This vegetable macaroni cheese recipe contains three hidden veg – sweet potato, butternut squash and cauliflower. It is perfect for picky eaters. In my opinion it tastes even better than regular mac ‘n’ cheese.
This hidden vegetable macaroni cheese looks exactly the same as standard macaroni cheese. However, it has three healthy and delicious portions of vegetables added – cauliflower, sweet potato and butternut squash.
It’s one of my favourite vegetarian recipes for kids. It’s equally perfect for anyone who wants to find an easy way to get more vegetables into their diet and for picky eaters who try to avoid vegetables!
Hiding vegetables in food for kids and toddlers
These days I’m all for transparency in feeding my kids and I try to avoid hiding too many vegetables in their meals.
However on occasion I just want to make sure that my children – in particular my eldest – do eat some vegetables! That’s when dishes like this come in so handy.
My hidden vegetable mac and cheese looks exactly like ordinary macaroni cheese. It’s a great hidden vegetable recipe for toddlers and older kids alike.
What vegetables are in this macaroni cheese?
I’ve been blending butternut squash into cheese sauce for ages. On this occasion I decided to see if I could create a really sneaky mac and cheese by including more vegetables.
In this recipe for hidden veggie macaroni cheese I’ve added cauliflower, sweet potato and butternut squash. It all got eaten, and no-one noticed the difference.
This doesn’t mean that my son is any more likely to pick up a floret of cauliflower and tuck into it any time soon. But at least I know that when he’s eaten a plate of this he’s had some goodness – not just a heap of carbs and dairy.
Find out more about how much veg should be in your child’s diet.
If you’re struggling with picky eating you might enjoy my recent post over on the metro about how I learnt to relax about my child’s fussy eating.
Here’s how to make hidden vegetable macaroni cheese
Make sure the vegetables are nice and soft so they blend well into the sauce
Hidden vegetable mac and cheese
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet potato around 200g, peeled and diced
- 200 g chunk of butternut squash peeled and diced
- 200 g cauliflower broken into smallish florets
- 25 g butter
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- 500 ml milk
- 100 g cheddar cheese
- 200 g macaroni or other pasta shape
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 50 g breadcrumbs
Instructions
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Place the vegetables together in a steamer and steam for 10-15 minutes until soft.
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Bring a large pan of boiling water to the boil, add the macaroni and cook for 10 minutes or so, until just soft. I don't usually salt the water when I'm cooking for the kids but feel free to if you want.
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Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (fan)/200°C/gas mark 6. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Stir through the flour and whisk in the milk. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and cook, stirring often, for around five minutes. Don't worry about the sauce thickening too much as you want it to be on the runny side for macaroni cheese.
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Remove from the heat and add the cheese. Stir until melted.
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Add the cooked vegetables to the sauce and blend until smooth.
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Add the cooked pasta and mix well. If you like you can serve it like this or if you prefer then transfer to an ovenproof dish, sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and grate a little more cheese over the top and cook in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes or until bubbling and the top is golden.
More hidden veg recipes
Butternut squash macaroni and cheese
Butternut squash cheese straws
Cauliflower macaroni cheese muffins
Pin hidden vegetable macaroni cheese for later
Monika Dabrowski
January 10, 2017 at 8:02 amThese look lovely, Mandy! My kids are older than yours but I still occasionally make dishes with hidden vegetables. And I also like your choice of vegetable to hide:)
Mandy Mazliah
January 10, 2017 at 10:26 amThanks Monika! Weirdly it’s my eldest who won’t eat the veg – the smallest is the best of the lot!
Bronwyn Dawson
January 10, 2017 at 9:19 amThese look perfect – I don’t have kids but I think I could get my boyfriend eating more vegetable with this recipe 🙂 Sweet potato and butternut squash are my all time favourite veggies too, so I’ll definitely be giving this a go #CookBlogShare.
Mandy Mazliah
January 10, 2017 at 10:26 amYou wouldn’t believe the number of women who have said they use my Sneaky Veg recipes on their boyfriends/husbands! I love it. Hope you both enjoy it.
