RecipesSide
Side
Lightened Diner Mac and Cheese
Macaroni in a cottage cheese and cheddar sauce under a breadcrumb and cheddar top, baked until golden and served from the dish.
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 10min
- Cook
- 25min
- Total
- 35min
Programs: Fat Loss, Muscle Gain, Maintenance, Blood Sugar, Blood Pressure
Per serving
- Calories
- 510kcal
- Protein
- 30.4g
- Carbs
- 66.9g
- Fat
- 12.8g
- Fibre
- 2.8g
Ingredients
For 4 servings · MetricUS
- 300gelbow macaroni
- 250gcottage cheese, low-fat
- 150mlsemi-skimmed milk
- 170glight cheddar, gratedplus 30g extra for the top
- 1 tspDijon mustard
- ½ tspgarlic granules
- ¼ tspsmoked paprika
- 30gdried breadcrumbs
- salt and black pepperto taste
- 12 ozelbow macaroni3/4 of a 16oz box
- 8 ozlow-fat cottage cheese
- 2/3 cup2% milk
- 6 ozreduced-fat cheddar, shreddedplus 2oz extra for the top
- 1 tspDijon mustard
- ½ tspgarlic powder
- ¼ tspsmoked paprika
- ¼ cupdried breadcrumbs
- salt and black pepperto taste
Method
Cook the pasta.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Cook the macaroni until just al dente, then drain, reserving a splash of the pasta water.
Make the sauce.
Blitz the cottage cheese and milk together in a blender or with a stick blender until completely smooth, with no visible curds.
Warm the mixture gently in a pan over a low heat. Stir in the light cheddar a handful at a time, along with the Dijon mustard, garlic granules and smoked paprika, until melted and glossy. Keep the heat low, cottage cheese sauce splits if it boils.
Season with salt and pepper. Loosen with a splash of the reserved pasta water if it looks thick.
Assembly.
Preheat the oven to 180C fan (200C conventional, 400F). Stir the drained macaroni through the sauce until every piece is coated.
Tip into a baking dish, scatter the extra cheddar and breadcrumbs over the top.
Baking and serving.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the top is golden and the edges bubble.
Serve a quarter per person straight from the dish.