This Mac and Cheese for Baby will please the fussiest eater. It’s tastier, healthier and less processed than store-made versions!
Updated 27 April 2023
Homemade Mac and Cheese for 8 months +
Mac and Cheese is a meal my 21-month-old, Kai, would never reject. This isn’t surprising, as I don’t think many adults would reject a good mac and cheese either! I mean, who can resist pasta slathered in a cheesy buttery sauce?
As we may already know, Mac and Cheese aren’t the most nutritious meal for a baby, but we can make it healthier! This homemade version has the goodness of finely chopped broccoli. Yes, they’re green and not hidden very well! BUT, I’m confident babies, toddlers and even older kids would happily eat this Mac and cheese, broccoli and all!
Homemade Mac and Cheese also taste much better than store-bought ones because it’s not as processed. We also have more control over how much sugar and salt go into our Mac and Cheese.
During my broke uni days, I relied on Kraft’s famous blue boxes of Mac & Cheese because they were cheap and convenient. I’m also ashamed to admit they didn’t taste too bad either! It’s funny that I never thought about making my own Mac and cheese until I had Kai. I don’t know what’s in those boxes of Mac and cheese, but I’m pretty sure they’re not as healthy as this homemade Mac and Cheese!
Kai loves my homemade Mac and Cheese, and he never notices the broccoli. Yay, that’s a big win! As he gets older, feeding him vegetables is one of the biggest challenges. He knows to avoid green food!
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Kai’s health nurse encouraged us to feed him the same food we ate after he turned one. I love the idea of this because who wants to make two separate meals when we don’t have to?
The problem is my family, and I love flavourful and spicy food. Food that is not baby friendly! At this stage, Kai doesn’t like sour or aromatic food. Bland food is our enemy, but it’s food that Kai seems to enjoy eating! So here we are, and I’m still cooking Kai separate meals daily!
I think if I made this Mac and Cheese daily, it’ll solve our problem! Yes, we adults would eat this too! In fact, I always help myself to mouthfuls of pasta when I’m making this dish for Kai. It’s definitely one of my favourite ‘baby food’ I’ve created for him!
Making Mac and Cheese Healthier
Yes, I’m guilty of being an overzealous mum. I can’t help myself and add all kinds of veggies to Kai’s food, knowing he’s likely to reject it. I’ve tried hiding kale, carrots, spinach, corn and zucchini in his Mac and Cheese. Kai is harder to fool these days, so most times I can’t get away with adding too much veggies.
Babies and toddlers are still experimenting with food, so one day they may hate it and other days they don’t. So, my tip is, if your little one is currently loving carrots, then add grated carrots with their Mac and Cheese. My safe bet with Kai is broccoli because he’s never turned this combination down.
Try not to get carried away by adding too many vegetables, even if you’re adding just one kind of vegetable. I often find myself regretful for being too pushy with the veggies because I rather see him eat his food with fewer veggies than none of it.
You could also experiment and swap regular pasta with healthier pasta. For example, vegetable, buckwheat or wholemeal pasta. However, this may slightly change the consistency of the Mac and Cheese. The pasta you’ve swapped for needs to be small like macaroni or elbow pasta, so it cooks quickly.
Ingredients for Mac and Cheese for baby
Macaroni (elbows) – These days there are many healthier pasta varieties available to us! Supermarkets have veggie, fibre pasta, buckwheat, wholemeal pasta and many more. All these kinds of pasta will work, however, stick to the elbows or smaller macaroni, as they’re quicker to cook over the stove.
Mozzarella cheese – I used mozzarella cheese as it’s mild in taste and relatively low in fat and calories. It’s also a healthier option compared to other types of cheese. However, any kind of melting cheese would work, such as mild cheddar.
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Broccoli – I’ve tried cooking with lots of different veggies with Kai’s Mac and Cheese. For us, he would always eat it if it’s with broccoli, just as long as I don’t place too much of it in. You may swap broccoli for a veggie your child would eat, such as corn, carrots, or zucchini. Chop the vegetable in safe sizes for your little one to prevent choking.
