Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese (High Protein!)
Servings: 6
Calories: 269kcal
This high protein Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese is the ultimate comfort food lightened up! This classic mac has a creamy, rich sauce and over 13 grams of protein per serving! No one will ever believe the secret ingredient and they will be asking for this recipe non-stop!
Print Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz. elbow macaroni
- 3/4 cup cottage cheese (180g) whole milk
- 3/4 cup milk (180g) 2%
- 1.5 Tbsp cornstarch (12g)
- 3 oz. sharp cheddar cheese freshly shredded
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp sweet paprika, salt & pepper
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter (14g)
- 1 oz. parmesan cheese freshly shredded or grated
Instructions
- Add water to a pot and bring to a boil. Salt to taste. Once boiling, add pasta and cook according to package directions. Then rinse, drain and set aside.
- In a blender or with an immersion blender, combine the cottage cheese, milk, cornstarch, cheddar cheese, and seasonings. Blend until the sauce is creamy and smooth.
- Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Once almost melted, transfer the cheese sauce to the skillet and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and has thickened some.
- Allow the cheese sauce to cool down some (wait until it's done bubbling), then add the macaroni in. Then remove from heat and stir in the parmesan cheese.
- Taste and add any additional salt, pepper or seasoning to taste. Sprinkle with more parmesan cheese to serve and enjoy!
Notes
To make gluten-free: use gluten-free pasta
To make dairy-free: use dairy-free cheese, dairy-free milk, dairy-free butter and sub the cottage cheese for dairy-free ricotta cheese
Ways To Switch It Up:
- Extra protein! If you want to beef up the protein, add in extra chicken or kid-friendly hot dogs!
- Use different cheeses! You can change up this recipe with different cheeses. Try adding some extra sharp white cheddar, pepper jack, colby jack or goat cheese! You can never go wrong with adding extra cheese!
- Add veggies! Add a few extra veggies (and fiber) by adding in spinach, peas or broccoli!
- Spice it up! If you love buffalo mac, add some hot sauce or buffalo sauce to your cheese mixture!
- Al dente pasta! I like cooking my pasta 1 minute less than package instructions for al dente. This is because the pasta will continue to cook once it's combined with the sauce in the skillet just a bit. It also helps prevent it from getting mushy when reheating.
- Freshly grated cheese! I HIGHLY recommend grating your cheese if possible! Freshly grated cheese is so much more flavorful than pre-shredded cheese and melts much easier. This classic cheese grater is my go-to and honestly it's worth the few extra minutes every time for creamy macaroni!
Nutrition
Serving: 2/3 cup (146g) | Calories: 269kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 9.6g | Saturated Fat: 5.3g | Fiber: 1.4g | Sugar: 1g