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This healthy baked macaroni and cheese will satisfy your cheesy cravings without all the calories and fat of traditional macaroni and cheese. It's a perfect side dish or vegetarian main dish!

Healthier Macaroni and Cheese

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  • Author: Liz Thomson
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 8 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Vegetarian

Description

Macaroni and cheese is a classic comfort food recipe, but this lighter recipe is a dinner you can feel good about eating again and again! Made with skim milk, whole-wheat pasta, and broccoli, this is a healthy twist on your favorite cheesy meal!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 16 oz chickpea macaroni noodles (like Banza) or whole wheat noodles
  • 1 large head of broccoli, chopped
  • 2 1/2 cups of skim milk
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup shredded smoked Gouda (or more cheddar)
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • Dash of pepper
  • 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
  • 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
  2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
  3. Add in the macaroni and cook according to the package directions.
  4. When you have about 5 minutes left of the pasta cooking, add in the broccoli. (Check it out, one less dish to wash!)
  5. You can boil them together until both are tender.
  6. In a separate sauce pan, heat up the milk over medium heat.
  7. Right before it starts to simmer, whisk in the flour and cornstarch slowly and reduce heat to low.
  8. Slowly add in the cheeses until melted. You can turn the heat back up a bit if you need to.
  9. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
  10. Combine the sauce and the macaroni in an 8×8 pan.
  11. Cover with breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.
  12. Bake for another 10 minutes, or until the top begins to brown.

Notes

I’ve been loving Banza chickpea noodles and I swear you can’t taste this difference in this recipe! If you can’t find them or you’re not a fan of chickpeas, whole wheat noodles will do the trick.

If you’re short on time or you’re craving a really saucy macaroni and cheese, you can skip the baking part entirely and stop after step 9.

You can also prep everything until step 9 a few hours or a day before. Keep it in the fridge, and plan to add an extra time while you bake it to ensure it gets hot all the way through.