4-Ingredient Broccoli Bacon Mac and Cheese Cups

Lunch. It’s that midday break we all look forward too. You get to take a step back from your work, stretch your legs and enjoy a healthy meal that will fuel the rest of your workday. If you need a tasty lunch idea that’s easy, satisfying and delicious, just look to your pantry and grab a White Cheddar Mac and Cheese from Nutrisystem. By adding just three simple ingredients, you can transform this already delicious, cheesy bowl of goodness into a grab-and-go meal that’s packed with flavor. Our Broccoli Bacon Mac and Cheese Cups recipe is here to make delicious dieting and meal prep even easier.

Comfort food for lunch is just what your workday needed! Upgrade your classic cheesy pasta into a gourmet mac and cheese muffin. Crispy turkey bacon and fiber-packed broccoli are folded into creamy White Cheddar Mac and Cheese and poured into individual muffin cups. We top this delicious lunch recipe off with a little sprinkle of panko breadcrumbs for a mac and cheese treat that’s reminiscent of your family’s home-cooked recipe.

To make these light and healthy broccoli mac and cheese cups, get started by preheating your oven to 400 degrees and line four muffin tins with paper liners. If you don’t have any paper cupcake or muffin tin liners, you can also coat the muffin tin with nonstick spray. While your oven is preheating, gather your mac muffin ingredients. You will need one slice of cooked and chopped low sodium turkey, two tablespoons of steamed and chopped broccoli, one Nutrisystem White Cheddar Mac and Cheese lunch entrée and one tablespoon of panko bread crumbs.

Cook your Nutrisystem White Cheddar Mac and Cheese according to the package’s directions. Once your mac and cheese is ready, stir in the chopped turkey bacon and chopped broccoli. Pour the mac mixture equally into four muffin cups and sprinkle with panko breadcrumbs on top. Bake your easy broccoli mac and cheese muffins for about 15 minutes before digging in at lunchtime!

The veggie addition that’s featured in these Broccoli Bacon Mac and Cheese Cups is packed with health benefits. According to Healthline, broccoli is rich in vitamin K, vitamin A, fiber, antioxidants and potassium. However, it’s especially high in vitamin C. “Just half a cup (78 grams) of cooked broccoli provides 84% of the reference daily intake (RDI) — more than one-half orange can offer,” says Healthline. These little trees have been shown to decrease the risk of cancer, inflammation, constipation and sun damage. If broccoli is your favorite veggie, make sure to try our recipes for Quick Roasted Parmesan Broccoli and Super Cheesy Broccoli Fritters.

The Leaf Pro Tip: Not a fan of broccoli? No worries! You can swap in any other non-starchy vegetables that you love. Sliced cherry tomatoes, bell peppers and diced onions all go especially well with creamy mac and cheese. However, other vegetables are not off limits! Add in some shaved Brussels sprouts, spinach or mushrooms and enjoy a high fiber lunch filled with flavor.

Need some veggie inspiration? Check out the Nutrisystem Grocery Guide for an extensive list!

One serving of these Broccoli Bacon Mac and Cheese Cups contains 278 calories and counts as one PowerFuel, one SmartCarb and one Extra on the Nutrisystem plan. Keep track of all of your Nutrisystem meals, snacks and grocery additions by using a food journal. This will help you stay accountable with your food intake and within your meal plan guidelines. Consider downloading our FREE online tracking app, NuMi. NuMi provides your own personal food journal and makes it easy to log your meals in a snap with the handy Quick Log feature. You can even set daily reminders so you don’t forget to log your food or drink your water!

If mac and cheese is your comfort food of choice, take some time to peruse the recipe section here on The Leaf! We have many healthy mac and cheese recipes that fit into your weight loss plan. Some use your Nutrisystem menu items, while others are low carb pasta swaps like cauliflower and zucchini noodles. Check out some of our favorite mac and cheese recipe ideas below:

• Enjoy a veggie-packed noodle dish (even the noodles are veggies!) with our Zoodle Mac and Cheese with Roasted Veggies >
• Get spicy with our White Cheddar Mac and Cheese! Try this easy Buffalo Mac and Cheese >
• Our frozen dinner mac is transformed into a beefy, meat lovers meal in this Beefy Mac and Cheese >
• On a low carb diet? You’ll love our healthy pasta swap in this Buffalo Blue Cauliflower Mac and Cheese >
• Saint Patrick’s Day may be over but you can still go green! Try our Green Mac and Cheese >
• Crab meat and Parmesan cheese add big flavor to this Crabby Mac and Cheese >
• More veggies and white cheddar cheese? Yes please! Check out our Creamy Veggie Mac and Cheese >
• From pizza crust to mashed potatoes, cauliflower is one of our favorite low carb swaps. Try it as pasta in this Cauliflower Mac and Cheese >
• There’s just something about bacon, jalapenos and cheese! Enjoy the classic combo in our Bacon Jalapeno Cauliflower Mac and Cheese >

If you have a unique way that you like to transform your White Cheddar Mac and Cheese (or any other Nutrisystem menu item), we want to hear about it! We always love to see user generated content from our members, which is why we created a Recipe Submission page right here on The Leaf Weight Loss Blog. Submit your own personal mac and cheese creation and it could be featured right here on The Leaf for all Nutrisystem members to enjoy.