I’ve got a fantastic recipe for you today! If you’re looking for a little homey comfort that won’t blow the ole’ calorie budget, you’ve got to try my Weeknight Mac and Cheese! With a few smart substitutions and sneaky tweaks, you can enjoy this childhood favorite for just a fraction of the calories. Super creamy and cheesy, I think your whole family will love it–mine certainly did!

Who doesn’t love macaroni and cheese? Perfectly cooked elbow pasta covered with thick and gooey cheese sauce–the epitome of comfort food! It’s warm and satisfying and can please even your pickiest eater, but with some recipes pushing upwards of 1000 calories per serving (!), mac and cheese isn’t exactly waistline friendly.

Refusing to relegate mac and cheese to special occasions only, I wanted to come up with a recipe that I could feel good serving to my family any night of the week. A mac that makes for the perfect side but with enough nutritional heft to stand alone as a cozy and satisfying lunch. And perhaps most importantly, a recipe that my whole crew would LOVE.

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Making a Lighter Mac and Cheese

There’s a reason most people think of macaroni and cheese as pure indulgence. Half and half, butter, loads of cheese, pasta–need I go on? One bite of that gooey goodness and we all know what we’re dealing with! Would it be possible to give this childhood favorite a nutrition makeover?

With my work cut out for me, I set out to do just that. I wanted to create a recipe for mac that would still be wonderfully creamy and cheesy, but fit for regular rotation at the dinner table. Furthermore, I didn’t really want to get into any weird ingredients or substitutions that would be hard to find. After all, much of the beauty of a good mac and cheese is its unfussy simplicity.

So here are the little swaps and tweaks I made for my own rendition of Weeknight Mac and Cheese. After a bit of trial and error, I think I’ve come up with something your whole family is going to love!

Evaporated Milk

Many recipes for macaroni and cheese begin with a bechamel, or thickened milk sauce, as a base that will ultimately become the cheese sauce. Using low-fat evaporated milk in place of half and half or regular milk is the perfect solution for a lighter mac and cheese for a couple different reasons.

Because it’s evaporated an has less water content, evaporated milk offers a creamier mouth-feel than regular milk. Definitely a plus when you’re cutting out fat but don’t want to lose that rich consistency!

The second reason evaporated milk is so good is that it’s a little more temperature stable and therefore less likely to give you grief. Where an unwatched milk-based sauce will occasionally break on you, evaporated milk is a little more forgiving. With a house full of kids and distractions, I’m all for more forgiving!

Watch the Butter

Many recipes for mac and cheese use several tablespoons of butter. Given that each tablespoon packs 100 calories and 12 grams of fat, I knew that every little bit I could cut out would have a big impact on my calorie count.

Because my primary reason for using butter has everything to do with the roux–the fat and flour mixture that thickens the milk sauce–it was important to use enough to get the job done. This is where using the evaporated milk makes a big difference!

By using the evaporated milk, I was able to get away with using just 1 tablespoon of butter and still come away with a sauce base that’s creamy and has good body to it. No need for several tablespoons!

Good Cheese, Just Less

While I could have gone with a reduced-fat cheese, I decided instead to reach for a good quality, aged cheddar and simply cut down on the amount. Though low-fat options can be tempting when you’re trying to lighten up a recipe, many simply do not melt well, making for a rubbery mess.

I’m a big fan of Tillamook products, especially their cheeses. Tillamook’s Medium-Cheddar Cheese is aged for over 60 days, has wonderful flavor, and melts beautifully. But if you have another brand you love, go for it!

With a great cheddar cheese and a bit of mozzarella thrown in for creaminess, the end result is a deceptively rich sauce with a fraction of the calories.

Sneaking in the Good Stuff

One super easy swap to sneak in a little more nutritional value to your mac is to replace your regular elbow macaroni with a whole grain or higher protein option.

I particularly love Barilla’s Protein+ pasta. Not only is it made with several whole grains and legumes for added fiber, vitamins, and minerals, but it boasts a whopping 10 grams of protein per serving. There are several shapes to choose from–including elbows–and my crew has never noticed a difference. I’d call that a win!

Weeknight Mac and Cheese

With these smart substitutions, I wouldn’t think twice about serving up hot bowls of mac and cheese to my boys for lunch or a making a quick batch to go with dinner. It’s comfort food you can feel good about and no one will even suspect it isn’t the full monty. Your family’s going to love it!

Print

Weeknight Mac and Cheese

This Weeknight Mac and Cheese comes together in a snap and is so creamy and delicious, you won't believe it has over 60% LESS fat!

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword Cheese, Comfort Food, Healthy, Kids, Pasta

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Maureen @ The Diet Oracle

Ingredients

• 8 oz Barilla Protein+ elbow macaroni
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 12 fl oz evaporated milk, 2% (1 can)
• 4 oz medium cheddar cheese, grated (I like Tillamook)
• 1 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese, grated
• ½ tsp Creole seasoning (I like Tony Chachere's)
• ¾ tsp kosher salt
• 3-4 dashes Frank's RedHot Sauce (optional)

Instructions

• In a medium saucepan, cook your macaroni in boiling water with a bit of salt according to the package instructions. Before draining, reserve a cup of the cooking water and set aside. Drain the elbows into a colander and return your pot to the stove top.
• Adjust the heat under your saucepan to medium and add in the butter. Once the foaming subsides, sprinkle in the flour and whisk until smooth. Cook this roux for 1-2 minutes until golden.
• Slowly whisk in the evaporated milk and continue to stir frequently until bubbles just start to break the surface. Continue stirring for another minute or two, allowing your sauce to thicken a bit.
• Remove your sauce from the heat and stir in the cheeses, Tony's, salt, and Frank's (if using). Add your cooked macaroni back to the pot and stir well until every little elbow is covered in cheesy goodness. Return to the stove and stir until piping hot.
• Serve immediately or cover and keep warm over low heat. If your mac seems a little dry come serving time, stir in a bit of that reserved cooking water to bring it back to the right consistency. Enjoy!

