Suitable from 6+ months, perfect for the whole family and great for the lunch box
Who doesn't love macaroni cheese? You can make these Macaroni and Broccoli Cheese Cups by using any macaroni cheese recipe, but my macaroni cheese recipe is suitable for babies under the age of 1 but still delicious for the whole family.
Broccoli is a vegetable we can all agree on in this house, my 3 year old loves it as well as my baby. So it made sense for me to add this as the vegetable for the Macaroni and Broccoli Cheese Cups but you can substitute with other vegetables or even leave out completely. You could try out my Hidden Veg Macaroni Cheese and simply grate some carrot in - the fussy eaters will never know!
The Macaroni and Broccoli Cheese Cups are also a great finger food for baby led weaning (BLW). I would suggest cutting them in half so they are easy for your baby to grab with their whole fist.
I bake these Macaroni and Broccoli Cheese Cups in my silicon muffin tin which I would quit honestly be lost without. Everything I make in here pops right out perfectly cooked and they're the perfect size for kids and baby led weaning (BLW). I got mine from amazon here (Aff link).
For this recipe I have used shortcrust pastry but you can substitute with puff pasty and the Macaroni and Broccoli Cheese Cups will be just as delicious! I love using ready made pastry you just roll out as it saves so much time if you're a busy parent wanting to make a quick snack or meal for the family.
So give these delicious little cups of joy a go and let me know what you think, if you're a cheese (or pasta!) lover then trust me you won't be disappointed!
Macaroni and Broccoli Cheese Cups
Ingredients
50g cheddar cheese
25g plain flour
20g unsalted butter
Around 350ml whole milk
40g chopped broccoli florets
100g macaroni
1 roll of ready made puff sheet pastry
Method
Preheat oven to 200c (or 390f)
Boil the broccoli until it has just turned soft and drain, and do the same with the macaroni
Meanwhile melt the butter in a saucepan on a medium heat then add the flour. Use a wooden spoon to mix well until it becomes a paste then little by little add the milk until it becomes a thick roux (use more or less milk as needed)
Grate the cheese and add to the sauce then mix until melted, then finally add the broccoli, stir again and remove from the heat
Unroll the shortcrust pastry and use a circular shape cutter to make 12 pastry cups
Place the pastry cups into a muffin tin (I use a silicon tin as they pop our easily), then spoon in the macaroni and broccoli cheese mixture into each individual cup
Bake in the oven for 18 minutes and leave to cool before serving
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