← All recipes · 🍖 American BBQ
🍖 American BBQ
Low-Carb Mac & Cheese
⏱ 10 min prep + 20 min cook
🍞 ~18g (kid-default 1 cup, Banza chickpea version)
🍽 6 servings
⭐ 5/5
⚠️ Estimates only — not medical advice. Carb counts vary by brand and portion. Always verify with your endo or CDCES.
🌍 Cultural note
Mac and cheese is the unofficial state food of every American childhood — the side that makes a hesitant eater pick up a fork. The trick for our family was finding a version that tastes like Sunday dinner but doesn't send blood sugar on a roller coaster two hours later.
Why this recipe is T1D-friendly
- Swapping regular pasta for Banza chickpea pasta cuts net carbs by about 40% and adds 8g of protein per serving — that protein-fiber combo blunts the blood sugar curve dramatically.
- The cheese sauce is built on real cheese + cream + butter (not a flour roux), keeping the carb count in the noodles where it's easy to math.
Ingredients
- 1 box Banza chickpea elbow pasta, 8 oz (32g net carbs total, ~5g per serving)
- 1 tbsp kosher salt for pasta water (0g)
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter (0g)
- 1 cup heavy cream (3g)
- 8 oz sharp cheddar, freshly grated (3g total)
- 4 oz Gruyère or Monterey Jack, freshly grated (1g)
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened (4g)
- 1 tsp ground mustard (0g)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder (1g)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder (1g)
- 1/4 tsp paprika (0g)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper (0g)
- Salt to taste (0g)
- Optional: 1/4 cup almond flour + 1 tbsp melted butter for a crispy top (3g total)
Directions
- Bring a big pot of water to a rolling boil. Salt it heavily.
- Add Banza pasta. Cook 1 minute LESS than the box says — chickpea pasta gets mushy fast. Stir often.
- Drain immediately. Rinse with warm water (this stops the cooking and removes starchy foam).
- In the same pot over low heat, melt butter.
- Add cream cheese. Whisk until smooth.
- Pour in heavy cream. Whisk together. Don't let it boil.
- Add cheddar and Gruyère a handful at a time, stirring between each addition until fully melted.
- Stir in mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and pepper. Taste and add salt.
- Add the drained pasta back. Stir gently to coat every noodle.
- Serve immediately — chickpea pasta firms up as it cools, so warm-from-the-pot is best.
- For a crispy top: transfer to a baking dish, top with almond flour + butter mix, broil 2-3 minutes until golden.
Dash's kid tips 🐆
- Dash the cheetah chef says: "Pour mac into ramekins, top with almond-flour crumble, and broil — looks like a fancy restaurant 'mac pot' and kids feel special."
- Always taste-test the chickpea pasta swap on a regular weeknight before serving at a family BBQ — some kids notice the texture, and you want zero surprises at the party.