Vermont Cheddar Mac Cheese Salad

So I tried making this Vermont Cheddar Mac Cheese Salad thing last Tuesday after I got home from work and I wasn’t really planning to but I had all the stuff sitting there. It’s basically that Lean Cuisine Mac and Cheese box but you serve it next to a kale salad with apples and beans and it somehow works way better than it should.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Takes 20 minutes total which is about how long I can stand being in the kitchen on a weeknight
• The sharp Vermont cheddar in the frozen mac cuts through all the fresh stuff in a way that regular mac and cheese wouldn’t
• You get protein from the beans and the mac so you’re not hungry an hour later
• Pepitas add this nutty crunch that makes the whole kale salad recipe feel less virtuous and more like actual food
• Pomegranate arils pop in your mouth right when you’re getting tired of chewing kale
• The dressing recipe makes way more than you need but that’s actually great because then you have it

The Story Behind This Recipe

I had one of those nights where I wanted comfort food but also didn’t want to feel like garbage after. There was a Lean Cuisine box in the freezer from whenever and a bunch of kale I bought with good intentions three days earlier. I figured I’d just eat them separately but then I remembered seeing someone on Instagram do something similar with a different frozen meal.

The fall protein salad thing happened because I opened my fridge and just started pulling out what was there. Apples, leftover beans from Sunday, that jar of pomegranate arils I impulse-bought. Honestly the mac and cheese salad concept sounded weird in my head but I was tired and hungry.

What You Need

You need 1 Lean Cuisine Mac and Cheese meal, the one in the green box with the Vermont cheddar because that sharp flavor actually matters here. Regular mac and cheese is too mild and gets lost next to all the fresh stuff. Then grab 1 cup of chopped kale, and I mean really chopped because big pieces of kale are annoying to eat and your jaw gets tired. You want half an apple diced up, not sliced, because cubes mix into the salad better and you get apple in more bites.

Quarter cup of pepitas is what makes this fall protein salad feel less like you’re trying to be healthy and more like you’re eating something that has actual flavor. Half a cup of cooked beans, whatever kind you have, I used white beans from a can I opened Sunday. Quarter cup of pomegranate arils from one of those plastic containers they sell at the store, don’t buy a whole pomegranate unless you have an hour to waste and want your kitchen to look like a crime scene.

For the dressing you’ll whisk together olive oil, vinegar, mustard, honey, salt and pepper. I didn’t measure anything and you probably won’t either. Just taste it as you go and add more of whatever it needs.

How to Make Vermont Cheddar Mac Cheese Salad

Heat the Lean Cuisine Mac and Cheese following whatever the package says. Mine said to poke holes in the film and microwave for 3 minutes then stir then another minute but yours might be different. While it’s going you’ll hear it start bubbling and see steam coming out of those little holes, that’s when you know it’s almost done and you should probably get the salad ready.

Toss your chopped kale with the diced apple, pepitas, beans and pomegranate arils in whatever bowl is big enough. The pepitas and apple add this crunch that keeps the kale salad recipe from feeling like you’re eating lawn clippings. I noticed the pomegranate arils kind of sink to the bottom so I mixed everything twice.

Whisk the dressing ingredients hard in a small bowl until it looks like actual dressing and not just separated oil and vinegar floating around. You’ll end up with about half a cup which is way more than you need for one salad. I keep the extra in a jar in the fridge and it’s honestly great to have sitting there for the rest of the week.

Pour however much dressing you want on the salad. I used maybe 2 tablespoons because I didn’t want it swimming in there. The dressing should just coat everything lightly so you can still taste the kale’s slight bitterness and the beans stay creamy instead of getting slippery.

Plate the salad next to the hot mac and cheese and start eating. Here’s the thing nobody tells you about this mac and cheese salad concept: you’re supposed to get both on your fork at the same time. Like a bite of the sharp cheddar mac with a piece of apple and some kale. That’s when the sharpness of the Vermont cheddar hits different against the tart pomegranate and sweet apple. If you eat them separately it’s just frozen mac and a salad, but together something actually happens.

