This One-Pot Bacon Broccoli Mac and Cheese is lightened up comfort food for the whole family!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword Macaroni and Cheese, One-Pot Meals, Weight Watchers, WW Pasta
Prep Time 10 minutesmins
Cook Time 25 minutesmins
Total Time 35 minutesmins
Servings 8(1 cup) servings
Calories 279
Author Sunny Cooking
Ingredients
8slicesuncooked center cut baconchopped
¼cupall-purpose flour
½teaspoonsalt
¼teaspoonblack pepper
4tablespoonslight butter(I use Land O’Lakes light butter spread with canola oil)
1 ½cupsskim milk
2 ½cupswater
12ozdry whole wheat elbow macaroni
3 ½cupsbroccoli florets
6oz50% reduced fat sharp cheddar cheeseshredded (I use Cabot)
Instructions
Place the chopped bacon in a 5 QT Dutch oven or large pot and bring to medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp. Transfer the bacon pieces to a stack of paper towels to drain using a slotted spoon. Discard the grease and wipe out the bottom of the pot.
In a small dish, stir together the ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper with the ¼ cup flour. Place the butter into the pot and bring over medium heat. When the butter is melted, whisk the flour mixture in a little bit at a time until combined. Slowly whisk the milk into the butter/flour mixture a little at a time, until combined and smooth. Add the water and whisk to combine, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot from cooking the bacon.
Increase the heat to med-high and stir occasionally until boiling. Reduce the heat to med-low and add the macaroni. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent sticking, until pasta is cooked.
While the pasta is cooking, place the broccoli florets into a microwave-safe bowl and cover the bowl with a damp paper towel. Microwave on high for 2 minutes. Broccoli should be softened but still firm and bright green. Set aside.
Once the pasta is cooked, reduce the heat to low and stir in the shredded cheese until melted into the sauce. Add the broccoli florets and the bacon pieces to the pot and stir together until combined. Remove from heat and serve.
Notes
To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!WW Points per (1 cup) serving: 9 (Points calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)Nutrition Information per (1 cup) serving:279 calories, 41 g carbs, 3 g sugars, 9 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 18 g protein, 5 g fiber, 300 mg sodium (from myfitnesspal.com)MYWW SMARTPOINTS PER (1 cup) SERVING: (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)Green: 9 SmartPoints/ Blue: 9 SmartPoints/ Purple: 5 SmartPointsWeight Watchers Points Plus: 8 per (1 cup) serving (PP calculated using a Weight Watchers PointsPlus calculator and the nutrition info below)