Creamy and delicious Mac and Cheese with Cauliflower easily made in under 30 minutes for the perfect comfort food meal your whole family will love!
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You asked for it. I delivered.Meet my new best friend — lightened up mac and cheese with cauliflower thrown in, ya know, just so you get your veggies. I’ve had SO many requests for a skinny version of macaroni and cheese and didn’t want to post just any recipe. So I tried a bunch of different ones and this particular one was my absolute favorite! Not only is this a healthier version, but it’s creamy, super cheesy and has a sweetness that all the other recipes lacked.
Take my word for it.
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The combination of cheddar, parmesan and cream cheese was incredible and instead of making this into one big casserole like the recipe had called for, I put them into individual ramekins for portion control. If you’re just cooking for two or three, feel free to put this in a few ramekins and the rest of the mac and cheese in a smaller casserole dish that you can heat up the next day. That way nothing goes to waste and you can enjoy this deliciousness all week!
You may be wondering why I used Italian breadcrumbs instead of making my own. Well trust me I wanted to, but after I had gone to the store I realized I was out of wheat bread! So I ended up just using what I had on hand. A better alternative is blending two pieces of whole wheat bread with about a tablespoon of olive and a tablespoon of parmesan cheese and using that as a topping for your macaroni. Throw in some chopped parsley like I did for some color and a hint of flavor. I also used Ronzoni Smart Taste elbow macaroni {which I LOVE} because it has the same great taste as regular pasta but is lower in points. Can’t beat that!
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Lightened-Up Mac and Cheese with Cauliflower
Creamy and delicious Instant Pot Mac & Cheese with Broccoli easily made in under 30 minutes for the perfect comfort food meal your whole family will love!
Ingredients
- 1 (14.5 oz) box Ronzoni Smart Taste elbow macaroni
- 1/2 head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets
- 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
- 4 Tbsp reduced-fat grated Parmesan cheese
- 8 oz. grated sharp cheddar
- 4 oz. fat-free cream cheese
- 1/2 cup fat-free half-and-half
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add macaroni and cauliflower. Reserve a 1/2 cup of the water then drain macaroni and cauliflower.
- In a separate bowl, combine Italian breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan cheese and the chopped parsley together and set aside.
- Place cheddar, cream cheese, 3 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, half-and-half, salt and pepper in the already heated pot you just used and mix in the macaroni and cauliflower. Stir until well-combined and cheese is completely melted. Add reserved water.
- Place in 8 greased ramekins (or a 9×13 baking dish) and top with bread crumb mixture. Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes, or until bubbling and the crumbs are browned. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Serving: 1/8th of recipe | Calories: 335kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 16.6g | Fat: 10g | Fiber: 6g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
I love how you use individual serving dishes. It is a great way to work on portion control. This looks like a great recipe. I heard that cream cheese adds so much creaminess. I have yet to try it.
Looks fabulous. Can’t wait to try!
You are my absolute newest BFF!!! I am SOooo glad to have found your blog on food buzz. Now following your incredible recipes and I do hope you can follow me back as I incorporate more healthful recipes into my nutrition as well. The more the merrier! Thanks again for ALL of your recipes…..this mac n’ cheese must be awesome! Oh, I’m in a food blog group that makes recipes from Cooking Light once a month. The recipes are wonderful!!!
OHHHHH LA LALALALA this looks amazing!!!! I love the addition of the cauliflower 🙂
Love the cream cheese idea! Next time I’m trying it, usually I do low fat milk with some cornstarch on REALLY low heat. I do a cheesy cauliflower recipe too that is similar (minus the pasta of course) that is sort of a substitute for mashed potatoes. Yum!
Simply delicious! How clever to stick some cauliflower in there to healthy it up a bit. Glad to know this is man-approved too so the hubs will be a willing eater.
Mac N cheese is my weakness!! this looks so yummy!!I am totally going to try this!! thanks!!
You are my new best friend, you skinny mac and cheese! This is just what I need!!
What a beautiful mac and cheese, Kelly! I love that you added in a bit of cauliflower, too. I have a similar side dish recipe with a snuck-in veggie today. Yay for getting your veggies with a bit of carbs, too. Thanks for sharing!
Oh. My. This is incredible. I want it to be My Valentine 🙂