Best 7 Healthier Four Cheese Macaroni Recipes

MACARONI WITH 4 CHEESES!

Steps:

• In a heavy, medium saucepan melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over low heat. Add the flour and stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Increase the heat to medium and whisk in the half and half little by little. Cook until thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat, season with the salt, pepper, hot sauce and 4 ounces of the grated parmesan. Stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Cover and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add salt to taste and, while stirring, add the macaroni. Return to a boil, reduce the heat to a low boil and cook for about 5 minutes, or until macaroni is very al dente (slightly undercooked). Drain in a colander and return the macaroni to the pot. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and the garlic and stir to combine. Add the bechamel sauce and stir until well combined. Set aside.
• Using the remaining tablespoon of butter, grease a 3-quart baking dish or casserole and set aside.
• In a large bowl combine 4 ounces of the remaining parmesan cheese, cheddar, fontina and gruyere cheeses. Toss to combine.
• Place one-third of the macaroni in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with one-third of the mixed cheeses. Top with another third of the macaroni and another third of the cheese mixture. Repeat with the remaining macaroni and cheese mixture. In a small bowl combine the bread crumbs, remaining 1/2 ounce of grated parmesan, and the Essence and toss to combine. Sprinkle this over the top of the macaroni and cheese.
• Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the macaroni and cheese is bubbly and hot and the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

MACARONI AND 4 CHEESES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook until tender but firm, about 5 to 8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
• Meanwhile, place the frozen squash and milk into a large saucepan and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally and breaking up the squash with a spoon until it is defrosted. Turn the heat up to medium and cook until the mixture is almost simmering, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the Cheddar, jack cheese, ricotta cheese, salt, mustard and cayenne pepper. Pour cheese mixture over the macaroni and stir to combine. Transfer the macaroni and cheese to the baking dish.
• Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and oil in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the top of the macaroni and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, then broil for 3 minutes so the top is crisp and nicely browned.

HEALTHIER BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook macaroni according to package directions but two minutes less than suggested by the directions. Add the zucchini bites and cook an additional minute. Drain and rinse.
• Place 1/4 cup of your skim milk into a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the powdered milk and dry mustard until there are no lumps. This step enriches the milk without adding fat. Now whisk in the corn starch until there are no lumps and the milk is warmed but not hot. Add in the remaining milk and turn off the heat. Mix in the egg substitute. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Guessing paprika, onion or garlic powder might be nice here as well.
• Prepare a 9 inch square pan with a coating of butter flavored cooking spray.
• After grating the cheese, reserve 1/4 of the amount for the top.
• Place 1/3 of the pasta and zucchini into the bottom of your baking dish. Cover with 1/2 of the remaining cheese. Repeat, with a second layer of pasta and cheese. Place the final third of pasta on top and cover with the reserved cheese.
• Pour custard into the casserole dish. You want this liquid to come within about 1/2 inch of the top of the pan. The shape and size of the dish may require more or less -- just keep the proportion of 1/2 cup egg substitute and 1 tablespoon dry milk for each cup of skim milk.
• Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean of custard (it might be a bit cheesy).
• Tip from 3KillerB's: this is apt to overflow a little if you got the custard too far up to the top. Best to bake it on the upper rack with a baking sheet on the rack below to catch any drips.

HEALTHIER MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until cooked through but firm to the bite, 8 minutes; drain.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a casserole dish with cooking spray.
• Melt margarine in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir onion and garlic in hot margarine until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Stir flour, mustard, and pepper into onions and cook for 30 seconds. Gradually pour in milk, stirring constantly until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and stir grated Cheddar cheese into the sauce until cheese is completely melted.
• Mix macaroni, cottage cheese, and Cheddar cheese sauce together in a bowl; pour into prepared casserole dish and top with bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling, 20 minutes.

FOUR CHEESE MACARONI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Combine first 3 ingredients in medium bowl. Stir in 1 cup cheese.
• Cook macaroni as directed on package, omitting salt. Meanwhile, melt butter in large saucepan on low heat. Stir in flour and red pepper; cook and stir 2 min. or until bubbly. Gradually stir in milk; cook on medium heat 3 to 5 min. or until mixture comes to boil, stirring constantly. Stir in sour cream; simmer on low heat 3 to 5 min. or until thickened. Add remaining cheese; cook and stir 2 min. or until melted.
• Drain macaroni. Add to sauce; stir to evenly coat. Spoon into 8 (1-cup) baking dishes sprayed with cooking spray; sprinkle with cheese mixture.
• Bake 10 min. or until heated through.

HEALTHIER MACARONI & CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a deep 2 1/2-quart casserole.
• Bring the large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the elbow macaroni, and cook until the macaroni is just tender, about 7 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain well. Return to the cooking pot.
• In a small saucepan, melt four tablespoons of the butter. Stir into the macaroni. In a large bowl, mix the shredded cheeses. To the macaroni, add the milk, 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese, the cubed Velveeta, the eggs and the frozen peas. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Transfer to the casserole. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.
• Bake until it's bubbling around the edges, about 35 minutes. Serve hot.

FOUR-CHEESE MACARONI

Steps:

• Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth; gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. , Reduce heat to low; stir in cheeses until melted. Drain macaroni; add to cheese sauce and stir until coated.