Cottage Cheese Macaroni & Cheese Recipe: High Protein, 3 Ingredients Side Dishes Pasta

Almost everybody loves macaroni and cheese. If you're trying to add more protein into your diet, this is the mac and cheese recipe for you. This macaroni and cheese gets a protein punch from cottage cheese. Cottage cheese has many health benefits, with a big one being that it is protein rich. One cup of cottage cheese contains about 25 grams of healthy protein.

This easy, creamy cottage cheese macaroni and cheese recipe has only three ingredients: pasta, cottage cheese and cheddar cheese. The cooked pasta is mixed with smooth cottage cheese, shredded cheddar cheese and some of the pasta cooking water. The result is a creamy protein-rich pasta dish.

Serve this protein mac and cheese as a side dish with dinner or as a vegetarian main dish.

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Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 to 15 minutes 
Total Time: 15 to 20 minutes
Servings: 4 to 6

Ingredients

• 16 ounces short pasta (elbows, bowties, rotini, penne, shells, fusilli, etc.)
• 3 - 4 tablespoons cottage cheese, mashed until smooth or blended 
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Helpful Products

• Pasta Pot
• Salt and Pepper
• Measuring Cup
• Cheese Grater

Recipe Notes

• You don't have to mash or blend the cottage cheese if you prefer it chunky.

• Change up the taste of this mac and cheese by using gruyere, fontina, white cheddar, Monterey Jack or pepper-jack cheese.

• For a gluten-free recipe, use gluten-free pasta.

Here's how to make it: 

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Put the pasta back into the pot.
2. Add the cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, salt and black pepper, to taste. Slowly stir in reserved pasta water until desired consistency is reached. Dot with additional cottage cheese before serving, if desired. 

Recipe cooking times and servings are approximate. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography. Need to convert cooking and baking measurements? Here are some kitchen conversion charts. Here's how to submit your recipes to 30Seconds.

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