Soft noodles, gooey cheese, rich sauce, a crumbly topping–these words simply burst forth with “comfort food!” And they’re all characteristics of the universally known and loved stuff known as macaroni and cheese.
Traditional macaroni and cheese is made with carby but so, so delicious noodles. This recipe, however, is made using Dreamfields macaroni pasta. Dreamfields is coated with special stuff that prevents the body from absorbing the majority of the carbs, making it lean and easy on blood sugar (so long as it is cooked properly). However, Dreamfields pasta tastes just like regular pasta, so you (and your family) won’t notice anything different! If you’re doing Trim Healthy Mama, be sure to cook the pasta per the directions and only enjoy a serving of this probably once a week.
What makes this macaroni and cheese recipe unique from a basic macaroni and cheese one are a couple of different ingredients. Specifically, cottage cheese and egg yolk. These ingredients add a richness to the flavor and a dreamy, creamy overall consistency.
Easy Creamy Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 package (13.2 ounces) Dreamfields macaroni pasta OR equivalent riced cauliflower, zucchini noodles, konjac noodles, or spaghetti squash (about 2 cups)
- 1 cup 1% small curd cottage cheese
- 1 cup plain unsweetened almond or cashew milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, optional
- 1 teaspoon mineral salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cups (16 ounces) cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional (more if you like it spicy)
- pinch ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon salted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375° Fahrenheit. Prepare a 9- by 13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish by spraying it with coconut oil cooking spray; set aside.
- Prepare the macaroni noodles according to the package directions.
- Meanwhile, add the cottage cheese, milk, cream, egg yolk, mustard powder, paprika, salt, pepper, cayenne, and nutmeg together in a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Drain the macaroni and add the creamy mixture to it. Add all but about ½ cup of the cheese and mix everything together.
- Pour the mac and cheese into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese and drizzle the butter over the top.
- Bake for 30 or more minutes or until heated through, bubbly, and the cheese on top is beginning to crisp.
- Garnish with fresh or dried parsley (optional).
Notes
Nutrition
I have to agree with N R for diabetics dreamfields is still a no no. My husband has diabetes and this pasta still makes his blood sugar spike. I would suspect pre-diabetics should probably also consider cauliflower or konjac noodles as an alternative.
Absolutely. 🙂
Love it! So unique too, not just obvious basic lol. Thanks another great one, Teej
Sorry to disappoint but repeated studies have come to the conclusion that Dreamfield Pasta carbs are absorbed just like any other carb and have just as detrimental effect on blood sugars as semolina pasta. Notice the box no longer states 4 net carbs per serving! The FDA sanctioned Dreamfield’s for misleading / false advertising – hence the removal of the net carb claims.
Hi, NR! Thank you kindly for your concern. The Dreamfields topic has been heavily discussed in the Trim Healthy Mama and keto communities over the past few years. If you are part of the THM community on Facebook, you can read Pearl Barrett’s (THM author) and various other authorities’ opinions on Dreamfields pasta here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/trim-healthy-mama/dreamfields-pasta-blood-sugar/473163619423461/
Dreamfields came under a lawsuit by several American lawyers, not the FDA. Dreamfields wound up settling for just shy of $8 million. They were unable to prove their claims in court, so they settled and removed the 5 net carbs label. However, they are still made the same way and, when cooked properly, typically do not affect blood sugar like other pasta with similar ingredients do (especially for those who enjoy carbs now and again like those doing THM; die-hard strict keto people probably need to avoid it since their body is unable to handle many carbs; modified keto people are usually fine with it though).
The conclusion in the THM community and in some modified keto communites–Dreamfields pasta is okay to use upon occasion (not daily; once a week for a single meal is okay).
As with any food, it is recommended that you be knowledgeable about your body’s own unique reaction via blood sugar levels (i.e. if Dreamfields spikes yours, avoid it; if you do ok, enjoy it). Be sure to include protein if you do enjoy Dreamfields pasta as this is important and, without it, can adversely affect your blood sugar levels anyway.
If you’d still like to make my recipe above but want to avoid Dreamfields(for any reason), you can sub it with the items I recommended in the recipe.
Hope this helps. Have a great day, NR!
Love this! So do my kids. 😍 So easy to make.