I've always had a love for macaroni and cheese. I used to live off of the blue box kind, but decided that making it homemade would probably be better for my health. Good thing this broccoli and chicken baked macaroni and cheese is super easy to make and delicious!
Broccoli and Chicken Baked Macaroni
I've been making this baked macaroni recipe for years now and it's basically become second nature to make this by now. I actually love serving it to guests or bringing it over as a meal for friends (more on that here). It's perfect to customize depending on if you are bringing it for vegetarians or not, and it's something even the kids will like!
Since this is a favorite hospitality recipe of mine, I often make it separated into different throw away dishes and serve it with a loaf of bread to complete the meal. It only takes about 30 minutes to make and 15 minutes or so to bake- unless it's being heated from the refrigerator- so it's perfect to make last minute or if you're craving mac and cheese for lunch (or maybe that's just me who does that).
Broccoli Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Homemade broccoli baked macaroni and cheese is a recipe every one should know how to make! If you enjoy eating mac and cheese, and who doesn't, this is a recipe you've got to try! It's perfect for weeknight dinners, bringing to a friend, or serving to the whole family! This homemade broccoli macaroni and cheese is made with corkscrew pasta, homemade cheese sauce, broccoli and finished with a bread crumb topping.
Ingredients
- 6 ounces uncooked pasta (cavatappi or other twisted pasta)
- 10 ounces uncooked broccoli, cut into florets
- 2 ½ cups milk
- ⅓ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup uncooked onions, diced
- 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 ½ teaspoon table salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup of Italian style bread crumbs (homemade or store bought)
- ¼ cup of unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees, spray 9"x13" glass dish
- Cook pasta according to package directions.
- Add broccoli to water for last 3 minutes.
- Drain pasta and broccoli when complete. Set aside.
- In same saucepan, heat up butter and saut? onions until translucent. Then add flour to pan and stir to coat onions. Once flour is mostly dissolved, pour in milk.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking frequently.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and whisk in cheddar cheese, mustard, salt and pepper.
- Pour over cooked, drained pasta and broccoli. Toss to mix and coat.
- Transfer to baking dish.
- Combine melted butter and bread crumbs until bread crumbs have absorbed the butter. Feel free to add extra bread crumbs if the mixture seems too wet. Pour bread crumb mixture on top of noodles, covering as much as possible.
- Bake until bubbly at edges, 20-25 minutes.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 0Total Fat: 0g
I always thought making homemade mac and cheese wouldn't be as good as the boxed kind- which is so backwards. Apparently when I was little my mom made me homemade mac and cheese and I didn't like it. Good thing somethings do change. This is a huge favorite in our house and I love to make it ahead of time and have leftovers for DAYS.
The beauty of this recipe is it's easy to make in bulk (I usually end up doubling it and having enough for three of these cake pans) and it's amazing leftover. I am not a huge leftover person so for me to want to eat this over and over is a big sign of it's deliciousness! If you are taking it for friends, it's great because kids will love that it's mac and cheese but you can feel good about bringing a healthier version of baked macaroni and cheese to your friends.
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