I love macaroni and cheese! I don’t eat it as often as I like because 1-the carbs 2-the cheese. One day, I was craving it and decided to experiment with this recipe here. Recently, I posted a recipe for a cheese sauce, which is featured in this recipe! I just added pasta and broccoli for a nice flair!

Serving size: This a a smaller portion but feel free to double the ingredients for 4+ people!

Ingredients

• ½ box of [gluten-free] elbow macaroni, cooked al dente
• 1 cup of reserved pasta water
• ½ small broccoli crown, chopped
• 1 garlic clove minced, optional
• 1 servings of Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce
• ½ cup bread crumb

Note: You can use frozen broccoli for this recipe as well. Use 2-3 cups of broccoli florets.

Instructions

1. First make the cheese sauce as the pasta prepares to cook then (separately) set aside.
2. In a medium pan add 1 cup of the reserved pasta water to the pan. Now, over medium-low heat, add the minced garlic (if using) and the broccoli. Cover until tender.
3. Uncover then transfer the broccoli to the pasta pot used. Over low heat, add the other cup of the reserved pasta water, add the al dente pasta a then and cheese sauce. Combine. You can stop here or move on to step 4…
4. For a little crunch, add the Broccoli&Cheese-Mac&Cheese to an oven safe bowl, top with bread crumbs and broil on low for 5 minutes.
5. You also add some vegan cheese shreds before you broil it- I used Pepper jack shreds by Daiya (below).

****Photos taken by my talented, photographer cousin Monique Direnzo.*****