese for a fussy eater, you may find this fantastic ‘Thermomix Recipes for Toddlers:Surviving a Fussy Eater’ recipe guide useful.

Thermomix recipes for toddlers

For any Skinnies needing a Dairy Free Macaroni & Cheese, I highly recommend my Dairy Free Cheesy Spelt Pasta recipe.

skinnymixer's Dairy Free Cheesy Spelt Pasta
skinnymixer’s Dairy Free Cheesy Spelt Pasta
Macaroni cheese with a twist Thermomix hidden vege recipe

skinnymixer's Macaroni Cheese with a Twist

5 from 11 votes
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Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Family
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 350kcal

Ingredients

  • 100 g cheddar cheese - 2 cm cubed
  • 60 g parmesan cheese - 2 cm cubed
  • 100 g sweet potato - peeled, 1 cm cubed
  • 100 g carrot - peeled, 1 cm cubed
  • 100 g pumpkin - peeled, 1 cm cubed
  • 1 zucchini - roughly chopped (peeled if you don't want your children to spot the microscopic green specks)
  • 300 g macaroni
  • 500 g milk
  • 50 g spelt or plain flour
  • 40 g butter - 1 cm cubed
  • 200 g ham - diced
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp mild paprika powder
  • 1 Tbsp chicken stock concentrate
  • 1 pinch freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions

  • Add cheeses into mixer bowl, mill for 10 sec/speed 9/MC on. Set aside.
  • Place 1,200 g or 42.3 oz water into mixer bowl, boil for 10 min/steaming temp/speed 1/MC on.
  • While the water is boiling, prepare your vegetables making sure they are cut very small and put into the large steaming tray.
  • After 10 mins, add your macaroni to the boiling water, and put your large steaming tray in place.
  • Cook for 10 min/steaming temp/speed 1/reverse.
  • Drain macaroni and put into a large thermal pot to keep warm.
  • Put your steamed vegetables into the mixer bowl with 100 g of the milk, purée for 30 sec/speed 8/MC on or until smooth.
  • Stir puréed vegetables through macaroni.
  • Put flour, remaining milk & butter into mixer bowl, cook for 6 min/90°C or 195°F/speed 2/MC on. While this is cooking you may like to pan fry your ham (or bacon if preferred).
  • Add ham, reserved cheeses, mustard, paprika, stock concentrate and pepper to mixer bowl. Cook for 2 min/90°C or 195°F/speed 2/reverse/MC on.
  • Pour sauce over maraconi and stir through. I highly recommend you give it a taste at this point, and add a pinch or two of salt depending on your preference.

Notes

This makes a large amount of food, at least 8 large serves. It freezes and defrosts well.
This was adapted from the Macaroni Cheese recipe in the toddler cookbook, for added vegetables and flavour 🙂
Bellini Users
Use your sharp blade for step 1 and then swap to your blunt blade for the rest of the recipe.
At step 2 use ST temp if using an Intelli and 130°C or 270°F if using a Supercook.
At step 3 use ST temp and speed 3 if using an Intelli, popping a tea towel over the steaming attachment and 130°C or 270°F and speed 4 if using a Supercook. Please note that you may need to cook the vegetables for a little longer if using an Intelli.
At step 4 use ST temp if using an Intelli and 120°C or 250°F if using a Supercook.
Please use speed 1 so that you don't chop up the pasta.
At step 9 use 100°C or 212°F.
At step 10 use 90°C or 195°F.
Tried this recipe?Mention @skinnymixer or tag #skinnymixers!

Nutrition

Serving: 262g | Calories: 350kcal | Carbohydrates: 33.9g | Protein: 19.05g | Fat: 13.87g | Saturated Fat: 8.55g | Sodium: 726mg | Sugar: 7.05g

Healthy Mac n Cheese with a Twist Hidden Vegetable Thermomix recipe

  1. SO yummy! Only miss 4 doesn’t like it (she was asking for veggies 😉
    And with this quantity you can pack your freezer for future lunch box! Perfect!

  2. Loved it! My 5 year old devoured it along with my hubby who went back for seconds. I used strong cheese as I am a cheese lover so believe this helped with the cheese flavour.

  3. I swapped both cheeses for coconut milk, garlic and some nutritional yeast, my 2 year was in heaven empty bowls 2 nights in a row !

  4. Best way to smuggle in the extra veggies the kids don’t like. When my 2 year old was recovering from gastro a few weeks ago, it was the only thing he would eat once his appetite began to return. BEST KID TRICKING MEAL EVER!

  5. Have been craving mac and cheese so bad and this was perfect to hit the spot. Can’t taste the veges whatsoever, very creamy and cheesy. The recipe does make a lot so I have plenty of leftovers bound for my freezer. My 1 y/old demolished it and she’s not big on food so complete success for me, thank you so much Nik!! X

  6. This was really tasty. All four kids liked it and rated it a “cook again” meal. Live that there are some hidden veggies!! Thanks for a great easy meal. Easily fen 6 of us! X

  7. What a great recipe! I’ve never really had Mac and cheese before and we all loved it. Awesome way to hide veggies. 4yo asked for it to be put in her kinder lunch.

  8. OMG- absolutely amazing!! Great way at hiding Vegies from the kids!! Easy, quick and simple to make!!! Winner!!

  9. Today we had leftover Mac and Cheese and instead of freezing it or putting it into lunchboxes, I crumbed it and baked it in the oven to make yummy Mac and Cheese bites. I am never eating mac and cheese any other way!

    Put your leftover mac and cheese in the fridge and let it go very cold and ‘gluggy’. Then scoop out bite size (or any size you like) mac and cheese, coat in flour, roll in an egg wash and then coat with crumbs. Bake in a very hot oven (I had it on 250 – turning over once) and once golden, enjoy dipped in your favourite sauce (mine was sweet chilli).

    Try and eat just one!!!

  10. You have to love a recipe that keeps your kids happy, is quick and easy to make, and fills your freezer with leftovers. Thanks Nikalene!

  11. My 3 year old would eat this every day if I let her, she doesn’t even want tomato sauce on it! This one is always handy to have frozen ready for when you are running out of time.

  12. Sadly my 4 children did not like this, and asked me not to make it again. They actually like most veggies so that was not the problem. I might try it again with less veg and more cheese, and then work our way up to this version.

  13. Well blow me down, my 9 year old son who hates veges requested this again for dinner, he loved it! The only change I’ll make is to out some bread crumbs or almonds on top and put under the grill for a bit of extra crunch.

  14. I finally got around to making this recipe this week. It was delicious. Even better, it made heaps so there’s plenty of left overs in the freezer.

  15. I missed the step to remove the puréed Veges before adding the flour – I continued on cooking the Veges again with the milk etc and it still worked perfectly.
    My fussy five year old gave it the thumbs up and ate two bowls full. I’d say this and Nike butter chicken are her favourite meals.

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