Caprese Macaroni and Cheese
Author: Nicole Morrissey
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Total time: 40 mins
Serves: 5
Ingredients
- 10 oz whole wheat elbow macaroni (uncooked)
- 1 cup 2% milk
- 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅛ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
- 3 cups part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- 3 large tomatoes, thinly sliced
- 20-30 basil leaves, chiffonade and divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Bring 3-4 quarts of water to a rolling boil over high heat. Add pasta, stir, and cook 8-10 minutes or until al dente; drain and set aside.
- In the meantime, whisk together milk, vegetable broth, flour, chili powder, salt, and pepper in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat. Bring sauce to a low boil over medium heat; simmer for 4-5 minutes or until sauce thickens, whisking occasionally. Remove from heat and pour over hot, drained pasta, along with 1 cup of the shredded mozzarella; mix well.
- In the bottom of a 2 quart baking dish, spread tomato sauce on the bottom to coat completely. Add half of the macaroni mixture over the tomato sauce, top with half of the tomato slices, ⅓ of the basil, and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat with macaroni, ⅓ of the basil, remaining 1 cup of mozzarella, and tomato slices, in that order.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until bubbly and just beginning to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining ⅓ basil before serving.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Diethood
