FN’s Top Recipes, Lightened Up: #1 Baked Macaroni & Cheese by Dana Angelo White in Healthy Recipes, Meal Makeovers, February 8, 2010
- Alton's Macaroni and Cheese
Macaroni and cheese tops just about everyone’s list of favorite comfort foods — and Alton Brown’s version repeatedly tops the list of Food Network’s most popular recipes. It’s easy to see why: It feeds a crowd, and the gooey goodness is so filling. The dish is also easy to lighten up. Make these few tweaks to make it light enough for a regular indulgence.
Sure, boxed mac and cheese is easy to whip up, but it seriously lacks in flavor. This dish is a simple, wholesome recipe made with real ingredients — no powdered cheese mix here! Real cheddar cheese provides protein and calcium.
Our tips for lightening it up:
- Trade the whole milk for low-fat milk (1%) to cut back on the saturated fat (without losing any calcium).
- Use half of the cheese — you still get all the flavor and save 115 calories and 175 milligrams of sodium per serving.
- Try panko for the topping (and lose the butter) to shave off an additional 50 calories per serving.
Get more lighter macaroni and cheese recipes »
- More Top 50 Recipes, Lightened Up:
- #2: Paula’s Old-Fashioned Meatloaf
- #3: Good Eats Roast Turkey
- #4: Paula’s Pumpkin Bars
- #5: Chicken Enchiladas
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More posts from Dana Angelo White.
Great tips for Mac and cheese, thanks.
To lighten it up even more, forego the Panko breadcrumbs entirely. I agree on the using less cheese rather than going with a lowfat version of the cheese (bluck!).
Use a sharper cheese and you can get a way with less and get all the great taste!
I use our Cabot 50% reduced fat cheddar and it's always a hit!