This Keto Mac and Cheese recipe is a cheesy, noodley comfort dish that you can bake up in just 30 minutes. It’s a keeper.
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Greetings my cheese-loving friends. 👋
Today we’re going to make some Keto Mac and Cheese and talk a little bit about the where, when, and why of how it came to be.
👨🍳 Who invented Mac and Cheese?
No one knows for sure, but the idea of combining macaroni noodles and cheese sauce goes back to the colonial era, a heady time when Yankee Doodle put a feather in his cap and called it "Macaroni". So it's old. Thomas Jefferson was an early adopter who spread the word about the delights of Macaroni and Cheese from the South to the rest of the country.
But modern-day macaroni and cheese came into existence during the Great Depression.
People in dire straights turned to cheap processed foods like Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinners. These meal kits included uncooked macaroni noodles and powdered cheese packets that mixed with milk and butter to become a poor man’s cheese sauce. Or you could just use Velveeta, a substance so processed that the FDA won’t even let them call it “cheese” anymore.
They have to call Velveeta a “cheese product”.
💬 Low carb dieters often ask...
Yes, yes it is. But no worries, the Mac and Cheese we are going to make today is very low in carbohydrates (10g net carbs). And it's made with real cheese and dairy, unlike some macaroni and cheese mixes I could mention.
Yes, thankfully there are several. So we won't need to resort to cauliflower for a faux Keto Mac and Cheese. Ours will have real macaroni noodle goodness.
All brands of cheese are Keto-friendly, although some cheeses are lower in carbs than others. The lowest in carbs are cheddar, Gouda, blue, and goat cheese and the highest are low-fat and overly processed cheeses. But if you actually want to eat Velveeta, then I won't stop you.
🧀 The Keto Cheese Sauce
Since cheese is not only allowed on Keto but encouraged, we are going to go a little crazy. This tasty cheese sauce has no fewer than four cheeses. And if you have some other cheese you want to include, well throw it in there. The more the merrier!
- butter
- cream cheese
- heavy whipping cream
- sharp shredded cheddar cheese
- shredded mozzarella cheese
- shredded parmesan cheese
- ground paprika
- salt and pepper
🍝 The Low Carb Noodles
The secret to this low carb macaroni and cheese is the noodles. Instead of trying to pull the wool over your eyes and using cauliflower in place of real noodles, we're going to use one of the two low carb pasta noodles that are currently on the market. The Great Low Carb Bread Co. noodles have 7g net carbs per serving and the ImPASTAble noodles have 8g net carbs.
💬 What does "net carbs" mean?
This is an important concept in low carb and Keto diets, so it’s best to understand the idea behind it. The way we calculate net carbs is to take the total amount of carbohydrates in a food and subtract the fiber because our body can't digest it or get any energy from it. It passes right through you, without making a dent in your low carb diet. So even though ImPASTAble and the Great Low Carb Bread Co. noodles have the same amount of total carbohydrates as normal pasta, they contain so much fiber that the net carb amount is negligible.
📖 Instructions
- Get out an 11 x 8 inch or 9 x 9-inch casserole dish.
- Boil a large pot of salted water. Add pasta and cook for 10 minutes. Drain. Add pasta to a large bowl.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, over Medium heat, melt together butter, cream cheese, and heavy whipping cream. Stir until completely melted with no clumps of cream cheese left.
- Stir in 1 ¼ cup cheddar, 1 cup mozzarella, and 1 cup parmesan cheese and cook until fully melted and smooth. You can change the ratio, so long as it adds up to 3 ¼ cups of cheese.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the paprika. Taste for salt and add salt and pepper if desired. How much salt you need will depend on how salty the cheese you use is.
- Pour the cheese sauce into the bowl of pasta and mix to combine. Pour the mixture into the casserole dish.
- Top with remaining ½ cup cheddar cheese and heat under the broiler for 1-2 minutes until cheese is melted. If you like it browned on top, then you can broil it for 3-4 minutes. Keep a close eye on it though, because it will go from browned to burnt very quickly.
That’s all there is to making Keto Mac and Cheese.
In about 30 minutes, you can bake up a melty, cheesy, noodley masterpiece.
And you won’t have to resort to “cheese food” to do it.
