Our current cultural craze is all about getting more protein. Knowing what a protein powerhouse cottage cheese is, it got me wondering: Can you put cottage cheese in mac and cheese? Great news: Not only can you add protein to mac and cheese with cottage cheese, the actual cottage cheese cheese sauce comes together quickly in a blender and is ready in less than 30 minutes.
While the main instructions you’ll find below are for a stovetop version of this recipe, this cottage cheese macaroni and cheese can also be prepped ahead of time to be baked later in a casserole dish if you’d like to add it to your holiday menu. Not to worry—the baked version of this recipe is also included below.
Ingredients and Substitutions
This homemade mac and cheese with cottage cheese has an impressive depth of flavor for a dish with just a few simple ingredients:
- Pasta: For our version of macaroni and cheese with cottage cheese, we selected the fun & familiar macaroni noodle that we all grew up eating. However, all pasta shapes are welcome as long as they’ll hold the sauce. And, if you have specific dietary needs/preferences, feel free to substitute gluten-free pasta (GF), chickpea pasta, or whole wheat pasta—they all adapt well to this recipe.
- Cottage cheese: When adding cottage cheese to mac and cheese, I recommend that you go with the full 4% milkfat version. You can use a lower-fat version, but if you are like us and prefer a creamier dish, go for the 4% version.
- Milk: The same goes here with the milk—I recommend choosing full fat regular milk for a luscious finished pasta. However, an equal amount of alternative dairy-free milk, like almond milk, can also be used.
- Cheddar cheese: We used sharp cheddar cheese when testing this recipe. If you’d prefer a milder cheese flavor for your cottage mac and cheese, feel free to swap in gouda cheese in its place.
- Parmesan cheese: Take it from me—shredded parmesan cheese is essential to this cottage cheese mac and cheese recipe. Without it, the mac and cheese sauce with cottage cheese tasted a bit bland. The parmesan gives it the umami punch that will keep everyone reaching for second helpings.
- Cornstarch: This helps to thicken your cottage cheese sauce. If you prefer arrowroot powder, you can swap that in instead.
- Garlic: Garlic powder blends into the sauce evenly, which is what we used in our recipe trials. If you prefer the more intense flavor of fresh or roasted garlic, just be sure to mince or press it well before adding it to your blender. While it is not traditional, ½ teaspoon of onion powder can also be added if preferred.
- Spices: Our cottage cheese mac and cheese recipe gets its traditional flavor with these three classic mac and cheese spices—paprika, nutmeg, and a touch of cayenne pepper.
- Veggies (optional): If you’d like to elevate your cottage cheese mac and cheese, feel free to mix in some cooked vegetables once the dish is complete, such as steamed broccoli, peas, or a handful of fresh baby spinach leaves.
How to Make Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese?
This mac and cheese recipe with cottage cheese comes together in three simple steps: First, you cook the pasta. Then, you make your high-protein cheese sauce with cottage cheese. Finally, you mix the two components together. And, voilà! It’s just that easy in under 30 minutes. Here are the step-by-step instructions:
- Cook the pasta: Fill a medium saucepan with water and season generously with salt. Bring it to a boil and add the pasta to the boiling water. Cook until your noodles are al dente, following the timing on the package’s directions.
- Drain the water: First, reserve ½ cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta into a strainer and set aside. Return the pot to the stove (no need to wash it.)
- Blend your cheese mixture: Next, blend cottage cheese, milk, cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, cornstarch, garlic powder, paprika, black pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper in a high-speed blender or a food processor until smooth for about 30 to 40 seconds.
- Cook your cottage cheese cheese sauce: Pour the blended sauce into the pot over medium-low heat. Using a wooden spoon, stir your sauce until it is slightly thickened, for about 1 to 1 ½ minutes. You will know that it’s ready when it coats the back of a spoon. Taste for seasoning, adding more flavor if you desire it.
- Combine your pasta and sauce: Add the drained pasta back into the pot with the cottage cheese cheese sauce and stir to combine. Cook until the pasta is thoroughly warmed and coated with the cottage cheese mixture. Serve while still warm.
How to Bake it?
If you’re looking for a baked mac and cheese with cottage cheese recipe, then look no further. The baked version is a crowd-pleasing side dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or really any holiday potluck that you’re invited to. It can easily be adjusted as a baked version, and I’m going to show you how:
- Preheat the oven: Set the oven to 375 degrees F/190 degrees C.
- Prepare your baking dish: Brush an 8X8 baking dish with 1 TBSP of butter.
- Pour in your cooked cottage cheese mac n cheese: Put the cooked pasta and sauce mixture into the buttered 8×8 baking dish. Add an extra 3 tablespoons of pasta water into the mix.
- Top your pasta: Sprinkle the top of the cottage cheese macaroni with an additional ½ cup of parmesan cheese first, then ½ cup of panko breadcrumbs (or regular bread crumbs).
- Bake: Put the baking dish in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs have toasted.
- Brown the top, if preferred: If you’d like the top of your baked pasta to have a crunchier texture, switch the oven to broil and leave in the oven for an additional two minutes.
How To Make Ahead and Store and Reheat Leftovers?
- Make Ahead: If you’re looking to make this recipe in advance of an event or holiday dinner, we recommend that you prepare the baked version that you see above. Just pour the pasta mixture into your baked dish, allow it to cool to room temperature, and then cover and refrigerate. On the day of, remove the covering and add the toppings before baking.
