Cottage Cheese Mac And Cheese

The 7 ingredients you need for cottage cheese mac and cheese

You might be thinking, cottage cheese in pasta? Turns out, these white curds blend up perfectly when combined with cheddar cheese and a few spices. I’ve found it’s best to add a bit of cornstarch to the mix to help the sauce thicken up nicely, otherwise it has less body and doesn’t coat the noodles as well. It works similar to a roux in a standard cheese sauce. Here are a few notes on the ingredients: Why we love this recipe: The curds whip up into a deliciously creamy sauce that’s protein-packed and makes a silky coating for noodles. It’s so simple to whiz up the sauce in a blender. I must admit Alex wasn’t on board with my idea for this recipe at first, but once he tasted it he became a believer. We hope you’ll love it just as much as we do!

Short pasta: Any type of short noodles work for mac and cheese, with the standard being macaroni. We used cavatappi here. Other shapes that work well are shells, penne, rigatoni, and spirals. Cottage cheese: We recommend 4% milkfat cottage cheese, which has the richest flavor and most milkfat. The 2% milkfat option also works, but avoid fat free cottage cheese since the flavor is not as robust. Milk of choice: Use whatever milk you have on hand. We typically use 2% milk, but whole milk works too! Cornstarch: This helps to thicken the sauce and add a silky body, similar to the flour and butter-based roux in most traditional mac and cheese recipes (like this one). Shredded cheddar cheese: Shredded cheddar helps to add thickness and texture to the sauce, as well as add that expected mac and cheese flavor. Garlic powder and paprika: These spices round out the mix! The paprika is optional but helps to make a more vibrant color.

A few more cottage cheese recipes we love

We love cottage cheese! You can make killer pancakes, delicious breakfast bowls, toast, scrambled eggs, and everything in between. Here are a few favorite cottage cheese recipes to get started: We use a high-speed blender for our blended recipes, which blends the sauce into a creamy texture in a few seconds. A standard blender and food processor can work here as well. A small blender can work depending on its size capacity. If you have slightly more time, baking the mac and cheese adds even more flavor! It helps the sauce to permeate the noodles, making it taste richer and more savory. Pour the pasta into a baking dish and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes.

It’s a lower calorie cheese compared to many others. A 1-cup serving has just 163 calories. It’s very high in protein. 1 cup has a whopping 28 grams of protein, over half your daily need. Impressively, the protein accounts for over 70% of the calories. It’s also packed with nutrients like B vitamins, calcium, phosphorus, and selenium.

Green salads like arugula salad, kale salad, chopped salad, apple walnut salad, or Caesar salad Slaws like coleslaw, apple slaw, or kale slaw Sauteed veggies like ultimate veggie sauté, broccoli, broccolini, peas, or kale