This month with Allrecipes we are working with one of my favorite brands, Barilla. In my opinion, Barilla makes some pretty good pasta and I especially love that they have a gluten free line. I only wished they offered more than gluten free spaghetti, elbows and penne. Maybe one day, a girl can hope right!

Of all their recipes we could choose from I chose one of their mac and cheese recipes. After all  it is mac and cheese and mac and cheese is awesome. The name is a bit deceiving with healthy in the title, I haven’t quite figured that one out yet. It may be for the pureed carrots but then again it could be for the healthy wholesome ingredients. Oh yes, I said carrots, pureed carrots and my family could not even tell they were in there! My kids love carrots and veggies but you gotta love sneaking in veggies and getting extra vitamins in.

While this does have carrots sneakily hiding in it, it is also made with some delicious cheeses and cream. Yes, real heavy cream. So this dish is calorie dense but that is ok, there are a few days until it’s time to start working on those New Year’s resolutions.  This is really good mac and cheese, just eat it while standing up because those calories don’t count.

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Healthy "Italian Mac and Cheese" with Carrot Puree
 
Author:
 
Are you looking for a new Mac and Cheese recipe? Check out this recipe made with carrot puree. Perfect for picky eaters!
Ingredients
  • 1 box Barilla Elbows (I used gluten Free)
  • 1 cup raw carrots, diced for carrot puree*
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup Asiago cheese, diced
  • 1 cup fontina cheese, diced
  • ½ cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, shredded
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Directions
  2. Bring a large pot and a small pot of water to a boil.
  3. Cook pasta 1 minute less than package directions.
  4. Pre-heat Oven to 400 degrees F.
  5. Meanwhile in a large skillet saute garlic in olive oil until slightly yellow in color.
  6. Add cream to skillet; slowly bring to a simmer and add carrot puree and pasta.
  7. Whisk in Asiago and fontina cheeses, simmer.
  8. Pour mix into a 2-quart casserole dish, top with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and bake 10 minutes in the oven.
  9. *To make carrot puree: Boil carrots in the small pot; when tender drain and rinse. Puree the carrots in a food processor or blender until smooth adding water as needed to make a thick sauce.