I hope this healthy mac and cheese recipe revolutionizes your approach to mac and cheese going forward! It’s not too hard to make a mac and cheese that is lighter and packed with more nutrition, with no detriment to its taste.

Whole wheat macaroni has more fiber than a refined flour macaroni. If you don’t believe me, you should try it! In addition to swapping some of the pasta for vegetables, I chose a whole wheat elbow macaroni. The bulk of this healthy mac and cheese are veggies! And you can’t even tell that you are swapping out a lot of the pasta for broccoli and cauliflower. It makes for a great dessert with berries, as a sour cream replacement on a baked potato or taco, as the base for a veggie dip with ranch seasoning, and many other uses. Preventing large fluctuations in blood sugar helps with weight loss and maintenance, by the way! I love using non-fat, plain Greek yogurt as a substitute for sour cream or heavy cream in recipes. Protein helps slow digestion of the carbohydrates in the pasta which helps you stay satiated longer and prevent large fluctuations in blood sugar. This both enhances the creaminess as well as adds a little more protein. This healthy mac and cheese has non-fat, plain Greek yogurt. A little aged mac and cheese goes a long way to give a this pasta dish it’s gooey, cheesy goodness. The reason a richer flavor is preferable is that you don’t have to use quite as much as traditional mac and cheese. Aged cheese is better because it is lower in lactose and has a richer flavor. For one, I put real aged cheese in this dish. There are a few modifications I have made in this recipe to make it much healthier than a traditional mac and cheese.

Clean mac and cheese