Sharing a favorite baked mac and cheese recipe today! My Chicken Roasted Vegetable Mac and Cheese is the ultimate comfort food!
Baked Mac and Cheese Recipe
Can we talk mac and cheese for a second? I absolutely LOVE creating new mac and cheese recipes. This one I have developed for you today uses Foster Farms cooked chicken breast along with roasted broccoli, asparagus, onions and bacon crumbles. Does not get better than this. So perfect for Sunday dinner when you’ve got lots of hungry mouths to feed 🙂
Try my Perfect Mac and Cheese recipe too! Follow Picky Palate on Instagram for daily recipe inspiration.
Cheesy goodness! You’ll need just a little prep work to get this dish to the table, but it’s worth every minute 🙂
Homemade Mac and Cheese Recipe
Dinner time is my favorite time of the day to talk with the boys. I feel like they enjoy telling my husband and I all about their day they’ve had. We hear about little details we wouldn’t have heard from just passing through the house. We laugh a lot, watch food fly from my 2 year old in the high chair and enjoy the connections we have as a little family. I’ve definitely learned that it’s ok if dinner is not perfect and the kitchen table isn’t set like a restaurant, it’s all about the connections and time spent together. That’s my goal this year 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Tips For Making Mac and Cheese
- Don’t overcook your noodles. The noodle is the base of the entire dish, so it’s crucial that you choose the right kind of pasta. Noodles with lots of nooks and crannies—such as shells, mini penne, elbows, and corkscrews—ensure you achieve maximum cheesiness with every bite. If the dish is eventually being baked in the oven, parboil the noodles and drain when they’re still slightly chewy.
- Don’t forget the roux! Though it might be tempting to use a recipe that doesn’t require a roux, it’s a helpful step that improves the dish’s texture. To begin, cook equal parts flour and butter in a saucepan over medium heat until a paste forms. Whisk in warm milk until it creates a creamy sauce, and then stir in your shredded cheese until it reaches a smooth consistency.
- Use a variety of cheeses. To ensure the flavors aren’t too strong for the kids, choose cheeses that everyone will love. A good rule of thumb is to choose one sharp and one creamy, such as sharp cheddar and jack, or gruyere and Parmesan.
Chicken and Roasted Vegetable Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound dry small pasta I used elbow
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 cups milk I used skim
- 2 cups finely shredded mild cheddar cheese
- 2 cups cooked shredded Foster Farms Chicken Breast
- 2 cups roasted broccoli florets
- 1/2 pound roasted asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 large roasted onion thinly sliced
- 1 pound cooked crumbled bacon
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside for a few minutes.
- To prepare roux, melt butter into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once melted whisk in flour, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes until color of roux will gets slightly darker. Slowly whisk in milk, stirring continuously until thickened, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir in cheese until melted.
- Transfer cooked pasta to large dutch oven or pot over low heat. Pour cheese sauce over top, stirring to combine.
- Add chicken, broccoli, asparagus, onion and bacon, stirring to combine.
- Transfer mac and cheese to prepared baking dish. Top with additional shredded cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes, until cheese is melted. Serve warm.
Gorgeous photos and amazing looking chicken roasted vegetable mac and cheese! I am obsessed with healthy food! I’ll definitely try it! Thanks a lot for sharing!
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Just made this tonight–it’s delicious, but I would caution others that it is time-intensive–chopping the broc and asparagus and roasting it, cooking and shredding the chicken, cooking and crumbling the bacon, chopping and sauting the onion, shredding the cheese and making the roux…it took me about two hours before I could pop everything in the oven. But it was worth it!
How do you roast the vegetables, and could you use frozen broccoli—Also if you don’t like Asparagus could you use some other types of vegetables? Any other suggestions. It looks so good. Also about the onions can they just be diced thinly and put into the dish to bake instead of roasting. Any suggestions appreciated. Thank you.
Could I make this a day ahead except for the baking step?
Way to make mac and cheese a little bit healthier by throwing in the veggies. 🙂 This looks amazing!
Dinner time is my favorite time of the day, too 🙂 Love how you prepare the table and the meal looks delicious. I should try this recipe. thanks for sharing!
Why do they always have to throw food! Ugh its such a battle! This looks delicious!
Like super healthy meal jumped into the yummiest dinner ever and magically made everyone happy! Must add this to my dinner menu next week! My favorite part is how broccoli florettes soak up all the cheesy goodness 😉
Thanks so much Lindsay! Enjoy!
I love this! I’ve worked with Fosters Farms before, such great people.
I always say that Mac and Cheese is a blank canvas, what a wonderful dish you have put together!
I make something similar to this, only with store bought sauce, and I have to say yours looks much better.
You’re right, this is comfort food. It’s just my husband and me, but I like putting a little effort in dinner every now and then. 🙂 It’s important no matter what size your family is!
So easy and family meals are so important!
Dinner time here is SO important to us. Jon David always asks the blessing, Lucy squeals and mashes food on her face the whole time, and we have a lot of fun talking! My favorite time of the day!
This mac and cheese looks so amazing — love those pretty veggies peeking out.
Sitting down at dinner is usually our ONLY time during the day when we can connect, even for 15 minutes. I love it. Mac and cheese is always awesome, but even better with chicken!
Love these new goals of yours, Jenny! Family dinner time is the bet way to connect. I’m sure my three would love your mac & cheese!
I’m with on not having everything perfect for dinner, but it’s the time spent sitting down, talking and connecting during dinner that matters.
As for the recipe – LOVE all your mac and cheese recipes. This one is no exception.
Git me in this RAWT NER.
Loving this recipe Jenny!
My family will love this dish! So easy and so good!
Sounds great! Any suggestions for how to roast the broccoli, asparagus and onion prior to adding to the dish?
Having dinner together as a family is so important. I also love this recipe. Great post!
I am loving all of the roasted veggies in this!! My boys would go nuts for this mac and cheese!