Reduced-Fat Macaroni and Cheese
Author: Cook's Country April/May 2005
Recipe type: Side
Cuisine: American
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6-8
Traditional macaroni and cheese has 1,118 calories, 41 grams of fat, and 25 grams of saturated fat per main-course serving. Our Reduced-Fat Macaroni and Cheese has 493 calories, 15 grams of fat, and 10 grams of saturated fat per main-course serving.
Ingredients
Bread Crumb Topping
- ⅓ cup plain bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Macaroni and Cheese
- ½ cup shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese (3 ounces)
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup part-skim ricotta cheese
- 1 tablespoon table salt plus an additional ½ teaspoon
- ½ pound elbow macaroni
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon powdered mustard
- 2½ cups skim milk
- ½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Toss bread crumbs with butter in small bowl until combined. Set aside.
- In food processor or blender, process cheddar, Parmesan, and ricotta until no large pieces of cheese remain, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl and set aside.
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat broiler. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in Dutch oven over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and macaroni and cook until tender, 7 to 9 minutes. Drain macaroni and leave in colander.
- In now-empty Dutch oven, heat butter over medium-high heat until foaming. Add flour and mustard and cook, whisking to combine ingredients, until mixture is smooth, about 1 minute. Whisking constantly, slowly add milk and Tabasco, if using, and bring to full boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, whisking frequently, until mixture becomes slightly thicker than heavy cream, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Whisk in cheese mixture and ½ teaspoon salt until cheese is melted. Add pasta and cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat, until mixture is steaming, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Transfer mixture to broilersafe 8-inch-square baking dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Broil until crumbs are deep golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes, rotating pan if necessary for even browning. Cool 2 minutes. Serve.