📋 Recipe
Keto Mac and Cheese {with Real Noodles}
This Keto Mac and Cheese recipe is a cheesy, noodley comfort dish that you can bake up in just 30 minutes. It’s a keeper.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Side DIsh
- Method: Boiled
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Diabetic
Ingredients
- 1 (8 oz) bag of The Great Bread Co. Elbow Noodles or ImPASTAble Penne Pasta
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 5 oz cream cheese, softened and chopped into cubes
- 1 ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 ¾ cups sharp shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon ground paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Step 1. Get out an 11 x 8 inch or 9 x 9-inch casserole dish.
Step 2. Boil a large pot of salted water. Add pasta and cook for 10 minutes. Drain. Add pasta to a large bowl.
Step 3. In a medium-sized saucepan, over Medium heat, melt together butter, cream cheese and heavy whipping cream. Stir until completely melted with no clumps of cream cheese left.
Step 4. Stir in 1 ¼ cup cheddar, 1 cup mozzarella, and 1 cup parmesan cheese and cook until fully melted and smooth.
Step 5. Remove from the heat and stir in the paprika. Taste for salt and add salt and pepper if desired. How much salt you need will depend on how salty the cheese you use is.
Step 6. Pour the cheese sauce into the bowl of pasta and mix to combine. Pour the mixture into the casserole dish.
Step 7. Top with remaining ½ cup cheddar cheese and heat under the broiler for 1-2 minutes until cheese is melted. If you like it browned on top, then you can broil it for 3-4 minutes. Keep a close eye on it though, because it will go from browned to burnt very quickly.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅙
- Calories: 552
- Fat: 48
- Carbohydrates: 44
- Fiber: 34
- Protein: 24
Keywords: Real Low Carb Mac and Cheese, Real Low Carb Macaroni and Cheese, Real Low Carb Mac-N-Cheese
If you liked this low carb noodle recipe, then you might like my recipes for Chicken Ramen Soup, Cold Peanut Noodle Salad or Lupin Flour Fettuccine.
Laura says
Checking out keto mac n cheese for my restaurant. I see comments that it's really 8 - 1 cup servings but the carb count is 1-6, 44. Are you saying that there are 44 carbs per 1 cup serving or are you saying it's 44/6 or 8 which would yield 7 or 5.5 carbs per serving?
EmilyKrill says
The nutritional info is for 1/6 of a pan of mac and cheese and each serving is approximately 1 cup. Each serving has 44g carbohydrate and 34g fiber. Because we go on net carbs in Keto, the net carb amount is 10g net carbs per serving.
CookDrinkFest says
Thanks for turning me on to the Impastable pasta. I used the penne pasta to make my great-aunt's super-secret mac & cheese recipe this Thanksgiving. It came out perfect.
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
Yay! I love it too. I don't taste any difference either.
Ashlee says
Quick question, is the cream cheese necessary or can it be sub for something else or more heavy cream?
EmilyKrill says
Yes, you can always make a super easy cheese sauce with just shredded cheese and heavy whipping cream. It won't be as thick as one with cream cheese, but it will taste good.
Diana says
Sooo sooo good!! very fulfilling! I was just wondering what’s the serving? It’s says 1/6, is it 1 cup per serving and it makes 6 cups in total.
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
So glad you like it. It's a favorite recipe of mine. And yes, it should be a little more than 1 cup per serving, since a 9 x 9 inch pan holds about 8 cups.
Karen says
Where do you buy the pasta?
EmilyKrill says
I buy these noodles on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/ThinSlim-Foods-Impastable-Pasta-Elbows/dp/B01FE8O3PU/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=impastable+pasta+elbow&qid=1581074718&sr=8-3
Faith says
I could kiss you! I LOVE Mac and cheese but again it’s on the no no list. I looked it up and I live in the south hills 5 minutes from the only store in the entire state that sells this imPastables I will be going tomorrow to get some and make these great looking recipe.
EmilyKrill says
Yay! I love using these noodles. Hope you like the recipe.
Kate Westling says
OMG. The best low carb Mac & Cheese I’ve ever tried and I made it myself!!!!!
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
Thanks!
Sara Welch says
What a great tasting recipe! So glad I can enjoy a classic dish without the guilt! Yum!
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
Thanks!
Raia Todd says
Oooooh my goodness. How could you go wrong with all that cheese! All the heart eyes for this one!
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
You really can’t add too much cheese.
Jen says
I love that I no longer have to miss out on one of my favorites! So good!
★★★★★
EmilyKrill says
Thanks!