Baked Macaroni Cheese with Chicken & BROCCOLI
Total Time
45 minutes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Rating
5 out of 5 stars
(21)
Ingredients
4 servings
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb / 500g skinless chicken breast or thigh fillets (, cut into bite size pieces)
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 garlic cloves (, minced)
- 1 small onion (, finely chopped)
- 4 tbsp plain flour
- 2 1/2 cups milk (, low fat)
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp salt
- Black pepper
- 2 cups macaroni / elbow pasta (Note 1)
- 1 large head of broccoli (, broken into florets (or 1 1/2 smaller ones)
- 1 1/2 - 2 cups grated cheese (cheddar, tasty or gruyere)
- 1/4 cup panko (or ordinary breadcrumbs)
- 2 tbsp parmesan cheese
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Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
Step 2
Heat oil in a deep heavy based skillet or dutch oven over high heat. Add chicken and cook until just cooked - it's fine if it's still raw inside. Remove chicken into a bowl. (Note 2)
Step 3
Reduce heat to medium and melt butter. Add garlic and onion and saute for 5 minutes until onion is translucent. Add flour and cook for 1 minute.
Step 4
Pour in half the milk and whisk it in so the flour butter mixture melts. It should thicken quite quickly - around 30 seconds. Pour the remaining milk in, whisking constantly, then add the water, salt and pepper.
Step 5
Turn the heat up to medium high and cook, whisking occasionally, for around 3 to 5 minutes until you start seeing steam rising from the white sauce when you whisk it.
Step 6
Add the macaroni and chicken, stir, then top with broccoli.
Step 7
Place the lid on and bake for 20 minutes.
Step 8
Remove from the oven, switch oven to broiler/grill on high.
Step 9
Remove lid (Note 3), stir through cheese, then sprinkle over panko and parmesan. (Will still look bit watery at this stage).
Step 10
Place pot under the broiler/grill for 5 minutes, or until top is golden.
Step 11
Remove, then let it stand for 5 minutes before serving (sauce thickens quickly).
Step 12
Save recipe for the next time?
