Easy Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese

6 Bowls370 cals

Our Healthy Scrambled Eggs with Cottage Cheese recipe has been getting a ton of love lately so I thought this week we’d take the cottage cheese and introduce it to our good friend Mac. This delicious, creamy, and high protein Easy Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese meal prep recipe is super easy to make!

Start this one by taking out a stovetop pan and making 10 ounces of pasta however your box says to.

A quick tip here? Make your pasta taste even better and add more protein to it by using some low sodium bone broth instead of water!

While that’s cooking take out a blender or food processor. Add into it 1 cup of cottage cheese, 5 ounces of cheddar cheese, 1 cup of milk, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of corn starch. This is your base and everything else I’m using is optional.

My optional but preferred ingredients for the ultimate flavor? That would be 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon of ground mustard, 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika, 1/4 teaspoon of onion salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper.

Blend or process all of those together until smooth. Pour that mix into a large saucepan and turn your burner on low heat. Make sure the pan you’re using is large enough to also hold your cooked pasta in it!

Let that mix cook for a couple minutes or until it starts to thicken up, try to keep it moving as it heats up.

Once it thickens up mix in your pasta and continue by adding in anything else you want.

Without anything else added in, the macros are still pretty good (see below). You can make them even better by using a higher protein pasta like one made with chickpeas, lentils, etc.

Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese Tips

Tips for this…

  1. It reheats great in the microwave so you can easily meal prep it! Don’t forget that you can scale all of our recipes below in the recipe card.
  2. Add more protein by using a precooked chicken, lean ground beef, turkey, or even canned tuna. Seriously, tuna mac is delicious!
  3. Fat free, reduced fat, or full fat ingredients will all work for this one so use whatever one fits your macros.

With that said, I wanted more protein today so I added in 12 ounces of a precooked chicken and some bacon bits.

Ready for dessert? How about a Cookies & Cream Protein Cheesecake?

Easy Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese Recipe

Easy Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese

Enjoy a high protein twist on this classic favorite with our Easy Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese recipe. Creamy, delicious, and nutritious!
5 from 9 votes
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Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cottage cheese mac, healthy mac and cheese, mac & cheese, mac and cheese, protein mac
Servings: 6 Bowls
Calories: 370kcal
Cost: $4.10

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Ingredients

  • 10 Ounces Pasta
  • Bone Broth - *Optionally use Bone Broth to make your Pasta (adds flavor/protein)
  • 1 Cup Cottage Cheese - Fat Free, Reduced Fat, or Full Fat
  • 5 Ounces Cheddar Cheese - Fat Free, Reduced Fat, or Full Fat
  • 1 Cup Milk - or Milk Substitute (Fat Free, Reduced Fat, or Full Fat)
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons Corn Starch
  • ½ Teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • ¼ Teaspoon Ground Mustard
  • ½ Teaspoon Paprika - Smoked Preferred
  • ¼ Teaspoon Onion Salt
  • ¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper
  • 12 Ounces Protein - *Cooked (Chicken, Beef, Turkey, Tuna, etc)

Instructions

  • Make your Pasta however your box says to (add in your Bone Broth for more flavor/protein!)
  • Add the rest of your ingredients aside from your cooked Protein into either a blender or food processor
  • Blend or process until smooth
  • Pour that mix into a large saucepan pan and turn your burner on Low Heat
  • Let that cook for a couple minutes or until it starts to thicken up (keep it moving!)
  • Add and mix in your cooked Pasta
  • Add and mix in your cooked Protein/anything else you want like some Bacon Bits

Video

Notes

Calories in the whole recipe with Fat Free Milk/Cottage Cheese and Chicken:
  • Calories: 2220
  • Fat: 60g
  • Saturated Fat: 30g
  • Sodium: 3200mg
  • Carbs: 216g
  • Fiber: 25g
  • Sugar: 29g
  • Protein: 204g
 
Calories in Each Serving (Makes 6) with Fat Free Milk/Cottage Cheese and Chicken:
  • Calories: 370
  • Fat: 10g
  • Saturated Fat: 5g
  • Sodium: 533.3mg
  • Carbs: 36g
  • Fiber: 4.1g
  • Sugar: 5g
  • Protein: 34g
 
Calories in Each Serving (Makes 6) with Fat Free Milk/Cottage Cheese and without Chicken:
 
  • Calories: 307
  • Fat: 8.3g
  • Saturated Fat: 4.6g
  • Sodium: 433.3mg
  • Carbs: 36g
  • Fiber: 4.1g
  • Sugar: 4.8g
  • Protein: 22.3g

Nutrition

Calories: 370kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 533.3mg | Fiber: 4.1g | Sugar: 5g

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