Fun Way for Kids to Eat More Veggies! Green Mac and Cheese {Recipe}

My kids both love mac and cheese, but my daughter has a special bond with the cheesy dish. She just loves the pasta and cheese combination and could eat it in a variety of flavors and for all of her meals if we let her. So, when I recently saw a couple of parents making green mac and cheese by adding spinach, I thought to myself – “What a genius idea!” And then… “Why didn’t I think of that?” It’s a great and easy way to add vegetables to your kids’ diets!

I recently received a bundle of new grocery items available at Walmart and took advantage of a couple of the products to recreate a green macaroni and cheese recipe for my kids. Though there was some initial hesitation due to their mac and cheese being green, after some explanation that it was just a different color due to spinach being blended into the milk, they gave it a try and realized the taste was no different! Check out how easy it was to make green mac and cheese for kids!

Green Mac and Cheese Recipe – Easy Way for Kids to Eat More Veggies!

Ingredients

• 1 17.6 oz package Pasta Gourmet Italia Space Adventures Pasta
• 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk
• 3 cups fresh spinach
• 1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
• 2-3 Tbsp butter
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and toss with olive oil. Set aside.
2. In a blender, add coconut milk and spinach. Blend until thoroughly mixed.
3. Add spinach-milk mixture to pasta along with remaining ingredients. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated. (Note: Depending on how creamy you want your green mac and cheese, you may want to add more milk – either coconut or regular milk.)

This green macaroni and cheese recipe was easy to make and I loved that the kids ate it just as good as traditional mac and cheese. It was a simple way to add another serving of vegetables to their day and I didn’t even have to be sneaky about it. They also loved the space adventures pasta with fun astronauts, planets, and rocket shapes – even if the shapes did get a bit lost in the creamy mac and cheese mixture. I liked that Pasta Gourmet Italia Space Adventures Pasta is made with 100% all natural ingredients and has no added salt or sugar! Overall our green mac and cheese was a hit!

Would your kids eat green macaroni and cheese?

All photos © Melanie Edwards/modernmami™