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Beet Mac and Cheese

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The Food in My Beard
Updated Apr 18, 2017
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Indulgent creamy mac and cheese with added color from beets!

More About This Recipe

  • As the weather slowly turns colder, it feels great to pull out the heartier, more comforting bakes and casseroles that dominate fall and winter. Mac and cheese is a fun one. It’s a great summertime meal, but with the right tweaks and adjustments it can be transformed into the equivalent of a wool blanket on a crisp fall evening. This Beet Mac and Cheese does just that. Raw grated beets are used to not only make this mac taste heartier and thicker, but also to create the stunning magenta color. The earthy sweet beets go perfect with the sharp cheddar and creamy sauce. And the color is crazy!

Beet Mac and Cheese

  • Prep Time 30 min
  • Total 60 min
  • Servings 3
  • Ingredients 8
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Ingredients

  • 1/2 lb elbow macaroni
  • 2 cups milk
  • 3 leeks
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons flour
  • 3 beets
  • 3/4 lb cheddar cheese, grated
  • Progresso™ panko bread crumbs

Instructions

  • Step 
    1
    Cut and clean the leeks. Be sure to rinse them really well after cutting them to get all the dirt out.
  • Step 
    2
    Grate the beets with a microplane grater until you get one cup of beet pulp.
  • Step 
    3
    Bring pasta water to a boil. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • Step 
    4
    Sauté the leeks in butter for about 10 minutes until softened and tender, but not brown.
  • Step 
    5
    Drop the pasta and cook 5 minutes only.
  • Step 
    6
    Add the flour and mix well. Stir and cook for two minutes.
  • Step 
    7
    Whisk in the milk and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat.
  • Step 
    8
    Strain the pasta and add to the milk mixture. Add in the cheese and stir until everything is combined.
  • Step 
    9
    Stir in the beet pulp.
  • Step 
    10
    Pour into the baking dish or individual dishes. Top with a small handful of breadcrumbs. Bake for about 25 minutes until the breadcrumbs are slightly browned and the pasta is bubbling.

Nutrition

No nutrition information available for this recipe
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