I love pasta THIS MUCH! Can you see how big that is? I really love pasta. In trying to lower my carb intake I have tried to find alternatives to pasta. Some suggestions include spaghetti squash, cauliflower or zucchini. One day I will be brave enough to complete substitute pasta with one of the above. Until then I decide to go half pasta, half cauliflower for this Mac and Cauliflower Cheese. I must say the cauliflower and the reduced amount of cheese definitely made this mac lighter without losing the flavor. Next time I will try an all cauliflower alternative. Doubt I will call it a cauliflower mac though. We shall see.
Mac & Cauli Cheese
Ingredients
- 1/2 box whole grain elbows
- 1/2 head of cauliflower (rinsed and cut into small florets)
- 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese
- 4 oz Parmesan cheese
- 2 oz (mild cheddar cheese for topping)
- 2 tsp onion powder (or half onion finely chopped)
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 c heavy cream
- 1/2c 2% milk
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Boil elbows to desired firmness.
- Add cauliflower to elbows for the last 5 minutes. Drain.
- Combine sharp cheddar, Parmesan, milk, cream and egg with cauliflower/elbow mixture
- Season to taste with onion powder (or chopped onion), and garlic powder.
- Place in baking dish.
- Top mac with 2 oz mild cheddar.
- Sprinkle with paprika.
- Bake covered on 350 for 30 minutes then uncovered for an additional 30 minutes.
- Raise heat to 400 and bake for another 5-10 minutes (until top is lightly browned
- and crunchy.) Serve warm. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley or dried fines herbs.
Notes
* I would normally use the chopped onions but the hubs is not a fan of onions.[br]**Milk & cream can be substituted with all milk (of your preference) or 1/2 milk &[br]1/2 sour cream for a bit of calorie savings. Egg can also be omitted.
2 Comments
Courtney Conover
March 22, 2014 at 5:39 PMOkay. MJ, I am loving you so much for this post right now. For one, I, too, have been trying to lower my carb intake (again). (I’ve also been trying to cut out sugar, which is hard as HELL, but I digress…)
One of Scotty’s favorite meals is Mac & cheese. Dinnertime with him has been an endless merry-go-round of mac & cheese and spaghetti, so I am desperately seeking an alternative to shake things up a bit, and if I can sneak in a vegetable, too, then awesome!
Thank you! (And thank you for stopping by my blog earlier this morning!) I WILL be making this!
M J
March 24, 2014 at 5:21 PMHey Courtney,
I love your blog. You keep me laughing and informed on the NFL (football is my favorite sport to watch.) Enjoy the recipe. The whole family loved it. I try to sneak in veggies all the time. Not for Zoe (she loves veggies) but for the hubs (who would rather not eat them.)