Eb Gargano
January 10, 2017 at 1:44 pmThat looks and sounds so nice – and well done for sneaking all those veg into your kids!! Do you tell them what’s in it – or would they refuse to eat it if you did? Eb x
Mandy Mazliah
January 11, 2017 at 6:11 amR knows I usually put butternut squash in but I didn’t risk telling him when I added the extra veg as he’s been known to refuse to eat even one bite 🙁 I’d really like to be totally honest but I also don’t want him to go for days on end with no fruit and veg!
De Tout Coeur Limousin
January 12, 2017 at 9:57 amLovely flavours – squash works so well with pasta – and especially mac and cheese 🙂
Mandy Mazliah
January 12, 2017 at 12:19 pmThanks so much – I love squash and pasta – it’s the perfect combo x
Louise Fairweather
January 12, 2017 at 1:46 pmI am going to try this.My boys love macaroni cheese but put a tiny bit of vegetable in and they are picking it out. I will give blitzing them a go! #cookblogshare
Mandy Mazliah
January 15, 2017 at 5:40 amLet me know how it goes! Veggies always get picked out here too if the can be seen.
Corina
January 12, 2017 at 8:59 pmThey look yummy! My daughter refuses pasta but it would be a good way to give my husband extra veg!
Mandy Mazliah
January 15, 2017 at 5:41 amShame she doesn’t like pasta – such a convenient food 🙁
Vicki
January 13, 2017 at 12:23 pmI love the look of this. The problem is that my little fussy eater won’t touch any kind of white sauce making macaroni cheese off the menu! I think it’s because she had a dairy allergy when she was young 🙁
Mandy Mazliah
January 15, 2017 at 5:41 amOh that’s a shame – hopefully she’ll learn to love it in the future X
Hijacked by Twins
January 13, 2017 at 3:22 pmThis is a true Sneaky Veg meal! Love it, it is great getting extra veg into the kids without them knowing! But I, like you, also want them to know what veg they have enjoyed so that next time they have it there is no problems! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Mandy Mazliah
January 15, 2017 at 5:42 amIt’s always risky telling R about the veg – even if he’s loved it sometimes he won’t eat it again if he knows there are veggies in a meal 🙁
Kat BakingExplorer
January 15, 2017 at 11:29 amMac and cheese always feels so sinful, so it’s great to see a recipe that does good and feels good when you eat it!
Mandy Mazliah
January 15, 2017 at 9:24 pmI agree – it’s so good but really just pure stodge! Love to add some veg to make it feel a bit healthier X
The Peachicks Bakery
January 15, 2017 at 12:09 pmWhat a great way to sneak the extra vitamins into them especially at this time of year! Love the idea of making little ones – they are so cute! Have saved for later as would be really easy to make this Peachick Friendly with some dairyfree alternatives! Thanks for sharing! x
Mandy Mazliah
January 15, 2017 at 9:25 pmThanks for commenting! I think the veggies help to get a better flavour with a dairy free Mac n cheese – I sometimes make a vegan version with butternut squash X
Angela Entwistle
January 16, 2017 at 11:47 amThis sounds delicioous Mandy, I know you rustled it uo to ensure your children had some healthy nutrients in their diet but to be honest I’d be very very happy to tuck into this – yum!Angela x
Mandy Mazliah
January 17, 2017 at 10:33 amThanks Angela – I think it tastes much nicer with the added veg actually – more depth of flavour or something!
Ang
October 21, 2017 at 5:48 pmThis looks fab…how do you make it vegan yet still have a “cheesy” taste to it?
Mandy Mazliah
October 21, 2017 at 6:07 pmNutritional yeast is the best thing to add to vegan cheese sauce – it has a cheesy/nutty flavour
Tanya
January 25, 2018 at 2:33 pmThis sounds great! I have a super picky 3.5 year old who loves pasta. Veggies, not so much. Could you share what the measurements would be in cups instead of grams? Thanks much!
Mandy Mazliah
January 25, 2018 at 2:51 pmHi Tanya – glad you like the look of it! I’m afraid I don’t know what the measurements are in cups but you could use a converter like this one: http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/531168/cups-to-grams-converter Hopefully that works for you?
Jenny
November 28, 2018 at 12:45 pmDo you think this would work with pumpkin? I have some left over.
Mandy Mazliah
November 28, 2018 at 1:06 pmHi Jenny, thanks for commenting. This would absolutely work with pumpkin – you can use any combination of butternut squash, pumpkin, sweet potato and/or cauliflower and it’ll turn out lovely.