The best low calorie Mac and Cheese
Mac and cheese is the ultimate comfort food recipe. Made with a rich, creamy cheese sauce and soft elbow pasta, it is no wonder that it is one of the most well loved recipe worldwide! This low calorie mac and cheese recipe has all the cheesy deliciousness as of regular mac and cheese, but for a fraction of the calories!
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When I think mac and cheese, I’m picturing a super hearty, ultra cheesy carb-loaded dish. It is such a delicious and easy dinner to throw together. If you’re looking for a little comfort in food or a fun little side dish, mac and cheese is definitely the recipe for you!
Ordinarily, I like to enjoy full fat, super greasy mac and cheese! And I suggest you do to every once in a while! BUT if you’re looking for a yummy dinner that tastes just as delicious as regular mac and cheese but without all the excess calories and oil, this is the PERFECT recipe for you!
This low calorie mac and cheese recipe was definitely one of my favorite low calorie dinner recipes when I was in a calorie deficit. I would batch a few servings every week and portion them out for the week. It is deliciously cheesy, hearty and warm with a tasty crunchy top! Plus, it’s super easy to throw together and only requires FIVE ingredients!
Low calorie Mac and Cheese
This low calorie mac and cheese recipe is super simple and easy to make. You only need a handful of ingredients and 30 minutes to make your own delicious, cheesy dish!
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- Single serve so you won’t be tempted to overeat!
- Takes less than 30 minutes to make!
- This recipe is vegetarian, nut-free and egg-free.
- Perfect for meal prepping.
- Only contains 375 calories for a generous serving!
- This recipe is super creamy, cheesy and perfect comfort food for a calorie deficit!
- This recipe can easily be made gluten-free with some gluten-free macaroni/pasta.
- The BEST low calorie Mac and Cheese recipe ever!
Ingredients
Exact ingredient quantities can be found at the bottom of this page.
To make the best low calorie Mac and Cheese you will need:
- Macaroni – I used regular elbow macaroni for this recipe. Feel free to switch this up and use whichever pasta you like! (I also love to use spirali pasta).
- Philadelphia lightest – To replace the roux in traditional mac and cheese recipes, I went with Philadelphia lightest. This is a great alternative as it is creamy and cheesy (it is cream cheese after all) but with very few calories! A great alternative would be light cream cheese which contains an extra 31 calories.
- Unsweetened almond milk – Any milk will work for this recipe, but to keep calories low, unsweetened almond milk works best.
- Light cheddar cheese – Now for the best part, cheeeese!! I like to use light cheddar as it has a very strong flavor but is still lower in calories than regular cheese. You can use regular cheese too but for the sake of making a super low calorie dish, I went with light cheddar.
- Cornflakes – This is optional but I absolutely love a crunchy top on mac and cheese!
- Seasonings – You can season the sauce to your taste. I like to add some garlic granules, vegetable stock powder and dried parsley.
How to make low calorie mac and cheese
- Measure out the pasta and cook al-dente or for one minute less than the package instructs. Set aside.
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C (356°F).
- Make the sauce by mixing together the cream cheese, milk and seasonings. Set this over medium heat and allow to reach a boil, about 5 minutes.
- Mix the pasta into the sauce and transfer to a 20cm oven-safe dish.
- Top with the cheese and crushed cornflakes and baked for 15-20 minutes, serve and enjoy!
Top tips & storage
Set aside a little pasta water – To have an even creamier dish, set aside 20ml of the pasta water just before draining the pasta!
Grate your own cheese – Grating your own cheese makes such a difference when it comes to baking cheese! Pre-grated cheeses have a harder time melting (thanks to the anti-caking agents) and can sometimes have a weird texture once melted. Little pro tip – use a cheese grater like this one to grate your cheese all at once and have it stored in the fridge for future use!
Meal prep this dish – To meal prep this dish and have a few nights of dinner sorted, multiply the recipe by however many servings you want to make and make per recipe. Portion them out into separate boxes and refrigerate. Bake the day you’re ready to enjoy. Alternatively, for a quicker meal prep, you can bake, allow to cool and then refrigerate. To reheat, microwave on high for about 1 minute or until piping hot throughout.
Storage
This low calorie mac and cheese is best served the day made but can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
Alternatively, this dish can be frozen for up to 4 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and bake per recipe.
more low calorie dinners…
375 Calorie Mac & Cheese for One
Ingredients
- 65 g uncooked macaroni or pasta of choice
- 60 g Philadelphia lightest*
- 50 ml unsweetened almond milk*
- 30 ml pasta water (optional)
- 30 g light cheddar cheese
- 7 g cornflakes
- seasonings to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta al-dente or for one minute less than the package instructs. Set aside.
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C (356°F).
- Make the sauce by mixing together the cream cheese and milk. Set this over medium heat and allow to reach a boil, about 5 minutes.
- Mix the pasta into the sauce and transfer to a 20cm oven safe dish. The sauce will be quite runny but don't worry, it will thicken in the oven.
- Top with the cheese and crushed cornflakes and baked for 15-20 minutes, serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Substitutions:
- Philadelphia lightest – To replace the roux in traditional mac and cheese recipes, I went with Philadelphia lightest! This is a great alternative as it is creamy and cheesy (it is cream cheese after all lol) but with very few calories! A great alternative would be light cream cheese which is higher in calories by just 31 calories.
- Unsweetened almond milk – Any milk would work, but to keep calories low, almond milk works best.
- Seasonings – You can season the sauce to your taste. I like to add some garlic granules, vegetable stock powder and dried parsley!
Tips:
Set aside a little pasta water – To have an even saucier and creamier dish, set aside 20ml of the pasta water just before draining the pasta! Grate your own cheese – Grating your own cheese makes such a difference when it comes to baking cheese! Pre-grated cheeses have a harder time melting (thanks to the anti-caking agents) and can sometimes have a weird texture once melted! Little pro tip – use a cheese grater like this one to grate your cheese all at once and have it stored in the fridge for future use! Meal prep this dish – To meal prep this dish and have a few nights of dinner sorted, multiply the recipe by however many servings you want to make and make per recipe. Portion them out into separate boxes and refrigerate. Bake the day you’re ready to enjoy! Alternatively, for a quicker meal prep, you can bake, allow to cool and then refrigerate. To reheat, microwave on high for about 1 minute or until piping hot throughout.Storage
This low calorie mac and cheese is best served the day made but can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. Alternatively, this dish can be frozen for up to 4 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and bake per recipe.Nutrition
Amazing recipe, thank you so much! My country does not sell Philadelphia lightest, but sells Philadelphia extra protein which has the same amount of calories. So easy to substitute. As a side I added two oven baked chicken trips, full meal for 500kcal. Perfect for when you have to watch your intake but are craving comfort food. Will definitely make again!
GIRL this recipe is sooooooo good! I mixed some of the grated cheese into the sauce to make it extra cheesy, I was in HEAVEN. Thanks so much!
THIS IS AMAZING I LITERALLY ADORE YOU VEERA THANK YOU SO MUCHHHH !!!!!
OMG!! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe as much as I did :))
How much is 1 serving? For example, 1 cup?
This recipe is single serve so the entire dish is 1 serving!
What brand of pasta should I use?
You can use any, I tend to use any generic store brand one I purchase!
What can I use instead of cream cheeses as that is not available where I live
Hi Lola, you can use low fat yogurt in place of the cream cheese!