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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 12 votes
Print Pin Rate
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. Absolutely delicious, who knew veggies could taste this good! Highly recommend! I make with veg stock paste and it was still amazing!

  2. I am trialing my son with dairy free. Is that an option with this recipe, as he LOVES mac n cheese.

    1. Hi Kim, I’m wondering the same as I don’t have chicken stock paste at the moment, only veggie. Did you use veggie in the end? Did it turn out ok?

  3. 5 stars
    Very tasty! Made for the first time and used carrot/sweet potato/carrot as veggies with bacon. I only had shell pasta which didn’t cook very well in the TM5, so would recommend sticking to macaroni or similar.

    1. 5 stars
      Delicious – the whole family loved it. A great one for getting veggies into the whole family. Quick , easy – love it.

  4. 5 stars
    My kids absolutely smashed this tonight! One even made ohh’s and ahh’s as he ate! Winner winner Mac and cheese dinner!

  5. 5 stars
    The updates to this recipe make an already amazing recipe phenomenal. Thank you so much Nik for making an amazing recipe for my favourite food on earth.

  6. 5 stars
    Love this recipe!!

    It’s our go to freezer meal. I always double the recipe so it makes heaps! But means I have a ton of meals ready for those nights I just can’t be bothered.

  7. 5 stars
    I adore this recipe, I converted it to not use a thermo mix by just blending the veggies separately, cocking the Macaroni, cooking the cheese sauce then combining it all together.

    I also upped the veggies and pasta to avoid having to weigh… I use one large zucchini, half a butternut pumpkin, 2 large seeet potato (or 3-4 small ones), 3 carrots, I upped the ham to 400gms and use two big handfuls of cheese!

    It is soooooo delicious!

  8. Kids devoured this. It was fantastic. I used a whole 500g bag of macaroni as it was really saucy.
    A real winner. I think it would be good with bacon too. Thanks Nik

  9. Just wanted to ask has anyone made this with almond meal instead of the flour? I already use lentil pastas instead of wheat pasta, but just wondered about the flour. Didn’t want to waste the ingredients making it to have it not turn out. Tia

    1. Did you try this? I am not sure how pulse pastas will go in the thermi? I have not had success with them in the past! any tips?

  10. Does this really do 8 serves for people?
    I recall having HEAPS last time I cooked it. I’m making it to send to a friend who has just had a baby (4 serves) and keeping some for my family 2 adults and a 5 & 2yo. I’ve cooked extra pasta and still don’t feel like it’s enough..
    Hubby bought HUGE Chinese food containers so maybe I’m sending them too much but I don’t want to underfeed them.

    1. I use Biocheese for the cheese (vegan cheese), rice milk and nutalex for the butter. It tastes amazing! There is an alternative version that’s dairy free too.

  11. Thank goodness for this recipe, I was having such a rough time getting my toddler to eat his veggies or anything other than plain meat and rice.
    Was a massive hit in our house.
    Instead of adding ham, whilst the white sauce was cooking I cooked some bacon and chicken breast in a pan and threw it all together.
    Thank you so much!

  12. Yes! Got it right! Yummy stuff. Check your veg after steaming. Mine needed Just a touch longer meaning my sauce was not grainy! This is what I’ve needed to do the other times. Glad i gave it another go

  13. Yes! Got it right! Yummy stuff. Check your veg after steaming. Mine needed Just a touch longer meaning my sauce was not grainy! This is what I’ve needed to do the other times. Glad i gave it another go

  14. I tried this due to the rave reviews and agree, if you want to get hidden veg into your kids, this is good. I was after a more “mature” version to serve with an American BBQ themed meal so if that is what you are after this version is not it. This is more an alternative to easymac or similar, not an adult mac and cheese IMO.

  15. Wow what an amazing recipe. I wasnt expecting to like it so much but heard massive rave about it. So cooked it up and far out .. its saucy and the flavours are amazing. Miss 2 is loving it.

  16. I think my 3-year old boy, who is not usually a fussy eater, must be the only child in the world who doesn’t like this! He wouldn’t touch it…

    This recipe makes an enormous amount (I filled up a 2kg yogurt tub), so I guess I have my lunches sorted for a while!

  17. I don’t need to hide vegetables from my kids because they eat absolutely everything but they still loved it. Would highly recommend for those of you who have fussy eaters.

  18. This is always a hit in our house. I always keep a freezer stock of it too for those lazy nights when I want the kids to eat something nutritious but can’t be bothered. I’ve served it to other families and they love it too. Highly recommend.

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