Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Spinach, Tomatoes, and Ham

Who doesn’t like macaroni and cheese? You simply can’t go wrong with a mixture of pasta and cheese sauce. Even Owen eats it (most of the time anyway).

Since it’s one of the few things that Owen won’t throw all over the floor, I frequently make cheesy pasta mixtures with vegetables hidden in it. If I’m lucky, Owen won’t notice the veggies and they’ll get jammed in his mouth with the pasta.

And if I’m going to the trouble of making macaroni and cheese, I take the extra step and bake it. There’s just no comparison between oven mac-n-cheese and stove top mac-n-cheese.

Here’s a version that I made with spinach, tomatoes, and ham. But you can really add any vegetables or meats that you like to this recipe and you can use any cheese(s) that you have on hand. Be adventurous! Sometimes I even throw in some baby food, like pureed sweet potatoes or squash. I think it makes it creamier and sneaks in more veggies.

What you’ll need:

1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter
3 cups whole milk
3 cups shredded cheese (I used a mixture of fontina, mozzarella, parmesan, and white cheddar)
1 pound pasta
1 pound frozen spinach (or fresh)
4 plum tomatoes
1/2 pound sliced deli ham
1 cup panko bread crumbs
Additional 1-2 tablespoons butter

First, melt the butter over medium heat. And preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Add the flour to the melted butter to make your roux. This will thicken the cheese sauce. Cook it for a minute; it should smell nutty.

Slowly whisk in the milk, stirring to break up any lumps. Bring this milk mixture to a simmer and let it cook for about 20 minutes, occasionally stirring with a wooden spoon.

While your sauce is simmering, boil your pasta until it’s al dente in salted water. You don’t want mushy pasta for mac-n-cheese.

While the pasta is cooking, chop up the tomatoes and the ham.

After draining the pasta, add the spinach to it while it’s still very hot. Mix it together.

Back to the sauce. It should be thick, like a cream. Season with salt and pepper. Add the shredded cheese.

The cheese will melt into the sauce, creating a super gooey and yummy concoction.

Dump the gooey sauce into the pasta and spinach and mix together.

Don’t forget the ham and tomatoes! Dump those into the pot too. And season it with salt and pepper for good measure.

Yum. Kind of reminds me of creamed spinach. Except there’s pasta. And ham and tomatoes. And cheese.

After everything is well combined, spread the pasta mixture into a large baking dish.

Top it with the bread crumbs, evenly scattering them. Then dot it with some butter.

Bake the macaroni and cheese for about 20 to 25 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are golden and crispy.

Delish.