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.
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I love the look of the site and there are a ton of recipes I want to try.. having said that…
This recipe (cooked in a 9×13 pan, not ramekins) was disappointing. There was no creaminess, the dish never “bubbled” and the crumb mixture on top never really integrated with the rest. On the plus side my wife, who hates cauliflower, ate most of her serving before I told her it was there. But I wonder if the individual sizes are the way to go. I was disappointed (as a huge mac and cheese fan) but I’ll try other ones here and see if I can find some “winners” 🙂
Thanks for all your info.
Greg
I was inspired by your recipe last week, and it was a hit with my husband and four year old daughter! She even asked for it for breakfast the next day. I just wrote up my blog post and credited you as my recipe inspiration: http://dreamingofwhitechocolate.com/2014/01/cauliflower-macaroni-cheese.html
I just made this for dinner and it was delicious! I didn’t have half-and-half so I just used skim milk and threw in a spoonful of plain Greek yogurt for some richness. Other than that, I followed the recipe. So good! Thank you!
This was SO yummy ! I could even do without the bread crumbs.. Unneeded cals for me 🙂 I even might do a whole head of cauliflower next time I make it! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I mentioned this in an article I wrote about comfort foods. Feel free to check it out!
http://netflixandnutella.com/2013/01/25/comfort-foods-mac-cheese/
I had such a hard time finding reduced fat Parmesan cheese, so I wasn’t able to use it. I got whole wheat elbow macaroni. We shall see how it tastes in about 18-20minutes =]
Can’t wait to make this thanks!
Looks yummy! Pinning this for later 🙂