Well, let’s be honest…Macaroni and Cheese isn’t the healthiest dinner recipe but I’d say we’re allowed to cheat every once in a while…especially when it’s Mac & Cheese. We ‘healthied’ it up a little too by using brown rice macaroni.
As I write this, I’m still full from all the macaroni and cheese I ate tonight. It was so cheesy, so creamy and the breadcrumb and Parmesan cheese mixture was a very nice touch baked on top.
A little prep work making the cheese sauce, bake it for 20-25 minutes and you’re ready to put this homemade macaroni and cheese on your dinner table.
Mixing the macaroni in with the cheese sauce. Almost ready to go in the oven for the finishing touch.
Brown rice elbow macaroni is a great option when making this dish. The cheese does a great job of taking on the majority of the flavor so a healthier option on the pasta is definitely the smart choice.
HOW TO MAKE HEALTHIER MACARONI AND CHEESE
- Cook the pasta to al dente. Drain and drizzle a little olive oil over the pasta and mix. Let cool.
- In a large pot, melt the butter on medium heat. Whisk in the flour for about a minute
- Whisk in the milk and cream until creamy.
- Slowly add the cheese one handful at a time. Whisk all together until all the cheese is melted.
- Add the macaroni back in and mix.
- Pour the mac & cheese into a medium/large baking pan.
- Combine the breadcrumb, Parmesan cheese, and paprika in small bowl. Slowly add olive oil while mixing until the mixture becomes moist and all the breadcrumb is covered in oil. Evenly top the mac and cheese with the mixture.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Recipe
Healthier Macaroni and Cheese Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb brown rice pasta elbow macaroni
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 6 tbsp salted butter
- ⅓ cup brown rice flour
- 3 cups milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 cup gruyere cheese shredded
- 1 ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ½ cup parmesan cheese shredded
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Cook the pasta to al dente. Drain and drizzle a little olive oil over the pasta and mix. Let cool.
- In a large pot, melt the butter on medium heat. When melted, slowly whisk in the flour. Whisk for about a minute.
- Slowly whisk in the milk and cream. Keep whisking until it gets to a creamy consistency.
- Once the milk mixture is nice and creamy, slowly add the cheese one handful at a time. Whisk all together until all the cheese is melted.
- Add the macaroni back in and mix all together.
- Pour the mac & cheese into a medium/large baking pan.
- Combine the breadcrumb, Parmesan cheese, and paprika. Slowly add olive oil while mixing until the mixture becomes most and all the breadcrumb is covered in oil. Evenly top the mac and cheese with the mixture.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the breadcrumb is toasted.
- Remove from oven and serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
About The Skinny Guinea
Hey...how you doin'? I'm Tommy, The Skinny Guinea…just a busy dad who loves to cook. Offering easy to cook dinners and family friendly recipes, while always staying true to my Italian roots!
I think I should have salted my pasta water more. The pasta was lacking a bit of salt. I thought it tasted better after it had set for a while. The flavors came together better. My husband liked it but I was kind of on the fence with it.
Hey Karen...that could be. The best part of cooking is being able to taste the food before you add the finishing touches 🙂 Next time you try it, after step 6, just give it a little taste and see if it needs a bit of salt or pepper. Good luck!
Love the healthier aspect, tasty and cheesy.