Love Mac n’ Cheese? Amp up the nutrition and flavor in your homemade mac by using quinoa (so much protein!), sun dried tomatoes, and kale!
I know what you’re thinking.
HUBBA HUBBA.
Thing is, I can’t even disagree with you. This mac n’ cheese recipe trumps every other mac n’ cheese I’ve ever set eyes on. It’s made with all of my favorite flavors (sun dried tomatoes got me like, woh) and is naturally gluten-free. Did I mention it’s thrown together in under 30 minutes? What more could you ask for?
I remember as a kid, I demanded Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and my sister would only eat Velveeta. What did my mom do? She made both. Because that’s literally all we would eat as 4 and 5 year olds. What an amazing woman.
Today I am so glad that I have ditched prepackaged foods and make (mostly) everything from scratch. Why? Because you actually know what you’re eating! As you know, I’ve been working REALLY REALLY hard to eat more veggies, so I decided that kale + sun dried tomatoes in this recipe was a MUST. I almost decided to ditch the mac and eat a big pile of this sautéed deliciousness on its own!
If you’re nervous about making the cheese sauce, DON’T BE! All you need is Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Original Unsweetened + mozzarella cheese + a little corn starch. I love how the almond milk adds a little nuttiness to the sauce. A PERFECT touch.
Speaking of Almond Breeze, I’m pumped to be partnering with them again in 2016! You should check out some of my favorite Almond Breeze recipes from 2015: Healthy Pumpkin Pie Rice Pudding, Paleo Coconut Flour Pancakes, Veggie Frittata. They just launched a new flavor called Almondmilk Cashewmilk Blend and I’m really excited to try it because I’m obsessed with cashew milk. All I can think about is how delicious overnight oats would taste with an almond/cashew blend milk!
Sun Dried Tomato, Kale, and Quinoa Mac n Cheese
Ingredients
For the quinoa
- 1.5 cups quinoa rinsed
- 3 cups vegetable broth
For the veggies
- 8.5 oz. jar of sun dried tomatoes drained and sliced
- 4 cups of kale deboned and packed
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ~1-2 tablespoons EVOO
- salt and pepper to taste
For the cheese sauce
- 2 cups Blue Diamond Almond Breeze® Original - Unsweetened
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
For the Quinoa
- In a medium-size pot bring 1.5 cups of quinoa and 3 cups of vegetable broth to a rolling boil. Then, reduce heat to low and cover. Let cook for about 15 minutes or until all liquid is dissolved, set aside.
For the Veggies
- While the quinoa is cooking, prep veggies. Drain oil from sun dried tomatoes and slice into thirds. Do not rinse! This oil will help the kale cook. Wash and debone kale and then chop into bite sized pieces.
- Place sun dried tomatoes, kale, EVOO, and garlic in a frying pan and sauté for about 5 minutes or until kale is wilted. Set aside.
For the cheese sauce
- Prepare cheese sauce by placing 2 cups of almond milk in a medium-size pot. Add in 2 tablespoons of corn starch, stir, and bring to a boil. Turn down to medium and let cook for about 8 minutes, or until the milk starts to thicken (make sure you stir often!). Add in shredded cheese and mix until smooth.
For the Mac n' Cheese
- In a large bowl, mix together quinoa, sauteed veggies, and cheese sauce.
Nutrition facts
Similar recipes:
This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almond Breeze. I was compensated and all opinions are my own. Thank you for your continued support on Fit Foodie Finds!
I was so excited to make this recipe and it was a big disappointment. Not sure what went wrong? The cheese sauce was a gelatinous mess. The quinoa took an additional 15 minutes to cook. Ended up throwing it in the trash which was upsetting as the ingredients were expensive for me.
It was really good!!!
I have made this recipe time and time again. I make it for the week as meal prep- my boyfriend and I both love to take it for lunch. I’ve added extra vegetables to the sauce before when I’m feeling fancy, but I love the recipe as it as well. Highly recommend.
Could You use regular milk instead of almond? Or maybe soy or coconut?
Thanks!
Yes you can! Any milk works!
OMG. This was SO delicious. Good call on the Almond Milk! I subbed cheddar cheese and added paprika and red pepper flakes for a touch of spice, too. Love your recipes!
Yum yum yum!!
This is so yummy! My almond milk looked a little weird when I was making the sauce (maybe because I was lazy and tried to use the same pan I’d used for the kale and tomatoes), but it all came together nicely with the cheese and tastes amazing! Would definitely make again!
Delicious. I told my 15 year old I was making Mac and Cheese. When he saw it he was like, “uh, come on, healthy again!” I had to explain it wasn’t necessarily a health food just a bit better for you. He loved it! Thank you.
YES! So glad he loved this recipe!
Have had this recipe saved for a few weeks. Finally made it tonight, but with spinach because I didn’t have kale in the fridge. Really good! I just added a little parmesan to my bowl cause I can’t have enough cheese. I’m finding it hard to stick to one serving. Love anything with sun-dried tomatoes. Thanks so much for this!!!
YAY! Glad you subbed with spinach. I bet it was equally as delish 🙂
Girl, you’ve got mad talent making quinoa look so good even I am craving it right now. I don’t have any at hand – unsurprisingly as it’s not a favourite – but might need to try this with brown rice. Howeverrrr, I suggested your recipe to my quinoa-lovin’ brother and he made it. He’s a chicken so I’m delivering his verdict (only making a few subs): very good.
LOL. Thank you for passing on your bro’s thoughts. LOL. Impressed he eats kale and quinoa. WOOO!!
This looks amazing! Pinning and passing it along to my sister. I also just realized mac stands for macaroni in Mac and cheese ?
Thanks for sharing with all yo peeps 🙂
This looks like a perfect antidote for the sub-zero temps coming this weekend!
I don’t want to talk about it. High of -4 on Sunday. OH EM GEE.
Mac and cheese is just one of those foods that everyone loves. This version sounds amazing!
Thanks, love!
What more could you ask for? NOTHING – this mac completes me 🙂 So yummy!!
I think this would be Abe approved.
wowww this sounds incredible! although when you put the words ‘mac and cheese’ into a name, how could it not?! definitely gonna make this for dinner one of these days
Not being American I never had Mac ‘n Cheese, but this looks stunning! What I wouldn’t give to take up a fork and take a few bites, yum! 😉
WAHHHH! I can’t believe you’ve never tried MAC. Get on dat…stat!
Made this tonight and added smoked turkey sausage and it was amazing!
AHHHH! That sounds DELICIOUS. What a protein packed meal. ZING.
This sounds like a great combo, putting it on my dinner list!
Uh YUM. I might try this with a hard cheese or goat cheese to make it friendly for my lactose-intolerant spouse. OR I’ll just eat it all myself. I try to cram vegetables in wherever I can, as well. Maybe it’s a placebo effect, but I feel like my body functions so much better when I’m stuffing my face with produce.
Omg this is divine. I was one of the freaks who commented, “ten pounds of veggies per recipe please” at the end of 2015 and girl you brought it. Thank you, Lee! You are so dedicated to your readers and I hope veggies are treating you well so far in 2016!
LOLZ. Thanks for the push…I needed a litter reminder that you can never have enough veggies in your life.
This looks so tasty! Quinoa would probably taste even better than pasta!
In my opinion, it does 🙂