Onion powder – Always take the time to read the ingredients list on the label. The onion powder I used states that ‘it may contain traces of sesame’ which is a common food allergy. Dried parsley or any herbs and spices are good substitutions.
Salt – Please adjust the salt to the needs of your child. If your child is younger than 12 months, you may wish to skip adding salt altogether.
Watch how to make Mac and Cheese for baby
Step-by-step written guide with photos
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add in garlic and stir quickly for a few seconds until fragrant, then add in the flour, stirring quickly for a minute. Once the mixture bubbles slowly pour in the milk, whilst whisking. It’ll look lumpy at first but continue to whisk until smooth. Once the milk is hot, pour in the water and bring it to a boil.
Healthier Mac and Cheese for baby
Add in the macaroni, broccoli, onion powder and salt (if using), stir regularly for 10 to 15 or until the pasta and broccoli have softened. Stir regularly, so the pasta doesn’t get stuck to the bottom of the pan. The Mac and cheese should look saucy, don’t overcook it or it’ll become too dry. Stir in the cheese until it has completely melted. The sauce will thicken more once the pasta cools down.
Leftovers – Allow the pasta to cool completely at room temperature. Transfer the pasta into an airtight container and refrigerate, it’ll be good for up to 3 days. Frozen pasta will keep for up to 3 months.
I’ve used a third-party application to calculate the calories and nutritional information, so please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements. For specific details and conversions, visit our Australian Cooking Measurements page.
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Mac and Cheese for baby
Ingredients
- 20 gm butter
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1½ tbsp plain flour (all-purpose flour)
- 2 cup milk
- 2 cup water
- 1½ cup dried macaroni pasta (elbows) (NOTE 1)
- 1 tsp onion powder (NOTE 2)
- ¼ tsp salt (NOTE 3)
- ½ cup chopped broccoli (NOTE 4)
- ½ cup grated mozzarella cheese (NOTE 5)
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add in garlic and stir quickly for a few seconds until fragrant, then add in the flour, stirring quickly for a minute. Once the mixture bubbles slowly pour in the milk, whilst whisking. It'll look lumpy at first but continue to whisk until smooth. Once the milk is hot, pour in the water and bring it to a boil.
- Add in the macaroni, broccoli, onion powder and salt (if using), stir regularly for 10 to 15 or until the pasta and broccoli have softened. Stir regularly, so the pasta doesn't get stuck to the bottom of the pan. The Mac and cheese should look saucy, don't overcook it or it'll become too dry. Stir in the cheese until it has completely melted. The sauce will thicken more once the pasta cools down.
My baby boy adored this! Thank you
So cute! Thank you, Jamie
My 11 month old loved this, I’m so pleased! I used broccolini as he’s still adjusting to larger florets. I’m going to steam some pumpkin and mix it through when I make it again. Thank you for the recipe
Hi Chels,
It brings me joy to know that your adorable little one loved this recipe! Pumpkin would be a great addition, yum! Thanks for leaving this message 😊
Fat chance my boy would eat broccoli, big skeptic here because anything green would turn him off. Here I am forced to eat my words, he licked the bowl clean. I’m gonna try my luck and put more veggies in next time and make double for me also
Hi Leon,
Doesn’t it feel good when they eat veggies? So glad this worked for you and your little one! Good idea to make a double batch 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to leave this comment.
Was looking for something healthier and inexpensive than what I was normally feeding my 2 year old and found this recipe which fit the bill nicely! I like the instructions were well set out and was easy even for me to follow and I had all the ingredients already in our pantry and fridge. I left the salt out of my version but The pièce de résistance is my son loved it and ate it all up. Will definitely save and use going forward!
Hi Jamie,
Thank you so much for your comment. Doesn’t it feel wonderful when our little ones enjoy our cooking?! This simple pasta is still a favourite meal for my 2-year-old, and he always licks his bowl clean afterwards.