Meal Prep
Low-Calorie Garlic Steak Bites with Mac & Cheese
Low-Cal Garlic Steak with Mac & Cheese is the lighter remix of a fan favorite, built for when you want comfort food without going full bulk mode. Juicy, garlic-forward steak still brings the bold, savory payoff, while a creamy mac base keeps things cozy and satisfying without feeling heavy. It delivers that unmistakable steak-and-mac energy, just streamlined enough to fit effortlessly into your weekly rotation.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Makes
- 4 servings
High protein
Low-Calorie Garlic Steak Bites with Mac & Cheese
59.8g protein557 calories per serving
- Prep Time
- 15 mins
- Cook Time
- 20 mins
- Total Time
- 35 mins
Equipment
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Ingredients
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For the Steak:
For the Mac & Cheese Base:
Instructions
Cook the Pasta:
8 oz dry elbow macaroni
Prep the Steak Bites:
In a bowl, toss steak cubes with soy sauce, Worcestershire, minced garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.
1 ½ lb lean steak, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce, 1 tbsp garlic, ½ tbsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp smoked paprika, ½ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp salt
Cook the Steak:
1 tsp olive oil spray
Make the Low-Cal Mac Sauce:
4 oz low-fat cream cheese, ½ cup skim milk
¾ cup nonfat shredded cheddar cheese, ⅜ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt, ½ tbsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, ½ tsp black pepper, ¼ tsp salt
Combine & Serve:
chives
See it come together
Watch: Low-Calorie Garlic Steak Bites with Mac & Cheese
Nutrition
Per servingEstimates for one serving. Changing the recipe yield scales the ingredients and keeps these per-serving amounts the same.
- Calories
- 557 kcal
- Carbohydrates
- 52.9 g
- Protein
- 59.8 g
- Fat
- 11.6 g
- Saturated Fat
- 4.99 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 0.86 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 3.79 g
- Trans Fat
- 0.36 g
- Cholesterol
- 114 mg
- Sodium
- 1,042 mg
- Potassium
- 988 mg
- Fiber
- 2.7 g
- Sugar
- 5.2 g
- Added Sugar
- 0.4 g
- Vitamin A
- 116 mcg RAE
- Vitamin C
- 1.68 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.65 mcg
- Calcium
- 361 mg
- Iron
- 5.78 mg
Estimated ingredient cost
$6.63 per serving · $26.50 for this batch
Estimated US grocery prices for the amounts used, including purchase waste and discarded marinade. Your store, brands, and package sizes may cost differently. Buying full packages can cost more. Price sources and methodology.
Ingredient costs and assumptions
Quantities without exact weights use the nutrition library’s portion estimates. Purchase yields are estimates. Separate citrus ingredients are costed independently; reusing the same fruit for juice and zest can lower your cost. Labor, utilities, and delivery are excluded.
- lean steak: $21.54
680.4 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
Authored ingredient weight. BLS Choice boneless sirloin category average; generic lean steak uses this cut as a proxy.
BLS: Sirloin steak, boneless, USDA Choice · Price checked 2026-09-21
- Worcestershire sauce: $0.05
17 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tbsp = 17 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Worcestershire Sauce, 10 fl oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- low-sodium soy sauce: $0.05
14.2 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tbsp = 14.2 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Less Sodium Soy Sauce, 15 fl oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- garlic: $0.15
8.4 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 2.8 g; USDA SR Legacy household weights used as an approximate physical conversion for the current ingredient profile; nutrition remains from its own mapped record. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Spice World Fresh Peeled Garlic, 6 oz, Pouch · Price checked 2026-09-21
- garlic powder: $0.05
4.9 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tbsp = 9.7 g Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Garlic Powder · Price checked 2026-09-21
- onion powder: $0.03
2.4 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 2.4 g Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Onion Powder · Price checked 2026-09-21
- smoked paprika: $0.09
2.3 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 2.3 g Four 2 oz jars; full multipack weight is 8 oz.
Walmart: (4 pack) Great Value Smoked Paprika, 2 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- salt: $0.00
3 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 6 g Iodized table salt reference; not a kosher salt price.
Walmart: Great Value Iodized Salt · Price checked 2026-09-21
- black pepper: $0.05
1.2 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp (ground) = 2.3 g; texture=ground Ground black pepper reference; cracked pepper may cost differently.
