Veggies Don't Bite

Cooking with plants and lovin' it...and ditching the gluten and {refined} sugar along the way!

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Green Dairy-Free Mac and Cheese

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Delicious creamy dairy-free mac and cheese with greens you don’t even taste! Make food fun again in the best healthy way possible.

Delicious creamy dairy-free mac and cheese with greens you don't even taste! Make food fun again in the best healthy way possible! #dairyfreerecipes #healthykidsmeals

This recipe was originally published on 3/13/17

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Getting veggies into your kids can make you want to pull your hair out, have you seen my bald spots? Thank goodness my brain cells are firing in extra sneaky mode, because this recipe is life changing!

I filled it with hidden veggies and packed it with spinach, but shhhh! Don’t tell the kids (or the husband)!

What is vegan mac and cheese made of?

I usually make my vegan mac and cheese with veggie based cheesy sauces (see this post, this post and this one for more delicious vegan mac and cheese sauces) but this I upped my game and made a fun colorful mac and cheese.

I love using whole foods to mimic all things creamy and cheesy. And don’t think this is a sham, because my vegan creamy sauce game is legit!

My base in this vegan mac and cheese is loads of veggies: cauliflower, potato and even spinach for that signature green look.

Vitamix blender layered with milk, cashews, spinach and cauliflower.

The timing is perfect for St. Patrick’s day, but let’s be clear, you should eat this ANY DAY. So many reasons why:

  • hidden cauliflower
  • packed with spinach but undetectable in taste
  • fun and colorful
  • easy to make with a quick zip in the trusty high speed blender (or regular blender when you grind the cashews or soak them well)
  • perfectly festive for St. Patrick’s day, Easter or even Christmas

This one is so unsuspecting I almost feel bad…

Collage of boy spooning bite of green mac and cheese then eating it.

How do I get my toddler to eat vegetables?

Let me start with saying, I think it’s very important to present your kids with veggies constantly. It takes over 25 times for a child to be exposed to something before they can decide if they like it or not.

So keep sharing new veggies and fruit and don’t despair! A few tips I like to live by:

  • Always present a new veggie with another you know they like.
  • Allow them to come shopping and pick out their own new veggie they’d like to try.
  • Get your kids involved with cooking and meal prep so they feel in control
  • Present the veggies in many ways, different shapes, placed different containers, and cooked with different techniques
  • Use holidays to present themed food, name the meals too, this was a great fun dinner for St. Patrick’s Day! I told my kids that this was Leprechaun Mac and Cheese. The only snafu was when they looked wide eyed at me and asked if I made it with actual leprechauns, so I had to think fast and assure them it was purely four leaf clovers. Phew. Crisis averted.
  • Have wine stocked near by, it’s always a good back up for you

Because the reality is that most of us will constantly be enduring veggie meltdowns, I also advocate to sneak in veggies everywhere you can. Which is why I created this green dairy-free mac and cheese.

It’s packed full of healthy ingredients, so when the meltdowns happen, I can walk away without a full hostage negotiation.

How do I make green dairy-free mac and cheese?

It’s simple! Don’t you love it when healthy food isn’t this complicated process?

  1. Cook the veggies and blend them with the sauce ingredients. Top view of blender filled with creamy green sauce
  2. Add the sauce to your favorite pasta and mix! Spoon getting bite out of a white bowl with green mac and cheese.

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If you like this recipe, please consider rating it with the star rating system and leaving a comment below. I love hearing from you and seeing your awesome remakes! Find me on Instagram and tag me @veggiesdontbite and #veggiesdontbite, or you can also find me on Facebook, and Pinterest. Thanks for helping me spread the word about delicious food!

Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate. Please read more about that here.


4.75 from 4 votes
Top view of white bowl filled with green mac and cheese.
Print
Green Dairy-Free Mac and Cheese
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
35 mins
 

Delicious creamy dairy-free mac and cheese with greens you don't even taste! Make food fun again in the best healthy way possible.

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: healthy mac and cheese, kids meals with hidden veggies
Servings: 6
Calories: 369 kcal
Author: Sophia DeSantis
Ingredients
  • 1 cup cauliflower , chopped (about ¼ of a head)
  • 1 cup cooked potato , about 1 medium potato
  • ¼ of a medium onion
  • 1 cup fresh spinach
  • 1 clove garlic , medium size
  • ¾ cup raw cashews (see note)
  • ½ cup unsweetened cashew or almond milk , I use Silk brand
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon mustard seed powder
Serve with:
US Customary - Metric
Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 450 F/ 230 C

  2. Chop cauliflower and sprinkle with a bit of broth or oil. Spread out on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes until slightly crisp.
  3. Meanwhile, cook potato and onion by boiling until soft.

  4. Once cauliflower, potato and onion are done, put them in a high speed blender with all other ingredients, except pasta, and blend until smooth.

  5. Cook your favorite pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse, then return to pot. 

  6. Pour sauce over pasta and mix over low heat until thick and gooey. Serve!

Recipe Notes
  • Sauce makes about 3 cups.
  • The best method to cook the potato is by boiling it with the onion. See instructions.
  • If you are not using a high speed blender you can either soak the cashews overnight, boil them with the potato and onion or grind them into a fine powder using a coffee grinder.

