Spinach Mac & Cheese

Mac & Cheese is a classic side dish that can go with many many different meals. It can even be it’s own meal for dinner or lunch. Sometimes I like to add something extra to my homemade mac & cheese to make it a little more substantial. You can do this by adding a vegetable (like my Broccoli Mac & Cheese) or by adding a meat and a vegetable (like my Ham Broccoli Mac). This recipe works on that same premise and will be a great additions to list of weeknight side dishes. Spinach Mac & Cheese has a simple cheese sauce with a pop of color and flavor from the wilted spinach.

Making your own cheese sauce is one of the simplest things to do once you get the steps down. All you need a medium sauce pan and good whisk to pull together a creamy cheesy sauce. It all starts with the roux – the combination of melted butter and flour to become the thickening agent. You want to cook the flour until you no longer smell flour. It will turn slightly golden in color but don’t let it turn brown – that is burnt roux and you will be able to taste it in your sauce.

I used elbow pasta or “Macaroni” but you can use any shape of small pasta. Shells work great too. Pretty much any of the smaller shape pastas. In a pinch you could do spaghetti or other long pastas, but they don’t hold on to the sauce quite as well and it’s a little clumpy.

Like I said above, you can use this as a side dish or a lunch. It is great for meal prep too. It can be the side with just about any of the popular proteins – pork, beef, chicken. It is not super involving to make so it works great along side a main dish that does require more attention.

Now Let’s Get Cookin’!

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Spinach Mac & Cheese

A fantastic side dish for dinner or lunch with a creamy cheese sauce and loaded with spinach

Course Dinner, Lunch, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword cheddar cheese, mac & cheese, mac and cheese, pasta side dish, Side Dish, side dish ideas, side dishes, spinach

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 1 lb Small Elbow Pasta
• 3 cups Fresh Baby Spinach roughly chopped

For the Cheese Sauce

• 4 tbsp Butter
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Onion Powder
• 4 tbsp Flour
• 2 cups Milk
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Pepper
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 1 tsp Ground Mustard
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• 3 cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese shredded

Instructions

• Start water boiling for the pasta.
• Add pasta to boiling water and cook as directed on the package. Drain in a colander and return to pot away from heat.
• In a sauce pan over medium high heat, add butter, onion powder and garlic powder. Once melted whisk in flour. Let cook for two minutes then whisk in milk and let cook for two minutes then whisk in seasonings and cook another two minutes. Whisk in heavy cream and cook another two minutes. Then add in cheese, a handful at a time, whisking until it's melted in.
• Add cheese sauce and spinach to pasta. and stir to thoroughly combine. Let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.
• NOTE: If you like the spinach to be cooked more than just wilted, add it to the cooking pasta in the last 3 minutes of cook time.