Keto Mac and Cheese with Pulled Pork

I was looking for a way to use up some leftover low carb pulled pork. So, I combined it with some cauliflower and my creamy cheese sauce to create a new dish.

Although I thought about creating a new low carb casserole recipe, I chose to keep the oven off. Instead, I heated everything in a skillet on the stove.

What I came up with is an easy keto mac and cheese that adds in pulled pork to make a filling meal. Of course, there really isn’t any macaroni in the mix.

I just haven’t had much luck with the low carb macaroni products. Many are high fiber so there’s a lot of total carbs.

Life doesn’t always go according to plan. I had planned to cook a different dish for this episode but alas! it just wasn’t my day. When my original recipe flopped I pondered over what I should cook. I remembered I had some pulled pork in the freezer and that’s how this dish was born. Today I’m going to show you how to make a pulled pork Keto mac and cheese. When I made the first Keto mac and cheese recipe I had used cauliflower to replace the traditional macaroni. In today’s recipe I’m adding broccoli to the mix as well.

I’ve already done the recipe for the pulled pork. You can however use any meat you like or you can even skip it for a completely vegetarian version. Anyway enough jibber jabber, lettuce cook!

My favorite keto friendly pasta is shiratake noodles. But, a lot of people don’t like the texture of them. However, I think they make a fantastic keto friendly macaroni and cheese.

If you can’t find any low carb noodles, the next best thing is to use cauliflower. And, I’ve got a low carb cauliflower and cheese that whips up in minutes.

However, this time I stepped it up a few notches by making a keto mac and cheese with pulled pork. The added meat really makes it a filling meal.

The pork really ups the flavor of the dish. A lot of people add bacon. Ham works well too.

Ingredients

• 1 pound pulled pork, ,prepared
• 1 lb pasta such as cavatappi or shells, , cooked
• BBQ sauce to drizzle on top
• Parsley for garnish, optional
• Topping
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan Romano cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
• salt and pepper, , to taste
• Macaroni and Cheese
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup milk
• 8 ounces gouda
• 8 ounces sharp cheddar
• Nutmeg, to taste
• Salt and pepper, to tast

Instructions
To Make the Topping:

1. In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the Panko bread crumbs and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle on the granulated garlic then add the Parmesan Romano grated cheese. Use a spatula to move the mixture around the pan so that it all gets toasted. Remove from the heat and set aside.
2. To Make the Cheese Sauce:
3. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often.
4. Slowly drizzle in the milk, whisking constantly. Then add the cream and continue to whisk.
5. Use a microplane to grate the nutmeg. I use about a 1/2 teaspoon.
6. Add the granulated garlic, and ground mustard. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Reserve about 2 ounces of cheese for the topping
8. When the cream mixture is very warm, begin adding the cheese about 1/4 cup at a time. Whisk well after each addition and make sure the cheese is melted before adding the next batch.
9. After the cheese is all incorporated, taste for seasoning and add additional salt and pepper as needed. You can also add a pinch of cayenne pepper if you would like to give your cheese sauce a little kick.
10. Use spatula or wooden spoon to fold the pasta into the cheese sauce.
11. A spoonful of mac and cheese scooped from a full stock potwith a dish of pulled pork in the background next to a turqoise towel.

To Assemble the Dish:

1. Preheat a your oven 325 degrees F. Butter a 9×12 baking dish. Put the pulled pork on the bottom.
2. Spoon the mac and cheese over the pulled pork in the prepared baking dish.
3. Sprinkle the top of the mac and cheese with the reserved cheese, then add the bread crumb topping.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove the baking dish from the oven and let it sit 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
5. Drizzle on a little barbecue sauce just before serving.

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