Skinny Baked Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese
Cheesy macaroni and broccoli are topped with breadcrumbs and baked to perfection. Kid friendly, vegetarian and comfort food at its finest.
Cheesy macaroni and broccoli are topped with breadcrumbs and baked to perfection. Kid friendly, vegetarian and comfort food at its finest.
- cooking spray
- 1/4 cup minced onion
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 tbsp butter
- salt and fresh pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
- 2 cups skim milk
- 1/8 cup grated parmesan
- 12 oz high fiber elbows like ronzoni smart taste
- 1 tbsp light butter
- 1 cup fat free chicken broth (vegetarians use vegetable
- 8 oz (2 cups) sargento shredded reduced fat sharp chedd
- 12 oz fresh broccoli florets (i used pre-cut bag)
- Carbohydrate 48.4554744553576 g
- Cholesterol 28.4663906266351 mg
- Fat 10.0993443711526 g
- Fiber 5.36438097818494 g
- Protein 17.837290040185 g
- Saturated Fat 5.02103176289067 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (227g)
- Sodium 529.063087504381 mg
- Sugar 43.0910934771726 g
- Trans Fat 3.8152547205789 g
- Calories 334 calories
Step-by-step
- Cook pasta and broccoli together in a large pot of salted water, according to package directions for al dente (or slightly under cook 2 minutes). Spray a baking dish with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 375°.
- In a large, heavy skillet, melt butters. Add onion and cook over low heat about 2 minutes, add flour and cook another minute, or until the flour is golden and well combined. Add milk and chicken broth and whisk, raising heat to medium-high until it comes to a boil; cook about 5 minutes or until the sauce becomes smooth and thick. Season with salt and pepper.
- Once the sauce is thick, remove from heat, add cheese and mix well until cheese is melted. Adjust salt and pepper to taste, add cooked macaroni and broccoli and mix well. Pour into prepared baking dish. Top with grated cheese and breadcrumbs. Spray a little more cooking spray on top.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, then broil for a few minutes to get the breadcrumbs golden.
Budget-focused cooking requires minimizing waste while stretching expensive dairy and produce components across multiple portions. Feeding eight diners efficiently starts with a single large skillet for the roux and a heavy pot for simultaneous boiling. Undercooking the pasta by two minutes prevents structural collapse during the final 375-degree oven phase, ensuring the elbows retain firmness rather than turning mushy in the sauce.
Scaling this recipe requires precise adjustments to the béchamel base. Doubling the batch demands a wider pan than standard residential cookware typically provides; crowding the skillet prevents the flour from cooking evenly during that critical one-minute window, leaving a raw starch taste in the finished sauce. Conversely, halving the ingredients necessitates dropping the milk reduction time from five minutes to roughly three minutes to prevent scorching the dairy on the bottom of the pan.
Leftover portions hold up remarkably well for subsequent meals when stored in airtight glass containers for up to three days. Reheating works best in a conventional oven at 350 degrees rather than a microwave, which tends to break the emulsion of the reduced-fat cheddar and release unwanted moisture into the broccoli florets. Spritzing the top with additional cooking spray before reheating restores crispness to the seasoned breadcrumb crust.
