A fantastic variation on macaroni and cheese! Without all the fat found in heavy cream, fat-free Greek yogurt and low-fat cream cheese provide the sauce with a very creamy and tasty base, while shredded cheeses add a ton of potent flavor. The dish is perfected by the salty prosciutto and fresh spinach.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 50 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 12 servings |
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- 1 (16 ounce) package dried elbow macaroni
- 4 thin slices prosciutto, or more to taste
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cups fat-free plain Greek yogurt
- ½ (8 ounce) package reduced-fat cream cheese, cut into small pieces
- 1 ½ cups shredded Gruyere cheese
- 1 ½ cups shredded white Cheddar cheese
- 3 cups roughly chopped fresh spinach
Instructions
- Set an oven rack to the top position and preheat to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking pan with aluminum foil. Coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain macaroni, reserving 2 1/2 cups pasta water. Pour macaroni back into the pot.
- While the macaroni is cooking, place prosciutto on the prepared baking pan.
- Cook prosciutto on the top rack of the preheated oven until dry and crispy, but not burnt, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and chop roughly. Lower the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and lower the rack to the middle position.
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk for 1 minute. Add garlic powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, and pepper; cook for 1 minute more. Whisk in Greek yogurt and cook until heated through and bubbling, 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups of the reserved pasta water; cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add cream cheese and stir until melted. Add a generous 1/4 cup each of Gruyere and Cheddar cheeses, stirring until thoroughly melted; repeat until all cheese had been added and sauce is thick. Stir in as much of the remaining pasta water as necessary to reach desired consistency.
- Stir spinach into the cooked macaroni. Add cheese sauce; stir until combined and macaroni is coated. Pour into the prepared baking pan and sprinkle prosciutto over top.
- Bake in the preheated oven until edges are bubbling slightly, 15 to 20 minutes.
- This recipe is very forgiving with the type of dairy products you use. I use regular (full-fat) shredded cheese, but you can use reduced-fat cheeses too. You can use low-fat Greek yogurt and regular (full-fat) cream cheese, too.
- I would not use frozen spinach because the high water content can make the dish watery and runny. But try using arugula for spinach for a slightly spicy flavor.
- This recipe also works in the slow cooker! Omit the flour. Boil pasta for just a few minutes, cooked about halfway through and not yet at al dente. Add butter, spices, Greek yogurt, 1 cup of pasta water (not 1 1/2 cups), cream cheese, shredded cheese, and pasta to the slow cooker. Cook on Low for 5 to 6 hours or on High for 3 to 4 hours until pasta is cooked through. Add spinach 30 minutes before dish is finished in the slow cooker. Top with prosciutto.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 353 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 32 g |
| Cholesterol | 50 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 17 g |
| Saturated Fat | 10 g |
| Sodium | 241 mg |
| Sugars | 3 g |
| Fat | 18 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
So it’s probably not fair for me to rate this becuase I made several changes. I am really leaving feedback on the consistency of the greek yogurt in this dish. I used what I had on hand, so I had normal plain Greek yogurt (not fat-free), cheddar and pepperjack cheese, bacon (not prosciutto), spiral Bonza noodles (chickpea noodles), and I accidentally put too much cumin, and I added French’s crispy onions and a shredded parmesan blend on top. With all this said, the texture was a little grainy. The flavor was pretty good. The overwhelming cumin was not my favorite, but that is not the recipe’s fault. The spicy level was perfect. The spincah was unnoticeable. It needed some salt. I probably won’t make this again, but it was a good way to use up my yogurt!
I didn’t add any extra water to the sauce after the 1.5 cups because I thought it would be creamier if it was thicker but after it baked the sauce turned into the consistency of ricotta. It was yummy but I think I’ll add extra water next time. I also only used 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes and I think that was enough- mac & cheese doesn’t need to be too spicy. I’ll definitely make this again, maybe I’ll add some chopped chives.
Really tasty! I added dried tomatoes and chopped bacon in place of spinach and prosciutto. Yummy!