What I Did Wrong the First Time

I made the huge mistake of dressing the entire salad before I plated it. By the time I finished eating the mac and cheese side, the kale had gotten all wilted and sad from sitting in the dressing too long. Now I dress half the salad, eat that with the mac, then dress the rest if I’m still hungry. The kale stays way crunchier and the whole thing feels less like a pile of soggy greens you’re forcing yourself to finish.

Vermont Cheddar Mac Cheese Salad

By Emma

Prep:

15 min

Cook:

5 min

Total:

20 min

Servings:

1 serving

Ingredients

• 1 Lean Cuisine Mac and Cheese meal
• 1 cup kale, chopped
• ½ apple, diced
• ¼ cup pepitas
• ½ cup cooked beans
• ¼ cup pomegranate arils
• Dressing ingredients (whisked together): olive oil, vinegar, mustard, honey, salt, pepper (quantities not specified)

Method

1. 1 Heat the Lean Cuisine Mac and Cheese following the package directions. As it warms, listen for the bubbling sound and watch for steam rising to know it's nearly done.
2. 2 While mac and cheese cooks, prepare the salad. Toss chopped kale with diced apple, pepitas, beans, and pomegranate arils in a large bowl. The crunch from the pepitas and crisp apple will contrast the kale’s texture nicely.
3. 3 Whisk the dressing ingredients vigorously in a small bowl until fully combined. You’ll end up with half a cup, more than needed; I keep the leftovers refrigerated for extra salad later.
4. 4 Dress the salad with the amount of dressing you prefer. The dressing should lightly coat the ingredients without drowning them, preserving the kale’s chew and the beans’ creaminess.
5. 5 Plate the salad alongside the hot mac and cheese and dig in. Notice the sharpness of the cheddar mingling with the fresh, tart notes of pomegranate and apple.

Nutritional information

Calories

Approximate total 500

Protein

20g

Carbs

60g

Fat

18g

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Tips for the Best Vermont Cheddar Mac Cheese Salad

Don’t tear your kale, actually chop it with a knife into small pieces. Torn kale has these stringy edges that get stuck in your teeth and make the whole salad annoying to eat. When you chop it you get clean edges that wilt better when they hit the dressing.

Let the mac and cheese sit for like 30 seconds after you take it out of the microwave. It’s lava-hot right when it comes out and you’ll burn your mouth, but if you wait just a bit the cheese gets creamier instead of that weird separated oil thing that happens sometimes.

Mix your beans in last after everything else is tossed. They’re soft and if you’re aggressive with them they turn into mush and make the whole fall protein salad look grey and paste-y instead of having distinct ingredients you can see.

Buy the pepitas already roasted and salted from the bulk section. The raw ones taste like cardboard and you’d have to toast them yourself which defeats the entire point of this being a fast dinner. I learned this the annoying way when I bought a bag of raw ones thinking I’d save money.

The apple turns brown if you cut it more than 10 minutes before you eat. It doesn’t affect the taste but it looks gross next to the bright pomegranate arils so just dice it right before you’re ready to assemble everything.

Serving Ideas

I eat this straight from the bowl most nights but when my sister came over I put it in one of those wide shallow pasta bowls and it looked way more intentional. The mac sits in the middle and the salad goes around the edges like a ring.

It’s really good with a piece of crusty bread if you have it. You can drag the bread through the leftover cheese sauce and dressing that pools at the bottom of your bowl.

Sometimes I add hot sauce directly on the mac and cheese part, not the salad. Frank’s RedHot or something similar cuts through the richness and makes you want to keep alternating bites between the hot mac and the cold kale salad recipe.

Variations

You can swap the white beans for chickpeas and it works fine, they’re sturdier so they don’t fall apart as easy when you’re mixing. Black beans make the whole thing look muddy though so I’d skip those unless you don’t care how it looks.

I tried this with regular frozen mac instead of the Lean Cuisine Vermont cheddar one and it was just okay. The cheese needs to be sharp enough to stand up to all the bright flavors or the whole mac and cheese salad concept falls flat and tastes like baby food next to kale.

