This Healthy Mac and Cheese Recipe is easy to make and delicious! A low calorie mac and cheese that is creamy, baked and yummy!
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Doesn’t everyone love a helping of mac and cheese with delicious creamy sauce? It’s such an ultimate comfort food, but let’s be real, most mac and cheese recipes are not exactly healthy.
That being said, you know I love taking foods that aren’t healthy and making them with healthier ingredients like our Healthier Alfredo Sauce and Lighter Chicken Pot Pie. I’m so excited about how this healthy mac and cheese turned out!
We mix cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese for the creamy sauce, which is still lighter than your traditional mac and cheese recipe thanks to the skim milk (instead of loads of heavy cream).
I can’t wait for you to try this healthy mac and cheese!
Why We Love Healthy Baked Mac and Cheese
There is a lot to love about this healthy mac n cheese recipe. It’s one of our favorite sides for a healthy dinner because it’s:
- Easy to make – This healthy mac and cheese only takes 30 minutes to make. Make the cheese sauce, toss with pasta, top with bread crumbs mixture and bake!
- High Protein Side – You are going to get 19 g of protein per serving with this healthy mac and cheese!
- Healthier Than Boxed Mac n Cheese – Most boxed mac and cheese is loaded with preservatives and fake cheese.
Healthy Mac and Cheese Recipe Ingredients
To make this healthy mac and cheese recipe you’ll need:
- elbow macaroni pasta
- olive oil
- onion
- all purpose flour or gluten free
- skim milk
- garlic
- shredded cheddar cheese
- parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper
- breadcrumbs
- dried basil, dried parsley, dried oregano
- melted butter
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded box.
How to Make Healthy Mac and Cheese
- Boil water for pasta & cook the pasta to al dente.
- In a sauté pan, add extra virgin olive oil, onions, garlic, and pepper
- Once cooked, add in flour until a thick paste starts to form. Add milk, constantly stirring until the cheese sauce mixture is thick and creamy. Add both kinds of cheese and stir.
- Toss the cooked pasta with the cheese sauce. Pour into a greased 8×8 baking dish.
- Top the pasta with the breadcrumb mixture.
- Bake in the oven uncovered for 15-20 minutes until bread crumbs are golden brown.
Homemade Mac and Cheese Healthy Substitutions
Pasta: Any short grain pasta will work in this recipe. Rotini, elbows, or orecchiette work great! Chickpea pasta or whole wheat pasta may work, but I haven’t tried them so I can’t be sure.
Olive Oil: You can substitute olive oil with avocado oil, melted butter, or ghee.
Onion/Garlic: These are essential for flavor! If you don’t have fresh onion or garlic, used 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder and onion powder.
Flour: Gluten Free flour may be used in place of all purpose flour to make this cheese sauce gluten free.
Cheddar Cheese: Feel free to use sharp cheddar cheese. You can substitute additional parmesan cheese instead of cheddar cheese for the cheese sauce but it will not be as creamy. This will lower the lactose levels, possibly making it easier on your stomach! We don’t recommend making this with dairy free cheese. It doesn’t melt as well. We also don’t recommend doing this with low fat cheese.
Milk: To make this healthier mac and cheese recipe with less lactose and dairy, you can use unsweetened almond milk or oat milk. Skim milk, whole milk, or half and half will work.
Lower Salt: Cheese is inherently salty. Unfortunately, this is a higher salt recipe but we believe everything is ok in moderation. This is still lower in salt than most mac and cheese recipes.
What can I add to my mac and cheese? You can add buffalo sauce, chiles, peppers or chopped spinach to your mac and cheese if you’d like!
Tip for the Best Mac & Cheese EVER!
Want to know the secret to the best healthy macaroni and cheese? Grate your own cheese! I know it’s tempting to buy the pre-grated/shredded cheese but they don’t melt as well as freshly grated cheese. Pre-shredded cheese is tossed with preservatives to make it last longer and prevents it from melting well.
Grating your own cheese only take a few extra minutes and will give you the CHEESIEST mac and cheese!
Serving Healthy Mac and Cheese Bake
You can eat this mac and cheese by itself or it is a delicious side to so many dinners! Here are some of our favorite dinners to pair it with:
- BBQ Chicken Meatloaf or Turkey Meatloaf
- Healthy Chicken Tenders & Fries
- Pulled Pork & broccoli florets
- Pork Tenderloin
- Blueberry Salad or Kale Salad
- White Bean Chili or Turkey Chili
Baked Mac and Cheese Healthy FAQ
We believe everything is ok in moderation. This healthy mac and cheese recipe is higher in calories, carbs, and salt, however, if you are craving mac and cheese, this is a better option for you!
This healthy macaroni and cheese recipe is a much healthier alternative to Kraft mac and cheese.
Yes! Most boxed mac and cheese is loaded with preservatives and fake cheese, but this healthy mac and cheese recipe is much lighter and uses real cheese!
We like cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese for the most delicious creamy sauce!
How to Store Homemade Healthy Mac and Cheese
Storing: This mac and cheese will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container
Freezing: We don’t recommend freezing healthy mac and cheese. Pasta can get really mushy in the freezer.
Reheating: You can reheat this healthy macaroni and cheese recipe in the microwave, toaster oven, oven, or on the stove.
Other healthy one pan dinner recipes:
Looking for other easy meals? Check out these 40+ Healthy Dinner Recipes. Click here to grab our free healthy 30 minute dinners cookbook.
Healthy Homemade Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
Pasta
- 1 lb elbow macaroni pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3/4 cup onion diced
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour or gluten free
- 1 – 1½ cup skim milk
- 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Breadcrumb topping
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a pot, start to boil water for pasta. Once boiling, add pasta and cook the past to al dente – about 1-2 minutes less than according to the package.
- In a sauté pan, add extra virgin olive oil, onions, garlic and pepper. Cook until soft and golden brown – about 5 minutes.
- Once cooked, gradually add in flour until thick paste starts to form. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly until the cheese mixture is thick and creamy.
- Add both cheeses and stir.
- Toss the cooked pasta with the cheese sauce. Pour into a greased 8×8 baking dish.
- In a separate bowl, mix breadcrumbs, butter, cheese and spices. Top the pasta with the breadcrumb mixture.
- Bake in the oven uncovered for 15-20 minutes until bread crumbs are golden brown.
Video
Lynne Falcigno says
So good! Comfort food at its best!
Berni says
So I made the roux wrong and it was really soupy but I’m not a chef and I didn’t want to add flour and think it would fix it so I just kept moving forward…so with that information, all the cheese flavoring was at the bottom and left the top really dry. BUT, I mixed it all up after the first bowl and it was really good. The flavoring was there, I just needed to mix it half way through baking but with the topping I couldn’t. I will be attempting this again…the roux – you have not defeated me!!
Jeff says
Added diced jalapeños. Delicious!
Ruth K says
Great recipe, easy to prepare, delicious! Enough for two meals.