Here it is. The recipe you’ve all been waiting for! There’s a reason why so many people are raving about the benefits of cauliflower sauce. In this recipe, we’ve mixed cauliflower together with parmesan cheese into a healthy Parmesan Cauliflower Macaroni and Cheese recipe that we can’t get enough of.

Since we love to make homemade mac and cheese and have been playing around with other superfood recipes (hello, Kale and Blueberry Salad and Eggplant Lasagna!), we decided to combine the two and bring you a superfood mac and cheese recipe. Because we should all have more superfoods in our diet!

Macaroni and Cheese Recipes with Health Benefits

Think about it. Comfort food mixed with a healthy-for-you ingredients with a lot of nutritious benefits.

Health Benefits of Cauliflower

Cauliflower has health benefits galore, which makes it easily identifiable as a superfood.

• Antioxidant rich vegetable
• Anti-inflammatory
• Weight loss- since it is low in calories, cauliflower is a perfect vegetable to incorporate in your diet if you want to lose weight
• Cancer-fighting sulforaphane
• Rich in vitamins and minerals, which is helpful anytime, but especially in pregnancy
• Helps body detox
• Good for brain health, heart health and digestive health

Parmesan Cauliflower Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

If you like easy to make recipes that anyone can make, this recipe is for you. Simply steam or boil cauliflower in a cup of water until the cauliflower is tender. Remove from heat and process until smooth in either a food processor or blender. The cauliflower will be a nice and creamy consistency. Delish!

To make the Parmesan Cauliflower Sauce, we make a simple roux by melting butter, adding flour to it and then whisking in milk. Once that has been combined, grated parmesan cheese is stirred in until melted and then the blended cauliflower is added. Once it is all stirred together it’s a creamy cheesy delicious sauce that you’ll want to add to everything.

Parmesan Cauliflower Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

• 16 ounce box elbow macaroni, prepared al dente per package instructions
• Small head cauliflower, chopped and steamed or boiled in one cup of water (reserve water)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons Italian bread crumbs
• Sprinkle of nutmeg

Directions

Prepare elbow macaroni to package instructions, cooking al dente.

Steam or boil cauliflower in one cup of water until soft. Process with cooking water in blender or food processor.

In saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in flour to make a roux. Add milk just a little bit at a time all the while stirring. Once the milk has been mixed in to a smooth consistency, add the Parmesan cheese and stir in until melted. Finally, add the pureed cauliflower and stir to incorporate.

Toss in cooked macaroni and fold in into the Parmesan Cauliflower Sauce. Top with Italian bread crumbs and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Jessica McCoy is the publisher of All She Cooks, which is all about food, life and style. While she’s not slipping off to Mardi Gras on the spur of the moment anymore, this mom of two teenagers loves to travel. Jessica is also a contributor to Parade Magazine’s Community Table and the just released cookbook Peeps-a-Licious. You can follower her on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter, where she shares regularly.