BBQ Macaroni

About

Give your mac and cheese a little twist with a hint of barbecue sauce! The vinegar and peppery flavors in barbecue sauce match well with a cheesy mound of shirataki elbow noodles. You can make this recipe in under 20 minutes! It’s great for making in bulk for meal prepping or whenever you’re in a pinch for time. Even kids will like this macaroni, even with the shirataki noodles. If you can’t find elbow noodles, you can use any style of shirataki noodle you can get your hands on. All shirataki noodles share the same macros, but wide and fat noodles will be best for holding onto all the yellow-gold goodness. For your barbecue sauce, choose a standard flavor, and avoid any flavors that imply sweetness.

Make This Macaroni A Meal

There are many ways you can incorporate this mac and cheese recipe into a larger Keto meal. Make your pasta personal by mixing in a variety of chopped proteins, veggies, or other toppings that are Keto-friendly. You can leave the pasta plain and use it as a side dish with one of Carb Manager’s many Keto chicken drumstick recipes. Use this recipe in your meal prepping, and portion it into meal prep containers to store in your refrigerator for up to 5 days.

My Cheese Sauce Separated

If your sauce separated while cooking, this means you cooked it too hot. To make sure your sauce stays together, always cook over low heat settings. If you sauce still breaks, add a cold dairy product to the sauce in small spoonfuls: heavy cream or whole milk. Slowly stir your sauce over low heat until it comes back together.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter, unsalted
1 oz cream cheese
⅓ cup almond milk
1 teaspoon barbeque sauce
¼ tsp, chopped garlic
1 cup, shredded cheddar cheese
4 oz shirataki noodle
¼ cup, shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

Melt butter in a small pot over low heat on the stove. Add the cream cheese to the butter, and stir the ingredients until the cream cheese is soft and lump-free. If you wish, you can pull the cream cheese out to soften prior to making the recipe. Next, pour almond milk, barbecue sauce, and minced garlic into the pot. Stir the ingredients as you bring the almond milk to a simmer.
Once the milk is hot, reduce the heat again to very low. Add the first amount of cheddar cheese to the pot, and stir until melted. Leave the pot over the lowest heat possible, and prepare your shirataki noodles. Drain and rinse the noodles, then drain them again. Gently fold the shirataki noodles into the cheese sauce along with the final amount of shredded cheddar.
Take the pot off the heat and continue folding until all the cheese is melted and thickened. Let the macaroni cool for just a few minutes before serving. Serve approximately 5 ounces of macaroni per person. At your discretion, you may choose to add more barbecue sauce to the macaroni by swirling it into the sauce. Other toppings can be chopped green onion, chopped parsley, or bacon bits, to name a few.