We are always looking for new recipes that are easy to throw together while also integrating some vegetables wherever possible. And if the recipe just happens to be a delicious, childhood comfort food, then that’s a huge added bonus!

I didn’t start liking cauliflower until I was an adult, but once I fell in love with this veggie there was no turning back! I also happen to have loved mac-n-cheese since my childhood days. So combining a great vegetable with some carb-filled cheesy goodness is a no-brainer. And did you know that cauliflower is chock-full of Vitamin C, antioxidants, and plenty of dietary fiber?

I’d had cauliflower mac-n-cheese in the past, but hadn’t loved the recipes I’d used. After a quick Google search, I came across a recipe for Michelle Obama’s Cauliflower Mac-n-Cheese. If you do your own searching, you’ll find that a lot of different people have posted this recipe; I’ve stuck with Yum Sugar as my source, but I’m sure they’re all mostly the same (Yum Sugar added buttered bread crumbs to the original recipe, which I usually leave off).

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What I love about this recipe is that it is super simple to through together. If I start making it around 4/4:30 on a Sunday afternoon, I can easily have it out of the oven and cooling well in advance of dinner time. And as opposed to other homemade mac recipes that require you to separately make a sauce to mix with the pasta, this recipe has very minimal steps. Once you puree your steamed cauliflower, it’s so creamy that it becomes the majority part of the “sauce.” From there you simply combine your cooked pasta with the puree, some shredded cheese and some milk. Mix it all together and pop it in the oven! Super easy and it’s pretty much a 1-pot meal.

Cauliflower can have a bit of a strong flavor, which used to be at turn off for me. But combined with the cheese and the pasta, the flavor is quite subtle (and delicious). Miss H gobbles this stuff up faster than everything else on her plate, and is always excited when she knows we’re having mac for dinner! One batch is enough for the three of us to have for dinner, and then for subsequent meals for Miss H for the next few days – it keeps great in the fridge. And if you want to have fun with it, add some cooked green peas to the mix! They add great flavor, some added color, and taste delicious.

Michelle Obama’s Cauliflower Mac-n-Cheese
source

1 pound penne pasta (or elbow noodles)
1 cup 2 percent or skim milk
1 pound shredded cheddar cheese (or a mixture of your favorite melting cheeses)
1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets (or 1 bag of frozen cauliflower florets)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley (I omit)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon melted butter (I omit)
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I omit)

Preheat the oven to 350º. Bring salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente.

Steam the cauliflower until soft, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a blender along with a few tablespoons of the steaming liquid. Puree the cauliflower, adding more steaming liquid to thin the puree if necessary.

In a medium size casserole dish, combine the pasta and hot cauliflower puree. Add the milk, both cheeses, parsley, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

In a small bowl, mix the butter and breadcrumbs with your fingers until it resembles damp sand. Sprinkle across the top of the pasta mixture (if using), then place the dish in the oven for about 20 minutes until the top is crispy and the sauce is bubbling.