Notes

Nutrition information per serving (1/6 of recipe): 280 calories, 11 g total fat, 5 g saturated fat, 32 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 17 g protein

This recipe has 33% fewer calories and 60% less fat compared to other popular macaroni and cheese recipes that use half and half and greater amounts of butter and cheese.

Did you try this recipe for Weeknight Mac and Cheese? Let me know how it went down in the comments!

Psst…Hungry for more? Check out more of my delicious recipes HERE!

The post Weeknight Mac and Cheese appeared first on The Diet Oracle.

Today I’m excited to share with you the recipe for this savory and delicious Cheddar & Herb Beer Bread! Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, this rustic quick bread comes together in a snap and would be perfect for your St. Patty’s menu. I think your whole family will love it!

There’s just something about freshly baked bread, isn’t there? Anytime I make bread, all four of the boys seem to magically appear in the kitchen, sniffing around and asking the age-old question, ‘What’s for dinner, Mom?’ When I served up this warm and cheesy loaf with dinner tonight, even my pickiest eater ate every last bite of his slice and asked for seconds. I’d call that a major win!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you when you shop with these links, which helps to make this blog possible. Thank you for your support!

The Beauty of Quick Breads

Unlike a yeast bread, quick breads require no kneading and no rising time. Using leaveners like baking powder or baking soda, they rely on the chemical reaction between these leaveners and liquids to create gas bubbles and the resulting lift. Without them, the result would be more brick and less bread. Beer’s fizzy little bubbles boost this reaction even further.

The Cheese & Herbs

My twist on this Irish pub classic is equal parts delicious and nutritious. I have always had a soft spot for cheese (of most any kind) and fresh herbs. Though you don’t have to go extra-sharp with your cheddar, do be sure to get a good quality brand that is actually aged. We love Tillamook for this very reason.

As for herbs, you can really get creative here! This time, I kept it simple with some minced chives, but you could use any number of different herbs! Fresh parsley, rosemary, and thyme would all be lovely, just to name a few!

Better for You

Whenever I can, I like to take a recipe and tweak it to make it just a little bit healthier. What can I say? I’m a dietitian! But that doesn’t mean I do so at the expense of taste or texture. It’s all about finding the right balance, no? So let me share with you the changes I made.

To add the power of whole grains, I substituted part of the white flour with whole grain flour. When doing this, I always start by replacing about 1/3 of the white stuff and see how that goes. If the end result isn’t overly heavy, I up it to 1/2 white and 1/2 whole the next time. Though I was quite happy with how this loaf turned out, I think you could definitely try the 50/50 ratio with your flours and get a delicious loaf.

I also decreased the butter and sugar by about half, compared to most recipes I came across. Knowing that I would be adding cheddar cheese to the mix (which would add both fat and moisture), I was confident this change wouldn’t be noticeable. And it wasn’t.

Finally, I made the call to go with a “light” beer for a couple reasons. Though it does lower the calorie count a little bit, that wasn’t the main reason. Knowing I’d be serving this to the kiddos, I worried that a more strongly flavored beer might not be appreciated by their little taste buds. So I opted for a good ole’ fashioned American lager, Bud Light. If you’ve got something else on hand you’d like to try, go for it! Just know it might alter the flavor and color of the end product a bit.

The Perfect Beer Bread

The end result is a wonderfully soft and slightly chewy bread that is ever so moist and delicious. Cozy and filling, each bite rewards you with a bit of gooey cheese and savory goodness that pairs equally well with a simple soup or a steak dinner. The crust has the just right amount of crispy crunch and there’s a perfect balance of sweet, salty, and savory. Our whole family loved this bread and I think yours will, too!

Print

Cheddar & Herb Beer Bread

Your family will love this cozy and filling quick bread made with cheddar, herbs, and of course, BEER! Pairs perfectly with a simple soup or steak dinner and comes together in a snap!

Course Appetizer, Bread

Cuisine American, Irish

Keyword Beer, Cheddar, Herbs, Quick Bread

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 15 slices

Ingredients

• 2 cups unbleached white flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 3 Tbsp fresh herbs, minced (e.g. chives, parsley, rosemary, thyme)
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp butter, melted
• 12 oz light beer (or your beer of choice!)
• Cooking spray for loaf pan

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, combine the flours, salt, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Then add the grated cheddar and fresh herbs and stir again.
• Add the remaining ingredients to your bowl–the sugar, butter, and beer–and stir well to combine, but don’t over-mix. Your batter won’t be perfectly smooth.
• Spray a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan with cooking spray and then scrape your bread batter into the pan. Smooth to even out the top and then pop into your pre-heated oven.
• Bake for 45-55 minutes or until finished baking. The loaf will be lightly browned in places and when you knock on the side of the loaf, it will sound hollow. Mine was done in 45 minutes.
• Cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing and enjoy!

Notes

Nutrition information per serving (1/15 of loaf): 135 calories, 4 g total fat, 3 g saturated fat, 19 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 5 g protein

Did you try this recipe for Cheddar & Herb Beer Bread? Let me know how it went down in the comments!

The post Cheddar & Herb Beer Bread appeared first on The Diet Oracle.