Cottage cheese has been upset with me the past few weeks so we’re back together and we’re making another easy meal, Healthy Creamy Cajun Pasta. This one is quick, made with fairly common ingredients like cottage cheese, cheap to make, and of course…high in protein!

To make this one we’re going to start with our cottage cheese sauce. You’ll need either a blender or food processor to get your sauce smooth. If you don’t have either of these, I link to mine below. If you don’t care if your sauce is smooth, hand mix it!

Cottage Cheese Sauce

Add right into whatever you’re using 1 1/2 cups of cottage cheese, 1 can of fire roasted diced tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of cajun seasoning, and 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese.

Pro tip? Cut down on the sodium in the recipe by looking for lower or no sodium ingredients!

Blend or process those ingredients until smooth.

Vegetables

You can choose to skip this step if you don’t have time to prepare or if you don’t want vegetables in your creamy cajun pasta.

To prep your vegetables, take out a stovetop pan and turn your burner on medium heat. Add in 1 tablespoon of olive oil into your pan.

While that’s heating up, chop up your choice vegetables. I’m using a couple mini bell peppers and 1/2 a white onion. I’ll make sure to put multiple variations and their nutritional breakdowns in the recipe card below.

Add in your chopped up vegetables and let those cook for a couple minutes. Keep them moving as often as you can so that so they don’t burn.

Cottage Cheese Pasta

Drop your heat to low and this is where you’d start if you’re not using vegetables. If you didn’t use vegetables, add in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. If you did, you can pour in your cottage cheese creamy cajun pasta sauce mix.

Low and slow is the key here. You want everything to heat up evenly as you mix it, don’t let it get too hot.

While that’s heating up, make 10 ounces of pasta however your box says to. I’m using a higher protein penne pasta today but chickpea, lentil, or regular pasta all work great. Let me know if I’m missing any and your favorite pasta in the comments below!

When that’s done, drain it and add it right into your stovetop pan. Give it a quick mix.

Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

Last, and this is also completely optional. If you want even better macros (more protein) you can add in a pound of cooked protein. Ground beef, shrimp, or chicken all work great. I usually go with either rotisserie for quickness, chicken breast like I’m using today, or chicken thighs.

If you’re using chicken and it’s not precooked? Here’s a quick recipe to go with this recipe which I’ll also include below.

Start by trimming the fat off of your chicken, cutting each piece in half, and putting them into a dish. In that dish add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 2 teaspoons of cajun seasoning, and a little salt. Mix your chicken around until all of your pieces are coated.

Put your chicken onto a lined baked sheet and cook it on 400F/204C for around 20-25 minutes.

Chop or break up whatever cooked protein you’re using and add it right into your pan. Mix everything around and let that cook for few minutes. That’s it, you’re now ready to meal prep creamy cajun pasta!

A couple tips for this one?

1. If your mix appears to be too thin you can add in around a 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon of cornstarch while it’s cooking on low heat.
2. Make just the sauce in this recipe, store it in a jar, and use it on whatever you want!
3. Add some hot sauce to it for a kick.
4. If you don’t have access to a cajun seasoning? Use this recipe:

• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Smoked Paprika
• 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
• 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
• 1/2 Tablespoon Onion Powder
• 1/2 Tablespoon Cayenne
• 1/2 Tablespoon Thyme
• 1/2 Tablespoon Black Pepper
• 1/2 Tablespoon Salt (*Optional)

Ready for dessert? Try some Protein Cookie Dough!