Low Carb Caramelized Onion and Prosciutto Mac and Cheese- Keto, Gluten Free
I have never met a mac and cheese that I didn’t like. I simply love it! Naturally, that very same love made it one of the hardest things to give up when I decided to switch to a low carb and gluten free way of eating. I set out on a mission to recreate my favorite comfort food into a gourmet, low carb version. The end result was something that even the non-low carbers in your life will be asking you to make time and time again. Even when I make a double batch, there still isn’t any left over. This low carb caramelized onion and prosciutto mac and cheese will become an instant classic in your home. It comes kid and husband approved.
Cauliflower has an amazing way of substituting it's carb laden counterparts - like rice, potatoes, pasta etc. Don't believe me? I bet I can convince even the biggest cauliflower despising skeptics. Why do I think this? Because I used to be one. Check out my Buttery Cauliflower Rice recipe. Or how about this Cauliflower Mushroom Risotto recipe? Still not convinced? Maybe these Fried Radish and Cauliflower Hash Browns will convince you.
Caramelized Onion and Prosciutto Mac and Cheese
- Yield: 6 Servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower, cleaned and trimmed (but left whole)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, extra for garnish
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, extra for garnish
- ¼ cup goat cheese
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 6 ounces prosciutto, diced and cooked crisp
- fresh chopped parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large covered pot with 1 inch of water, steam the cauliflower on high heat until fork tender. About 15 minutes.
- Remove from heat, drain water and allow cauliflower to remain in the hot pot to draw out excess moisture. (This is important… Otherwise you might end up with mac and cheese soup)
- Place head of cauliflower in an 8 x 8 casserole dish. Using a fork, slightly mash the cauliflower to break it all apart.
- In a large sauté pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the onions to the pan and sauté until they have a nice caramel color. Remove the onions from pan and set aside.
- To the same pan add remaining butter and garlic. Sauté until the garlic is fragrant. Add the heavy cream and Parmesan cheese. Stir continuously until the Parmesan is melted and the sauce begins to come to a boil. Mix in cheddar cheese, goat cheese and black pepper. Stir until cheeses are melted and well incorporated into the sauce. Reduce heat to low and allow the sauce to thicken as it simmers, about 5 minutes.
- Pour cheese sauce evenly over top of the cauliflower. Layer caramelized onions on top of sauce. Lastly, layer crispy prosciutto on top of the caramelized onions. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for 15 minutes.
- Garnish with parsley before serving.
Notes
net carbs per serving: 7g
Nutrition
- Calories: 456
- Fat: 38.1g
- Carbohydrates: 10.2g
- Fiber: 3.2g
- Protein: 19.2g
The Swan in.me says
please keep on with the recipes!! I have scrolled back thru and plan on making a bunch of them. 🙂
Holley says
Thanks! I plan to keep cranking out the recipes...
potteryferret says
do you think this would freeze well?
Kyndra Holley says
I think it would freeze just fine. However, I would recommend re-heating it in the oven.
Debi Faulkner says
I made this tonight, and it is now my new.favorite food! OMG! It is soooooo good!
Dinah says
oh this sounds great! i think i'll use bacon tho, since i have a hard time finding prosciutto that I can afford. Is there a print button on here somewhere that I'm missing?
mikiekozak says
This sounds amazing can't wait to try it. Do you know a place locally in Seattle to buy the Dreamfields pasta? I checked PCC and Whole Foods with no luck. Thanks for all your great recipes!
Stephanie says
I don’t see anywhere. On this menu that says pasta
This is a low carb recipe no pasta required
Cami B says
I used bacon (the store was out of prosciutto!) and Dreamfields pasta. It was quite tasty, though next time I think I'll mix the pasta with the cheese mix before I put it into the pan, because some of the bottom pasta didn't get hit with sauce. Nice sized portions, even if you make make 6 servings out of it.
Stephanie says
Pasta is not on the Keto diet. That is why she used Cauliflower .
Stephanie Feldman says
There is no pasta in this recipe.. hence the name why it’s called low carb pasta. She uses cauliflower
Anonymous says
This is the second recipe of yours that I have tried! Great! and you allow some room for substitutions! You really need to publish these. This is my second day on low carb. I'm having to decrease carbs slowly. This lunch kept me full. thanks for your excellent recipes!
