First of all, that game LAST NIGHT!! I was trying to work on this post but boy it sucked me in and got super exciting!! I’m not a huge football fanatic by any means but my husband sure is and I tend to watch here and there. That game was exciting and I had all the feels for my Tom Brady after the game when he was all emotional. What an exciting night for those players and coaches! Go Patriots!! Anyway, on with the recipe!
I don’t know about you, but I grew up loving macaroni and cheese. In fact my best friend when I was a child had the BEST macaroni and cheese at her house. I’ve tried to recreate that dreamy mac and cheese many times for my kids and myself but it just isn’t the same… I have however found a delicious new high protein macaroni and cheese recipe with a twist to share with you all today. Unlike most macaroni and cheese recipes, this one isn’t packed with ridiculous amounts of fat and it’s loaded with extra protein. Get ready to feast your eyes upon the Skinny One Pot Chili Mac & Cheese!!
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something from these links, we could earn a small commission. This would be at no additional cost to you.
A few weeks ago I sat in the teacher’s lounge at work at watched as a coworker devoured some amazing looking macaroni. He shared the recipe with me and I was determined to make it a little more macro friendly for myself. I went home that day and happened to have everything to make what I thought would be a lower fat, high protein version of the chili macaroni and cheese. It turned out wonderfully and was a hit with my kids!
Now because Tracy and I are counting macros right now we tend to look for meal ideas that are what we call, macro friendly. Now for everyone this idea of the perfect macro friendly meal might be different, but typically foods that are not too high in fat and pack a protein punch are best. Each one cup serving of this creamy macaroni and cheese is only 10g fat, 39g carbs, 25g protein, and 6g of fiber!
Did I mention that this recipe can be done using only one pot!? It’s seriously super easy and only 10 ingredients! FYI: the Greek yogurt cream cheese I use is Kroger brand but I’ve seen another brand at Walmart before that would work. The homemade taco seasoning can be found here.
- Lean ground Turkey or Beef
- Onion
- Diced Tomatoes -from the can
- Diced Green Chilies
- Taco Seasoning
- Pasta – whole wheat or any pasta noodle you like!
- Water
- Bouillon Cubes – this one is optional!
- 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese
- Reduced-fat Shredded Cheese
I asked Archer to help me make the macaroni and cheese this time around and he was all over it!
Here is a quick overview of how the recipe should go below. I used my large, 6 court cast iron dish because it makes a little over 10 cups! I seriously love this dish and think every home should have one. Mostly because they are super functional but also because they are super cute! I’ve really been wanting a blue one.
I told you this Skinny One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese was easy! Here’s the actual recipe:
Skinny One Pot Chili Mac & Cheese
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs lean ground turkey (or 96/4 ground beef)
- 1/2 medium onion
- 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
- 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
- 3 tbsp diced green chilis
- 3 tbsp homemade taco seasoning
- 16 oz. Whole wheat pasta noodles
- 5 cups water
- 2-3 beef bouillon cubes optional
- 8 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese
- 8 oz. reduced fat shredded cheese (I like the Mexican cheese blend)
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium high heat cook chopped onions and ground turkey until turkey is browned and onion is tender.
- Drain fat then add taco seasoning, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, green chiles, water, bouillon cubes and bring to a simmer. Stir in the pasta and cook uncovered for 10–12 minutes, until pasta is cooked and liquid has reduced down.
- Toss in the cubed cream cheese and shredded cheese and stir until melted.
Notes
Nutrition
Interacting with our community on social media fuels our passion to keep on creating! We do our best to read and respond to every single comment. It means the world to us to know that you’re out there listening and going through the trenches right alongside us!
on Instagram: @stayfitmom_tracy and @stayfitmom_Krista
25 Comments
Mac and cheese is my favorite comfort food, especially during the winter. Your version looks really interesting, I must say my mouth watered seeing the pictures! haha. I’ll try it tomorrow and I’ll let you know how it went. Thank you!
Enjoy!!
When you say “one serving” how much would that be? I’m fairly new to macros and I’m learning how to enter recipes in My Fitness Pal, but I have a hard time with the “number of servings” part of a recipe!
Hi Emily! I measured my whole recipe out into 1 cup servings once it was cooked. So the macros I listed using my exact ingredients are for 1 cup.
when you typically create a receipt, how to you calculate how much it will yeild? do you determine the weight in grams of one serving, weigh the remaining and divide it out? I struggle with this aspect of cooking and counting macros and as a result cook pretty boring food 🙁
Hi Kaila!
I do it 1 of 2 ways:
1. Figure out how many 1 cup servings there are and set the servings that way.
OR
2. I figure out the total weight of my cooked food in grams, and then input that total in as the serving size. So if the total weight of the mac & cheese is 2500 grams, I put 2500 servings in the recipe as the serving size. Then when I put it on my plate, if it weighs 400 grams, I log it in my diary for lunch/dinner as 400 servings of mac & cheese.
I hope that was easy to understand!
Have you tried freezing this? Wondering if it would hold up well
I actually put some in the freezer a few days ago to use post vacation for lunches. I’m crossing my fingers it defrosts just fine. I’ll let you know if I have any problems.
This is delicious and super easy to make.
Hi Jen! We’re glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by!
When to use greek yogurt?
You add it in at the very end once noodles have cooked.
If you can’t find greek yogurt cream cheese do you think you could just add a little greek yogurt??
Yes. My local Smith’s no longer carries it so I just use the 1/3 fat cream cheese.
Is there a replacement for thr bouillon cubes? Not really something I keep in the house so could i replace the water with like chicken broth or something? Are they just to add flavour?
Feel free to leave them out. Not necessary if you don’t have any lying around!
This was one of the best things I’ve ever made. I was meal prepping for the week and couldn’t figure out a simple, delicious dish to add to the mix. This… this was a home run. I loved it and seriously craved the leftovers for days to come. I will definitely be over making this until I’m tired of it… and then probably after.
This is the first recipe of yours that I attempted to make and I was blown away. It was incredibly delicious and easy to make. Thank you for sharing that with us. Now I am looking through your other recipes trying to figure out what to make next!
Thanks Jamee! I’m glad you loved it.
Hi Krista, I’m so looking forward to making this up for the family this week. Can I ask what spices & ratios you use for you taco mix?
Hi Ann,
I just use the taco seasoning blend from McCormick. You can use any brand though or make it yourself if you’d like. The macros will be similar.
Thanks Krista!
So easy and so good!! Can’t wait to have it for lunch tomorrow!
Hello, does it cal for chicken or beef boullion?
Hi! Either will work, but I tend to use beef to more closely match the beefy flavor of the dish.