- Storage: If you made the stovetop version of this mac & cheese recipe with cottage cheese, you can store any leftovers in an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Reheating: To reheat macaroni and cottage cheese leftovers, place the pasta in a saucepan and warm it on low heat on the stovetop. If the sauce is too thick, you may have to add some water to get it back to its creamy texture.
What to Serve This Recipe?
Our mac n cheese recipe with cottage cheese is adaptable and satisfying as either a side dish or vegetarian main dish:
- To serve it as a side dish to a meat or chicken-based main dish, I recommend that you pair it with either the Oven Baked Chicken Parmesan, the Pressure Cooker Pot Roast, or, for the Thanksgiving holiday, try our Herb Roasted Turkey or Roasted Turkey Breast.
- To serve it as a vegetarian main dish, pair your creamy mac and cheese with cottage cheese with a simple side salad such as my Spring Mix Salad or Greek Cucumber Salad.
Expert Tips
Thankfully, the process of making this high protein cottage cheese macaroni and cheese recipe is a straightforward one without much room for error. However, there are a few things that I’d like to mention for the best results:
- Don’t leave the cottage cheese mac and cheese sauce unattended while it’s cooking: The sauce comes together quickly—truly, within minutes. Once your pasta is cooked and you start to warm your sauce, it will thicken and be ready for the macaroni to be stirred in shortly.
- Use full-fat dairy products: For the ultimate creamy, dreamy, high-protein mac n cheese, you’ll need to use full-fat regular milk and 4% cottage cheese. Trust me on this one. Skim just doesn’t cut it in this recipe.
- Cooking the cottage cheese cheese sauce in the saucepan before adding the pasta is very important: Because the cottage cheese mixture contains cornstarch as a thickening agent, it needs a few minutes to cook so that it blends in, thickens, and becomes “invisible,” flavor-wise. You don’t want to be able to taste the cornstarch!
- Use water to adjust your sauce’s texture: If your blended cottage cheese mac and cheese is too thick, adding a small bit of the reserved pasta water to the mix will thin it out.
- Mind your salt: Because we are adding salt to our pasta water and using salty cheeses such as sharp cheddar and parmesan, you will notice that we did not include any additional salt in the recipe for our homemade protein mac and cheese. Please adjust and add salt according to your own taste.
- Broiling browns the top of the baked macaroni and cheese with cottage cheese: We noticed in our testing of the baked version of this recipe that simply baking didn’t brown the breadcrumbs sufficiently. If you’d like that crunchy, browned top, be sure to broil it for 1 minute once it has finished baking.
Diet Key
This Recipe is:
If you make your own Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese following our recipe, I would greatly appreciate it if you could take a minute to rate it and leave a comment below. It is a great way to support this website and help those planning to make it. Also, if you took pictures, I’d love to see them. Share your creations on Instagram using #foolproofeats so I can share them with the Foolproof Living community.
Cottage Cheese Macaroni and Cheese Recipe
This Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese Recipe is our guilt-free alternative to traditional mac and cheese that is lower in calories, higher in protein, and doesn’t sacrifice the signature creamy deliciousness of the original dish. The cottage cheese sauce comes together easily in a blender and the whole dish is ready in less than 30 minutes. This recipe can be made on the stovetop, or as a baked version by following a few additional instructions below.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces pasta, elbow macaroni
- 1 cup cottage cheese, 4% milk fat
- ½ cup regular whole milk
- 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, shredded
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- pinch nutmeg
- pinch cayenne pepper, optional
Instructions
- Bring a pot of generously salted water to a boil in a medium-sized pot. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta. Return the pot to the stove (no need to wash it.)
- Meanwhile, place the cottage cheese, milk, cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, cornstarch, garlic powder, paprika, black pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper in a blender or a food processor. Blend until smooth for about 30 to 40 seconds.
- Pour the cottage cheese mixture into the pot and turn the heat to medium-low. Using a wooden spoon, stir until slightly thickened, for about 1 to 1 ½ minutes. It should be ready if it coats the back of a spoon. The sauce thickens very fast so do not leave it unattended. If it thickens too much you can thin it out using the reserved pasta water.
- Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper, if needed.
- Add the now-drained pasta into the pot and stir to combine. Cook until pasta is thoroughly warmed and coated with the cottage cheese mixture.
- Serve while still warm.
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Notes
- Yields: This recipe makes about 5 cups of macaroni and cottage cheese ideal for 4 generous servings. The nutritional values are per serving.
- Baked Version: To make baked macaroni and cheese with cottage cheese, you will need 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, 1/2 cup of panko breadcrumbs, and 1/2 cup (additional) shredded parmesan cheese. Below are the step by step instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F/190 degrees C.
- Brush a 8X8 baking dish with butter.
- Follow the recipe as written. Instead of serving, incorporate three tablespoons of the pasta water into the mac and cheese mixture.
- Place the cottage cheese mac and cheese into the buttered dish.
- Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and then panko breadcrumbs. Bake for 15 minutes or until breadcrumbs have toasted.
- Make Ahead: If you’re planning to make this recipe in advance of an event or holiday dinner, we recommend that you prepare the baked version. Simply pour the pasta mixture into your baked dish, bring it to room temperature, and then cover and refrigerate. On the day of, remove the covering and add the toppings before baking as written above.
- Storage and reheating instructions for the stovetop version: Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can reheat in a sauce pan with a splash of water over medium-low heat until heated through.
Nutrition
Calories: 461kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 593mg | Potassium: 271mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 580IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 462mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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