These Low Calorie Mac and Cheese Cups are just 66 calories! Plus they are great for meal prepping, potlucks, lunch boxes and even snacks!
I like to make these as simple as possible, that’s why you won’t find any strange ingredients in the shopping list. Just tips and tricks to boost flavor while lowering calories. And one “secret ingredient” that helps cup lots of calories without sacrificing flavor or serving size!
Best of all, they are so low in calories that you can have 3-4 of them without breaking your calorie “budget.”
Low Calorie Mac and Cheese Cups
What You’ll Find in this Article:
Ingredients in Healthy Mac and Cheese Muffins
No weird ingredients go into these mac and cheese muffin cups! Just a few calorie cutting tricks to lower the amount of some items (like using sharp cheddar instead of mild) and flavor boosting tips (like adding garlic cloves to the sauce to soak and infuse it).
Muffin Cup Mac and Cheese Ingredients:
- Fiber Gourmet Light Elbow Pasta – just 29 calories per serving, this low calorie pasta is amazing!
- Butter – just a little, we need to to make the roux (which makes the sauce thick).
- All-Purpose Flour – again, just a little bit so we can make a roux.
- Unsweetened Almond Milk – extra low calorie, but any milk will work as long is it’s unsweetened.
- Garlic – boosts the flavor for zero calories!
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese – you don’t need as much for flavor when it’s sharp cheese! One of my low cal tricks!
- Salt and Pepper – you can skip the salt if your diet requires it, and use fresh ground pepper if you have it for best flavor.
- Panko Bread Crumbs – for the perfect crunchy top, you can skip if you like.
- Parmesan Cheese – adds so much flavor and is super sharp so you don’t need as much!
- Olive Oil Spray – my #1 trick for lowering calories in a recipe. It lets off a fine mist instead of a heavy drizzle!
- Parsley – it’s optional, but adds color and flavor to the crunchy topping./li>
We owe this low calorie recipe for mac and cheese to Fiber Gourmet Light Elbow Pasta (no this post is not sponsored, I just love it a lot!) At just 29 calories per serving it helps cut calories in a big way!
You can use any pasta you like, even protein pasta. It will change the nutrition a bit, but will still be super yummy!
Optional Add-Ins:
- Shredded Chicken
- Crumbled Turkey Bacon
- Green Onions
- Diced Broccoli
- Sliced Bell Peppers
How to Make Low Calorie Mac and Cheese
This muffin cup mac and cheese recipe is easy and delicious! You only need a few items to make them, and if you don’t have muffin liners, you can just spray the tins with olive oil.
You can also make this entire recipe, and add it to a baking dish for a low calorie casserole. The bake time will only need to increase by 10 minutes if you choose two make it all in one tray.
Tools and Equipment:
- Muffin Tins
- Muffin Liners
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Large Pot
- Colander
How to Make Mac and Cheese Muffin Cups:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 16 muffin tins with paper liners, or spray with olive oil.
- Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. Drain and set aside.
- In a large pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and mix with a wooden spoon, continuously, until you have a light brown paste.
- Add in 1 cup of milk and whisk well to remove any lumps. Mix the remaining milk and whole garlic cloves.
- Increase the heat to medium-high. Mix often, scraping the bottom of the pan often, until the sauce has thickened and coats the spoon.
- Turn off the heat, remove the garlic cloves and discard.
- Stir in the cooked pasta, 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese, salt and pepper. Mix well, until all the pasta is coated and the cheese is melted.
- Scoop 1/4 cup of Mac and cheese into each muffin cup, sprinkle over remaining cheddar cheese, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and parsley.
- Spray lightly with olive oil and bake for 20-25 minutes until the topping is golden brown.
Meal Prep/Storage:
- Make the recipe as directed, and cool completely.
- Add the mac and cheese muffins to a gallon freezer bag or container and seal well.
- Add to the refrigerator (will last 5 days) or the freezer (will last a month).
- To reheat – microwave for 1 minute for defrosted or 2-3 minutes for frozen. You can also pop into a toaster oven to reheat.
Low Calorie Mac and Cheese Cups Recipe
These mac and cheese muffin cups are just 66 calories each, and make a great meal prep recipe! Here are some more low calorie recipes I think you’ll love.
More Low Calorie Recipes:
Low Calorie Mac and Cheese Cups
Equipment
- 1-2 Muffin tins
Ingredients
- 1 (8-ounce) box Fiber Gourmet Light Elbow Pasta
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 3 cups unsweetened almond milk or 1% dairy milk
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese divided
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
- Olive oil spray
- 1 teaspoon chopped parsley optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 16 muffin tins with paper liners, or spray with olive oil.
- Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. Drain and set aside.
- In a large pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and mix with a wooden spoon, continuously, until you have a light brown paste.
- Add in 1 cup of milk and whisk well to remove any lumps. Mix the remaining milk and whole garlic cloves.
- Increase the heat to medium-high. Mix often, scraping the bottom of the pan often, until the sauce has thickened and coats the spoon.
- Turn off the heat, remove the garlic cloves and discard.
- Stir in the cooked pasta, 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese, salt and pepper. Mix well, until all the pasta is coated and the cheese is melted.
- Scoop 1/4 cup of Mac and cheese into each muffin cup, sprinkle over remaining cheddar cheese, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and parsley.
- Spray lightly with olive oil and bake for 20-25 minutes until the topping is golden brown.
Nutrition
Nutrition and Calories in Mac and Cheese Cups
The nutrition and calories are based off 1 muffin cup (1/4 cup) using Fiber Gourmet Light Elbow Pasta. If you use a different pasta, it will affect the calories and nutrition.
LOWER SODIUM: The cheese has a decent amount of “bite” so you can eliminate the salt all together if your diet requires it.
INCREASE PROTEIN: If low carb is more important to you than low calorie, try using protein pasta in place of the pasta recommended.
What to Read Next:
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