This Healthy Chili Mac and Cheese is just 269 calories for a large 2 cup serving, and it’s packed with over 21g of protein!
I like to use protein pasta to make this low calorie chili Mac and cheese both lower in calories and carbs. But you can use traditional pasta in any short cut (elbow, small shells, penne, etc.)
And you can easily make this healthy chili Mac vegetarian by swapping the ground turkey for ground beyond meat, or for a second can of beans (kidney, black, or pinto beans go great!)
Healthy Chili Mac and Cheese
What You’ll Find in this Article:
Ingredients in Low Calorie Chili Mac and Cheese
What I love about this recipe, is you don’t have to make the traditional sauce for Mac and cheese. It’s just so much easier!
I like to make a double batch of my Low Calorie Chili. I serve chili for dinner and then store the rest of the chili to make this an extra quick meal the next night.
Shopping List for Low Calorie Chili Mac and Cheese:
- Banza Elbow Protein Pasta (see recipe card for link) or regular elbow macaroni
- Olive oil spray
- Lean ground turkey (or ground beyond meat for vegetarian)
- Onion
- Red bell pepper
- Garlic
- Jalapeño
- Salt (see nutrition section on low sodium tips)
- 2Chili powder
- Ground cumin
- Bay leaves
- Can chopped tomatoes
- Can kidney beans
- Reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
How to Make Low Calorie Chili Mac and Cheese
This recipe makes a wonderful meal prep dinner! You can preassemble the entire casserole dish and cover. Place in the fridge and bake the next day (add 10 minutes in the oven if baking from cold).
And you can also store leftovers in individual meal prep containers. They will hold for 4-5 days in the fridge and 1 month in the freezer.
How to Make Low Calorie Chili Mac and Cheese:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. (see notes for no bake options!)
- In a large pot, cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Then drain and set aside when done.
- Meanwhile, heat a separate large pot (note– if you only have one large pot, cook the pasta, drain and set aside so that you can use the same pot) over medium heat.
- Spray the pot lightly with olive oil and add in the meat, onion, bell pepper, and cook until the meat is browned, and the vegetables are softened.
- Add garlic, and jalapeño, and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add in chili powder, cumin, bay leaves, and mix.
- Mix in the tomatoes and the beans, increase the heat to medium high, and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer for 15 minutes, then remove the bay leaves and add in the cooked pasta and 1/2 of the cheese.
- Mix well so that the pasta is coated in chili and cheese.
- Scoop the pasta into a casserole dish, and top with the remaining cheese.
- Bake in the oven for 10 minutes until the cheese is melted.
Healthy Chili Mac and Cheese Recipe
This recipe is so delicious and quite the kid favorite! My daughter loves all of my Mac and cheese mashups, especially the Taco Mac I made on the Rachael Ray Show!
More Low Calorie Pasta Recipes:
Low Calorie Chili Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 (8-oz) box uncooked Banza Elbow Protein Pasta or regular elbow macaroni
- Olive oil spray
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 jalapeño seeded and minced
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 bay leaves
- 1 28- ounce can chopped tomatoes drained
- 1 15- ounce can kidney beans drained and rinsed
- ½ cup shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. (see notes for no bake options!)
- In a large pot, cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Then drain and set aside when done.
- Meanwhile, heat a separate large pot (note– if you only have one large pot, cook the pasta, drain and set aside so that you can use the same pot) over medium heat.
- Spray the pot lightly with olive oil and add in the meat, onion, bell pepper, and cook until the meat is browned, and the vegetables are softened.
- Add garlic, and jalapeño, and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add in chili powder, cumin, bay leaves, and mix.
- Mix in the tomatoes and the beans, increase the heat to medium high, and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer for 15 minutes, then remove the bay leaves and add in the cooked pasta and 1/2 of the cheese.
- Mix well so that the pasta is coated in chili and cheese.
- Scoop the pasta into a casserole dish, and top with the remaining cheese.
- Bake in the oven for 10 minutes until the cheese is melted.
Nutrition
Nutrition and Calories in Chili Mac and Cheese
Low Sodium Tips: to lower the sodium skip the salt all together and get low sodium beans.
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