Walmart: Great Value Ground Black Pepper · Price checked 2026-09-21
- olive oil spray: $0.11
4.5 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 4.5 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Extra Virgin Olive Oil Cooking Spray, 7 oz Can · Price checked 2026-09-21
- dry elbow macaroni: $0.62
226.8 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
Authored ingredient weight. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Elbows, 16 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- low-fat cream cheese: $1.73
113.4 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
Authored ingredient weight. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Philadelphia Reduced Fat Cream Cheese, 1 Tub, for Smooth, Spreadable Mornings, Original, No Artificial Preservatives, Flavors or Dyes, 8 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- skim milk: $0.09
123.5 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 cup = 247 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Fat-Free Milk, Gallon, 128 fl oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- nonfat shredded cheddar cheese: $1.26
84 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 cup (shredded) = 112 g; Editorial shredded hard-cheese estimate: 112 g/cup (four 28 g quarter-cup portions); loose packing varies. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Kraft Natural Fat Free Cheddar Shredded Cheese, 7 oz Bag · Price checked 2026-09-21
- plain nonfat Greek yogurt: $0.27
75.7 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 cup = 227 g; Editorial Greek-yogurt volume proxy using King Arthur's generic yogurt weight, 227 g/cup. Plain nonfat Greek yogurt reference; unspecified-fat Greek yogurt uses this as a price estimate.
Walmart: Great Value Greek Plain Nonfat Yogurt, 32 oz Tub · Price checked 2026-09-21
- garlic powder: $0.05
4.9 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tbsp = 9.7 g Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Garlic Powder · Price checked 2026-09-21
- onion powder: $0.03
2.4 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 2.4 g Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Onion Powder · Price checked 2026-09-21
- black pepper: $0.05
1.2 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp (ground) = 2.3 g; texture=ground Ground black pepper reference; cracked pepper may cost differently.
Walmart: Great Value Ground Black Pepper · Price checked 2026-09-21
- salt: $0.00
1.5 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 6 g Iodized table salt reference; not a kosher salt price.
Walmart: Great Value Iodized Salt · Price checked 2026-09-21
- chives: $0.27
2 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
Editorial estimate for the entire recipe; owner approved including garnishes, not this exact weight. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Fresh Chives, 0.5 oz Clamshell · Price checked 2026-09-21
Make it yoursRecipe notes & meal-prep tips
Macro breakdown
- Protein59.8g43%
- Carbs52.9g38%
- Fat11.6g19%
Per serving · Share of calories from macros
Calculated using 4 calories per gram of protein and carbs, and 9 for fat. Rounding and fiber can affect the listed calorie total.Triple B's Meal Prep Notes
This version of steak mac uses cream cheese, skim milk, nonfat cheddar, and Greek yogurt for the sauce. Keep those ingredients over gentle heat once combined and stir until smooth before folding in the macaroni. The sauce is different from a butter-and-flour cheese sauce, so it is worth following this recipe's sequence instead of borrowing steps from a richer version in the mac-and-cheese archive. Keep the macaroni slightly firm when it comes out of the water, giving it room to soften in the cheese sauce and during the later reheats.
The steak is seasoned with Worcestershire, soy, garlic, and smoked paprika before a quick sear. Cut the pieces evenly and cook them in batches so you can get color without overcrowding. Portion the mac first, then distribute the steak on top; that makes the meat allocation visible and keeps each serving consistent.
A little milk or water can loosen chilled pasta before heating. For a refrigerated serving, microwave on high for 90 seconds, stir, then heat for another 45 seconds. Use that as a starting point and continue in short intervals as needed until the food reaches 165°F throughout. Stir underneath the steak during the pause, and turn the meat so the center of the serving heats as well as the edges. Add chives after reheating if you use them. This sits in the lower-calorie collection alongside other meals built around a smaller calorie budget; use the current nutrition panel for your actual serving rather than assuming every substitution keeps it in the same range. More protein-centered options are in the beef collection.
Notes from your kitchen
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From the community
★★★★★
I'm a sucker for steak and mac & cheese. But sometimes, I need that pairing delivered in a way that doesn't come with over 1000 calories. That's why I invented this bad boy- same delicious garlic steak, same cheesy mac- but at half the calories (and equivalent volume). Tell me if this one changed your life!