The Cardiac Cuisine

Lightened-Up Mac’n’Cheese

Filed Under: Dinner, Meatless, Pasta

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
lightened up mac and cheese is creamy and decadent, with less fat and fewer calories

A bit of a lightened-up mac & cheese, with less fat and fewer calories than the alternative. Toss elbow macaroni with an easy to make cheese sauce, top it with breadcrumbs and put it under the broiler for a few minutes. We made this for a Super Bowl snack!

I used skim milk, reduced-fat cheese and nonfat Greek yogurt to reduce the amount of fat. It was still decadently creamy!

If you don’t have little ramekin cups, you could also just bake this in an 8×8-inch baking dish. Since all the elements have already been cooked, you’re only putting the macaroni and cheese under the broiler to brown the breadcrumbs.

If you enjoyed this recipe, you may also enjoy my Pumpkin Mac’n’Cheese.

Print Recipe

Lightened-Up Macaroni & Cheese

Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 261kcal

Equipment

  • 6 little ramekin cups

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
  • 2 tablespoon soft margarine
  • 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups skim milk
  • ¼ tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon dry mustard
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 6 ounces reduced-fat cheddar cheese (grated)
  • 2 ounces Parmesan cheese (grated)
  • ¼ cup nonfat Greek yogurt
  • ¼ cup panko bread crumbs
  • nonstick spray or olive oil mister

Instructions

  • Boil a pot of water and cook the elbow macaroni according to package instructions
  • Preheat the broiler
  • Heat the margarine in a skillet or saucepan over medium heat until it sizzles.
  • Add the flour and stir it around with the butter. Cook the flour for about 2 minutes.
  • Slowly whisk in the milk. Whisk well as you add the milk to avoid lumps!
  • Whisk in the garlic powder, dry mustard and black pepper. Keep whisking until the milk mixture begins to boil and thicken.
  • Turn the heat down and whisk in the cheese until the cheese is melted and fully incorporated into the sauce.
  • Remove the sauce from heat and stir in the nonfat Greek yogurt.
  • Stir in the cooked, drained elbow macaroni
  • Spoon the macaroni and cheese mixture into 8 small ramekin cups. Sprinkle with about ½ tablespoon of panko breadcrumbs each. Spray lightly with nonstick spray or an olive oil mister.
  • Arrange the ramekins on a baking sheet and place under the broiler for about 5 minutes, until the breadcrumbs on top are golden.





More Dinner Recipes