Dried cranberries instead of pomegranate arils could work if you’re desperate but they’re chewier and sweeter in a way that’s more one-note. The arils pop and have that tart juice inside which is the whole point.

Baby spinach works if you really hate kale but you lose that sturdy texture that holds up to the dressing. Spinach gets slimy within like 5 minutes so you’d have to eat faster.

FAQ

Can I use a different brand of frozen mac and cheese? Yeah but it needs to be sharp cheddar, not mild or “three cheese” or whatever. The sharp flavor is what makes this work instead of just tasting like a kids meal next to salad. I haven’t tried other brands so I can’t promise they’ll be as good as the Lean Cuisine one.

Do the beans have to be cooked or can I use canned? Canned is already cooked so just drain and rinse them. I used beans from a can I’d opened a few days earlier and kept in the fridge in a container and that worked fine too.

How long does the dressed salad last in the fridge? Maybe an hour before the kale starts getting sad and wilted. If you dress it and try to save it for lunch the next day you’ll have a soggy mess that nobody wants to eat.

Can I make the dressing ahead of time? Yeah that’s actually the best part of this whole thing. It keeps in a jar in the fridge for at least a week, maybe more but I always use it up by then. Just shake it before you use it because the oil separates.

What if I don’t have pomegranate arils? Then you don’t have them but the salad will be less interesting. You could skip them entirely and it’s still edible, just not as good. Don’t use dried fruit as a substitute because it’s too sweet and sticky.

Do I really need to chop the kale that small? Yes unless you enjoy feeling like a cow chewing cud for 10 minutes per bite. Big pieces of kale are tough and your jaw gets tired and you’ll end up hating this recipe when the kale itself isn’t even the problem.

Can I heat the mac and cheese in the oven instead of microwave? I guess but why would you wait 25 minutes when the microwave takes 4. The package directions are for microwave anyway and I’ve never tried it another way.

What kind of apple works best? Something crisp like Honeycrisp or Granny Smith. Don’t use Red Delicious because they’re mealy and gross. You want the apple to stay crunchy when it hits the dressing.

How do I know when the mac and cheese is done in the microwave? When you hear it bubbling really loud and see steam shooting out of the holes you poked. Also the package tells you a time but every microwave is slightly different so use your ears.

Can I eat this cold the next day? The mac and cheese gets weird and gluey when it’s cold. You could reheat just that part in the microwave for like 45 seconds and eat it with fresh undressed kale salad recipe if you prepped extra greens.

What if I don’t have pepitas? Sunflower seeds work in a pinch. Almonds are too hard and get stuck in your teeth, walnuts are too soft and disappear into the kale. Pepitas have this specific texture that’s crunchy but not aggressive.

Why does my dressing separate? Because oil and vinegar don’t want to stay together naturally. Whisk it really hard for like 30 seconds until it looks creamy, or shake it in a jar with the lid on which is honestly easier.

How much dressing should I actually use? Start with 2 tablespoons for this amount of salad and add more if it seems dry. Too much and everything slides around on your plate and tastes like you’re drinking vinaigrette.

Can I add other vegetables to the salad? Sure but don’t add anything watery like tomatoes or cucumbers because they’ll make the whole thing soggy. Shredded carrots or thinly sliced radishes would probably be fine.

What do I do with leftover pomegranate arils? Eat them straight from the container as a snack or throw them on yogurt in the morning. They go bad pretty quick once you open the package, like within 3 days they start getting slimy.

Do I have to use olive oil in the dressing? It’s what I used but you could probably use another oil if you hate olive oil for some reason. It’ll taste different though and I can’t promise it’ll be better.

Can I make this for more than one person? Yeah just multiply everything but you’ll need multiple Lean Cuisine boxes which feels weird to buy in bulk. The salad part scales up easy though, just use a bigger bowl for tossing.

Why does my kale taste so bitter? Some kale is more bitter than others depending on the type. Massage it with a tiny bit of the dressing for like 30 seconds before you add everything else and it breaks down the bitterness somewhat. I noticed this totally by accident when I was impatient waiting for the mac to finish and just started squeezing the kale with my hands while it sat in the bowl with some dressing on it.