This cottage cheese mac and cheese recipe is a great dupe for the classic. It is high in protein and has all the flavours of a hearty mac and cheese, but without the high calories.
I've recently been on a roll with cottage cheese recipes, wanting to recreate all my favourites while making them high-protein.
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Why I love this recipe
High-Protein: This healthy macaroni and cheese recipe replaced the classic in my household. No more high calories for a weeknight dinner.
Comfort food.
Easy to make.
Want more high-protein dinner ideas? Check out this cottage cheese sweet potato bowl, or this cottage cheese taco bowl.
Key ingredients
- Cottage cheese.
- Macaroni pasta.
- Milk.
- Corn starch.
- Garlic powder.
- Paprika
- Salt
How to make Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese
Boil the macaroni in salted water until tender, then drain.
Blend cottage cheese, milk, corn starch, half of the cheese, garlic powder, paprika, and salt until smooth.
The final result should be a thick and creamy sauce.
Cook the sauce in a pan, keep stirring until it thickens. You can adjust the thickness of the sauce by adding some of the pasta water.
- Add the leftover cheese and mix until melted and combined.
- Pour the sauce over the hot pasta and stir until creamy.
Hanaa's recipe tips
- Leave out some pasta water to add to the healthy macaroni and cheese in case the sauce gets too thick.
- Use whole milk and full-fat cottage cheese for extra creaminess.
- Taste and adjust the salt to your liking before serving.
- Blend the sauce well so it’s silky.
Storage instructions
Fridge: You can keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheating: gently on the stove with a splash of milk.
Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese (Recipe card)
Cottage Cheese Mac And Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 cup macaroni pasta you can use whole wheat pasta, chickpea pasta or any high protein pasta.
- 1 cup cottage cheese you can use full-fat, low-fat or fat-free.
- ¾ cup milk I used full-fat.
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder you can replace it with onion powder or mix both
- ¼ teaspoon paprika or smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon pasta water optional in case the sauce is too thick.
Instructions
- Boil the macaroni in salted water until tender, then drain.
- Blend cottage cheese, milk, corn starch, half of the cheese, garlic powder, paprika, and salt until smooth.
- the final result should be a thick and creamy sauce.
- Cook the sauce in a pan, keep stirring until it thickens. You can adjust the thickness of sauce by adding some of the pasta water.
- Add the leftover cheese and mix until melted and combined.
- Pour the sauce over the hot pasta and stir until creamy.
Notes
- Use whole milk and full-fat cottage cheese for extra creaminess.
- Taste and adjust the salt to your liking before serving.
- Blend the sauce well so it’s silky.
- Leave out some pasta water to add to the high protein mac and cheese in the sauce gets too thick.
