375 Calorie Mac & Cheese for One
This 375 calorie mac and cheese recipe has all the creamy cheesiness of regular mac and cheese for a fraction of the calories! Only requiring 5 ingredients, this recipe is the perfect comfort food for a calorie deficit!
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
Serving: 1 Mac and cheeseCalories: 374kcalCarbohydrates: 52gProtein: 25gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 47mgFiber: 6gSugar: 4gCalcium: 5mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!