Tips to prep ahead

  • Cook cauliflower, potato, onion and cashews.

Baby/toddler food idea

  • Best kid food ever. Overcook pasta for young baby and mash well.
Nutrition Facts
Green Dairy-Free Mac and Cheese
Amount Per Serving
Calories 369 Calories from Fat 72
% Daily Value*
Fat 8g12%
Saturated Fat 1g5%
Sodium 615mg26%
Potassium 251mg7%
Carbohydrates 63g21%
Fiber 3g12%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 10g20%
Vitamin A 470IU9%
Vitamin C 12.2mg15%
Calcium 15mg2%
Iron 2.3mg13%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Comments

    • veggiesdontbite says

      Hi Tania! Yep, you can definitely freeze the sauce! Just put out to defrost slowly when you want to eat it again. Then warm it up on the stove or microwave and mix well. The texture will come back.

      Reply

  2. Aylin says

    Can I ask what you used the veggie broth for? It was in your notes on the bottom of the recipe.
    Regards
    Aylin

    Reply

    • veggiesdontbite says

      Hi Aylin! Thanks for catching that. I have been going through and double checking all of my recipes since I transferred to a new recipe plugin and a few things got messed up, and I did not catch that. I don’t use broth in this recipe, I use the cashew milk instead.

      Reply

      • Daniela says

        I did this today, and omg it’s so gooood, I honestly thought it wasn’t going to be good but it is so delicioussss

  3. Belinda says

    My husband and I both agreed that this dish was really good. You really do need to have a high speed blender to process everything – really made my Vitamix work. I did use some of my pasta water to thin out the sauce.

    Reply

    • veggiesdontbite says

      Hi Belinda! I am so happy you guys liked this! If you look at the notes in the recipe, you actually can get a pretty smooth sauce using a regular blender by grinding the cashews first with a coffee grinder. I had to do this once when I had no access to my trusty vitamix and it worked really well! I was super surprised.

      Reply

    • veggiesdontbite says

      Hi Shaylen, it sounds to me like you didn’t follow the directions. I have had many people make this with big success. Not to mention, my 5 year old is the worlds pickiest eater and he devoured this so I’m pretty sure it isn’t awful. It’s pretty important to follow a recipe to the tee in order for it to work. Best of luck in your future recipe tries.

      Reply

      • veggiesdontbite says

        Thanks Deborah! I actually had responded to him back then because I know it doesn’t taste awful. LOL

  7. Michelle Blackwood says

    Oh my, I love everything about this post. Such a healthy and creamy Mac and Cheese recipe and you and your family are so beautiful.

    Reply

    • veggiesdontbite says

      Thanks Michelle! You are too sweet. The kids love the dish so much that I have made it many times already!

      Reply

  8. Linda @ Veganosity says

    LOVE those pictures! My favorite is the one with the signs. Everyone is making a silly face, and the baby is like, “I have nothing to do with these people.” So fun. 🙂

    The sauce sounds fantastic, nothing wrong with being sneaky when it comes to spinach. Although, I have to admit that I’m wondering what clovers would taste like?

    Reply

    • veggiesdontbite says

      Thank you so much Linda! Yes, he was NOT impressed by our jokes. LOL And I’m pretty sure clovers are delicious 😉

      Reply

  9. Mandy says

    I’m typing this one-handed as Willow is sleeping on my other one so I apologize for any typos ? THIS SAUCE is freaking amazing!!!!! Omg. I made this for my whole family yesterday and everyone approved (even my hard to impress grandmother). They enjoyed it with both gluten free noodles and spiralized sweet potato. I kept sneaking bites of the sauce while the noodles were cooking – i couldn’t get enough of the flavor! It had a tangy zip to it and the creaminess factor is just incredible. I’m so grateful that I can have cashews again…I’m hoping I can be friends with beans again soon because I’ve been dreaming about your cauliflower dip!! Wonderful recipe, my friend!! ❤

    Reply

    • veggiesdontbite says

      Thank you so much Mandy!! I’m so happy you guys love it as much as we do. I baked it tonight with a crispy breadcrumb topping and it was devoured! I loved your use of it on IG with the veggies, I shared on my page! Hope that was okay. I’m thrilled you made up with cashews! I’d be doomed without them. LOL!

      Reply

  10. The Vegan 8 says

    Ok, the recipe sounds delicious but I must admit my favorite part of this post are those pics! I LOVE that pic of you and Leo looking at each other…soooo cute!! And then the family photo where y’all are all smiling and he’s looking at the camera like, “what’s up”, LOL! So freaking funny! I can see why everybody loved the mac and cheese too, yum!

    Reply

  11. Mandy says

    Awwww!!! I love these pics of your beautiful family! And obviously the teaser pics of the cookbook 🙂 This mac and cheese looks sooooooo good! So creamy and any time you can sneak a little bit of green into a meal is a huge bonus…St. Patrick’s Day or not. I’m definitely going to make this ASAP!

    Reply

    • veggiesdontbite says

      Thank you Mandy!! I think you guys would love this one. My kids, and the biggest hubby kid, devoured it! Let me know if you try it!

      Reply

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