This Non-Mac ‘Mac n Cheese’ actually is the best thing since since sliced bread. And it can even be gluten-free too! It’s cheesy and satisfying and even has veggies in it so you feel less guilty.
I’ve always been a huge Mac n Cheese fan, ever since I was a kid. But as an adult, I know eating Mac n Cheese every day probably isn’t good for my health or my waistline. In an attempt to feel slightly less guilty about my need for cheesy indulgence. I figured substituting the macaroni for quinoa and cauliflower could pump up the health factor for my favorite childhood dish. You get some veggies from the cauliflower. And although quinoa is still a grain, it’s more nutrient dense than the traditional white flower in macaroni. Quinoa is high in protein and one of the few plant foods that provides all nine essential amino acids, is high in fiber and has a variety of vitamins.
Quinoa & Cauliflower ‘Mac n Cheese’
Ingredients
- 1 head of Cauliflower
- 8 oz Sharp Cheddar
- 8 oz Gruyere
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- ¼ cup Parmesan
- 1 cup Quinoa
- 2 cups Water
- 2 TBSP Olive oil
- 1 TBSP Butter
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 TBSP Flour or a pinch of Xanthan gum if you want to go gluten free
- 2 tsp Adobo seasoning or 1 teaspoon garlic powder & 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ tsp Paprika
- Pinch Nutmeg less than ¼ teaspoon
- Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Mince the garlic and shred the cheddar and gruyere & set aside
- Chop up your head of cauliflower, aiming for florets & cubes around an inch in size, or close to large ‘macaroni’ size
- Put the cauliflower in an oven safe dish to roast and drizzle with the two tablespoons of olive oil and Adobo seasoning making sure all pieces are thoroughly coated. Let the cauliflower roast uncovered in the oven for roughly 25 minutes mixing about half way through. The seasoning and roasting adds extra flavor depth.
- While the cauliflower roasts start cooking the quinoa. Add your two cups of water to a saute pan or small pot along with the quinoa. Bring the quinoa to a boil over medium to high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cover and then simmer 15-20 minutes or until quinoa is tender and most of the liquid in the pan has been absorbed.
- Once the quinoa is finished fluff with a fork and remove from the pan and set aside.
- In the same pan warm half of the cup of milk on low heat adding in the tablespoon of butter, paprika, garlic and pinch of nutmeg. Be careful with the nutmeg, it can be very overpowering, less really is more, but it adds essential flavor to any white sauce.
- Slowly add in the flour, stirring the milk continuously until it begins to thicken. You can also do this using xanthan gum to make the recipe gluten free, however, you will need ¼ teaspoon or less. Once the first ½ cup of milk has thickened slowly add in the remaining ½ cup.
- Once the white sauce is finished add the quinoa and the shredded cheese to the pan, saving about a ¼ cup of the cheese to sprinkle on top later. Mix to combine and let warm through for a minute or two, then mix in your roasted cauliflower.
- Transfer the mixture to an oven safe dish sprinkling the remaining shredded cheese and ¼ cup of parmesan on top. This will create that bubbly crispy golden brown top layer.
- Put in the oven at 350 degrees and let bake for 20 or 25 minutes or until the top is bubbly and crispy golden brown.
- Let stand for a few minutes (if you can wait) and serve hot!
