“Skinny” Spinach Mac & Cheese can be enjoyed as a side dish or a meal. How is it “skinny”? I re-vamped the recipe to include whole wheat elbow macaroni, chicken broth, reduced fat cheese & skim milk. It does not taste or look skinny….. So give it a try! Don’t worry; we won’t let anyone know that it is healthy for them; it will be our secret 😉
Skinny Spinach Mac and Cheese
Makes 7 servings. Approximately 1/2 cup per serving. Nutrition: Weight Watchers Points + 4~ Calories 133.6 ~Fat 5.1 g ~Total Carbs 12.8 g ~ Fiber 1.7 g ~ Protein 10.2 g
Ingredients
- Olive Oil Cooking Spray
- 1 cup fat free skim milk
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 4 wedges The Laughing Cow Cheese; low fat swiss
- 1/4 cup fat free chicken broth
- 8 oz fresh spinach, chopped
- 1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 3 cloves garlic; minced
- 1/4 small onion chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup reduced fat shredded Cheddar Cheese (Sargento)
- 1 cup dry Whole Wheat Elbow Pasta (cook according to pkg; until al dente)
- 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/8 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
- Pre-Heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Add onions and garlic to a large saute pan over medium heat; that has been sprayed with Olive Oil cooking spray. Saute until onions are clear.
- Whisk the flour and milk together in a bowl and add to the pan, continue to whisk in pan until mixture thickens.
- Add Chicken Broth, cheese wedges, spinach, dijon mustard, paprika and salt. Cook until everything comes together and is creamy; stir occasionally
- Take off stove. Add cheddar cheese and pasta, combine well
- Transfer into a baking dish and top with panko & parmesan
- Cook covered for 30 minutes
- Increase Oven Temperature to 500 and cook uncovered for 10 minutes for the top to brown slightly.
Sheena\'s Culinary Tuesdays www.culinarytuesdays.com
This looks great! I’ve never tried to cook with Laughing Cow Cheese. That is a good idea! I also LOVE the Sargento reduced fat cheeses. They are the best but hard to find in my area. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks Natalie; hope you enjoy this recipe! Cooking with the Laughing Cow cheese is a great “low fat” option & makes dishes creamy and rich! I have even put it in grilled cheese sammy’s before! Delish!! Its a bummer that Sargento is hard to find in your area, I tried all alternatives to Sargento; but nothing melts quite like Sargento does….