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.
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Caramelized Onion and Prosciutto Mac and Cheese
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Yield: 6 Servings
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 large head cauliflower, cleaned and trimmed (but left whole)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp butter, divided
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- ¼ cup goat cheese
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 6 oz prosciutto, diced and cooked crisp
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°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 olive oil and 2 tbsp of the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the onions to the pan and sauté until they have a nice caramel color. Remove 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 any leftover cheese you may have. Bake for 15 minutes.
Notes
Per Serving – Calories: 433 | Fat: 32g | Protein: 10g | Net Carbs: 7g
please keep on with the recipes!! I have scrolled back thru and plan on making a bunch of them. 🙂
Thanks! I plan to keep cranking out the recipes…
do you think this would freeze well?
I think it would freeze just fine. However, I would recommend re-heating it in the oven.
I made this tonight, and it is now my new.favorite food! OMG! It is soooooo good!
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?
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!
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.
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!
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!
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 9×13..
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.
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!
You could always omit it entirely or add a little cream cheese in its place.
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.
I know this is an old post but – you do know the goat cheese and feta are the same thing?
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.
YUMM…JUST PINNED IT. THANK YOU <3
I think broccoli would make it a vastly different dish.
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. =)
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
OMG!!! I have literally just died and gone to heaven!!! This was so wonderful, rich and felt like comfort food…
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 🙂
Can I use something else instead of goat cheese which I do not care for
You could try adding cream cheese instead. You can really do this with any of your favorite cheeses.
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!
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.)
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!
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!
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!
Could milk be substituted for the heavy cream to cut down some on the calories?
It will make the sauce watery, but you can always try it.
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.
So happy the whole family enjoyed it!! It’s a favorite in our household also.
i Just love all your recipes
What a great flavor combination! Pinning…..
Kyndra, do I have to use goat cheese (😝) or can I substitute with something else
You can use any cheese you like.
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
Not a fan of cauliflower, but I think I might try subbing with spaghetti squash. Wish me luck, any tips?
No tip for you, but I had the same thought. How did it turn out with spaghetti squash?
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.
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 😀
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!
So so so so GOOOOOOD! I’ll be making this again, thanks!
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!