Skinny creamy mac and cheese is a lightened-up version of the classic and very low in points for Weight Watchers. It only requires 5 simple ingredients.
I couldn't believe my eyes at the points for 1 serving of this mac and cheese when adding this to the recipe builder! Points are always listed in the notes section of this recipe below.
This mac and cheese is made slightly different than regular mac and cheese. You make a slurry out of the milk and flour and pour use that as a thickener instead of roux. It works trust me cause I’ve done it plenty of times with soup before.
Serve this as a side with protein and some fresh greens for a full meal.
What Ingredients do I need?
In this section, you can find substitutes or suggestions for certain ingredients. I also will try and list out what the ingredients' purpose is for.
Pasta - Medium-sized shells, elbow macaroni or cavatappi
Milk - 1% 0r 2%
Flour - all purpose flour
Cheddar Cheese - can also use Velveeta cheese shreds to make it even creamier
Panko Bread Crumbs - for bread crumb topping
How to make Skinny Mac and Cheese
You can print off the full recipe below.
In a medium sauce pan, boil the medium shells for 8-10 minutes until al dente.
While the noodles are cooking let the 2 cups of milk come to a simmer in a medium sauce pan. Whisk the remaining ½ cup of milk and ¼ cup of flour together in a bowl until the flour is combined. Add to the cups of milk that is simmering on the stove top. Let the milk and flour thicken for another 5 minutes. Add in salt and pepper for seasoning.
Stir in the cheese until melted and combine the cheese with the noodles.
Put the broiler on high and add noodles to some oven proof bowls such as ramekins. Sprinkle some panko over the top and let the panko brown in the oven.
Serving Size: 1 cup
Equipment Needed
Here are some tools that will help will help you with the recipes. All links will open in Amazon. Yes I do get a small earning if purchase from the link
Sauce Pan - Enameled Cast Iron Covered Dutch Oven, 6-Quart, Blue
Cheese Grater - Rotary Cheese Grater - Round Tumbling Box Shredder for Vegetable, Nuts, Potato or Cheeses
Other Recipes To Try
Maple Bacon Corn Bread Muffins
If you’ve tried this Skinny Creamy Mac and Cheese or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out. Snap a picture and upload it to Pinterest.
Skinny Creamy Mac and Cheese
- Yield: 8 1x
Ingredients
- 10 oz of medium sized shells
- 2 cups of 1% milk plus ½ cup
- ¼ cup of flour
- ¾ cup of sharp cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- 6 tablespoons of panko bread crumbs
- parsley for garnish
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, boil the medium shells for 8-10 minutes until al dente.
- While the noodles are cooking let the 2 cups of milk come to a simmer in a medium sauce pan. Whisk the remaining ½ cup of milk and ¼ cup of flour together in a bowl until the flour is combined. Add to the cups of milk that is simmering on the stove top. Let the milk and flour thicken for another 5 minutes. Add in salt and pepper for seasoning.
- Stir in the cheese until melted and combine the cheese with the noodles.
- Put the broiler on high and add noodles to some oven proof bowls such as ramekins. Sprinkle some panko over the top and let the panko brown in the oven.
- Serving Size: 1 cup
Notes
Weight Watcher Points Plus: 9
myWW points: Blue 5; Green 6; Purple 5
My WW Personal Points: 5 Click here to see in recipe builder (will have to log in)
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 282
- Fat: 9.34
- Saturated Fat: 4.86
- Carbohydrates: 34.91
- Fiber: 1.6
- Protein: 13.72
I am not affiliated with WW formerly known as Weight Watchers in any way. I am just a member who likes to create WW recipes and share them with everyone. Freestyle is the name of the current program of WW and smart points are calculated for the recipes. Some blogs list them as freestyle smart points and some list them as smart points. There is no difference between the 2.
Nikki says
I enjoy this recipe as does my family but the measurements don’t work out. I did the 2X amount and it says 20oz pasta which is 2.5 cups, that means only 2 servings and a half? I’ve always added way more pasta as the 4.5 cups of milk would be mostly sauce no noodles if I did 2.5 cups. Just could really figure out the math on this one, maybe I’m the only one?
★★★★★
pat says
this recipe was very good and creamy when it was hot. how do you keep it creamy when reheated. it was very tasty
★★★★★
Lisa says
I make this a few times a year and love it. I use unsweetened almond milk (I don’t drink regular milk) and the Kraft fat free shredded cheddar. So I’d assume the calories and fat content would be a bit less than what this lists. I usually roast some broccoli as a side and make it a meal 🙂
★★★★★
Jenna says
Thanks, I wouldn't worry too much about the points if its off by 1 or 2. 😉 Brands are different points wise and so is everybody's idea of a serving size.
Destiny Dewar says
Thank you, I love your recipes and was excited to try this.
While it was delicious, I found 1/2 cup ended up being around 7 points on blue. I’m curious what others measured.
Thanks for all your recipes!
★★★
Jenna says
but milk???
Anna says
Would but milk as an okay milk substitute?
Wendy says
Delicious! So tasty and creamy, easy to make! So much better than any boxed Mac and Chesse!
★★★★★
Jenna says
This is a pretty old recipe and I haven’t made it in a while. Not sure what the serving size is but you can figure that out your self by portioning out the recipe into 8 equal servings.
Sam says
How many cups in a serving ?