Sarah says
Made this tonight, so so good! I made the alfredo sauce the way you suggested since you can't get it pre-made here (Germany). Very nice!
Kristen says
This was fantastic!!! Used bacon and used the whole jar of alfredo. Also had a big enough head of cauliflower that I was able to put in 9x13..
sewlightly says
Made this last night and it is wonderful. My whole family loved it. Will definitely be making this again soon. Thanks for the great recipes.
Janelle says
The idea of goat cheese grosses me out. Any thoughts on a reasonable substitute for it in this recipe? Otherwise it sound delicious!! Just wondering if something feta or queso fresco would work -- farmer-type cheeses, or if it needs to be creamier, like a low-fat cream cheese or Neufchatel. Thanks!
Kyndra Holley says
You could always omit it entirely or add a little cream cheese in its place.
tipla says
You should really try goat cheese. It is awesome, and goes with some many things. I mean, I haven't met a dish yet that wasn't better with some goat cheese.
Rita says
I know this is an old post but - you do know the goat cheese and feta are the same thing?
Dan says
Hey Rita,
Feta is usually made with sheep's milk, and it's got a lot more salt in it than most goat cheese. Also, goat cheese is pretty soft, while feta doesn't melt very much. So the one probably isn't a good replacement for the other.
Cris Martin says
YUMM...JUST PINNED IT. THANK YOU <3
Peace Love and Low Carb says
I think broccoli would make it a vastly different dish.
Christy says
Love your recipes. I wonder if it would be too much trouble to include the total carbs in the nutritional info. I'm one of those people that follows low-carb old-school style aka counting all carbs (not net). I would think others would benefit from it too. =)
Peace Love and Low Carb says
Hi Christy, Thanks for the feedback. This is something I will consider moving forward with my new recipes on the site. Unfortunately I would have to go back and rework up all the macros of these older recipes to get that info for the existing recipes on the site and this is something I simply cannot find the time to do right now. Apps like Myfitnesspal will let you quickly enter all the ingredients and get that info though
Natalie Ruland says
OMG!!! I have literally just died and gone to heaven!!! This was so wonderful, rich and felt like comfort food...
Quick and Healthy Recipes says
I love this recipe. To "sell" it to the family I used shiritaki pasta in place of the cauliflower and everybody loved it as proven by the fact that I caught DH eating it for breakfast 🙂
lil says
Can I use something else instead of goat cheese which I do not care for
Peace Love and Low Carb says
You could try adding cream cheese instead. You can really do this with any of your favorite cheeses.
Tracy says
I just made this for Easter Dinner. I cannot BELIEVE how delicious this is. The cheeses are perfectly blended and the caramelized onions and prosciutto are the perfect topping. I'll make this a lot more....as soon as I can find a cheaper source of prosciutto! LOL Thank you so much!
christie smith says
ok i'm really curious.... does this really compare to the real thing? i won't use dreamfields anymore, since i've decided that's all a pipe dream. i love my pasta, though, and i'm really scared of trying any recipe with cauliflower! (i'm 50 years old and have only started eating veggies in the last four years, and my palate is still pretty limited in that area.)
Sue says
I was scrolling through and found an amazing recipe with diacon radish "rice", chicken, Asian seasonings..... I got distracted and now I can't find it again. Will you republish that recipe?
Thank you in advance!
Sue says
I was scrolling through and found an amazing recipe with diacon radish "rice", chicken, Asian seasonings..... I got distracted and now I can't find it again. Will you republish that recipe?
Thank you in advance!
Christa Wagner says
Just made this last night and it was GREAT! I love substituting cauliflower for rice or potatoes but I hate the taste of cauliflower! This will definitely be in our rotation! Can't wait to try more of your recipes in my cookbook!
Kris says
Could milk be substituted for the heavy cream to cut down some on the calories?
Peace Love and Low Carb says
It will make the sauce watery, but you can always try it.
marla3206 says
This is the recipe that made me think, "Hmmm, I guess I will try the meal Plan."
I had to call it Caramelized Onion and Prosciutto Macish Cheese as my children become VERY upset when they find out that I have substituted a veg for their noodles. However, if they know in advance they will try anything. They loved it and my husband and I did too.
I did substitute frozen cauliflower florets as I had a bag in the freezer.
Peace Love and Low Carb says
So happy the whole family enjoyed it!! It's a favorite in our household also.
emma rudman says
i Just love all your recipes
Denise Wright says
What a great flavor combination! Pinning.....
Kim Brancato says
Kyndra, do I have to use goat cheese (????) or can I substitute with something else
Peace Love and Low Carb says
You can use any cheese you like.
Christina Harris says
This recipe was AMAZING!!!!! The one tough part about living this lifestyle is that the sides are hard when you have a husband who is not a fan of many vegetables - so of course he gets sick of cauliflower. He devoured this!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your recipes, I share this website with everyone!
Christina
Lala says
Not a fan of cauliflower, but I think I might try subbing with spaghetti squash. Wish me luck, any tips?
Dan says
No tip for you, but I had the same thought. How did it turn out with spaghetti squash?
Timich says
I Love this recipe! I just made this for the second time. This time using bacon instead of prosciutto. And i caught some riced cauliflower and riced broccoli steamers on sale. I doubled all of the other ingredient to accomodate the amount of veggies, And it came out amazing! Thank you for this recipe. Its really indulgent. And I dont need to feel guilty after enjoying it.
Valarie Thayer says
I made this Mac & cheese tonight exactly as the recipe calls for , I must say I am impressed. However, I am not a huge fan of goat cheese but because of the comments I tried it. The next time I make this I will substitute feta cheese for goat cheese because I love feta cheese. I know many of you probably think I am crazy for liking feta and not goat cheese, but I just can't quite get past that goaty taste. So with this being said, I will finish off this keto Mac & cheese and I will definitely make it again. Thank you for giving me back one of the comfort foods I absolutely love ????
Lisa M. Schulz says
I want to make this, but I despise goat chesse, like you I can't get past the taste. I do love feta....but my roommate does not. Any suggestions for a different cheese substitute? Thnak you!
Kim says
Love the recipe collections you put out. Always finding a new family favorite. You are the person responsible for my low carb success; 20 lbs and counting. Thank you!
Teresa says
So so so so GOOOOOOD! I’ll be making this again, thanks!
★★★★★
Amy says
Loved this, a new favorite..subbed bacon for prosciutto because it's what I had on handed, and skipped the goat cheese for the same reason.. Loved every bite!
★★★★★
Beth says
This may be my favorite recipe of yours!!! I just ate about 1/3 of the pan. ???? you are the best and thank you for sharing with us!
★★★★★
Jon Holley says
Deliciouse
Jean K says
This recipe is going on our menu soon, too. . I may try subbing blue cheese for the goat cheese. Thanks for more deliciousness.
Debbie says
Every year I would make Mac and cheese for Christmas. It was never discussed it was just my job. Everyone looked forward to it including me. This year I said no. I know I couldn’t resist it. I made this recipe to see I’d it would be a good substitute and it is even better. I just made another batch for tomorrow and I’m sure it will be a big hit. If not there will be more for me to bri g home! The blending of the different cheeses and the carmelized onions take it to the next level
★★★★★
Kyndra Holley says
So happy you enjoyed it and that you will be able to continue your Christmas tradition. Merry Christmas!
Jacky Mcfarlane says
Have pinned, I think it will make a great winter dish. Thank you.
Michael says
BY FAR this is our favorite recipe on this site. This dish has amazing flavors. I would make absolutely no changes. Note that I do think you could swap bacon for the prosciutto for convenience or to save $$$.
★★★★★
Edie Purser says
This recipe is AMAZING! it is truly decadent. We will be enjoying this dish again and again.
★★★★★
Lisa M. Schulz says
What is the serving size? It's not in the notes. Thank you!
Shanna says
Excellent recipe! The flavors were fantastic, and I found I really enjoyed the complexity of the prosciutto over bacon. Next time, I may double or triple the amount of cheddar cheese in the sauce. I suspect it would make it thicker and cheesier. One can never have too much cheese! Might also be really good with some chunks of kielbasa instead of prosciutto.
★★★★