Here is a delicious and high protein cottage cheese pasta sauce which is a great way to make your pasta recipes macro-friendly.
Simply blend together cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, milk, dried oregano and garlic. You will have yourself a yummy and creamy pasta sauce which you can even prep and add it to your pasta dish for a quick weeknight dinner.
It smells so good and tastes like a creamy mac and cheese, but the key ingredient is cottage cheese. Even if you hate cottage cheese, the other flavors will dominate this sauce recipe and it can be a clever strategy to substitute this for traditional high fat cheeses.
You can use your favorite type of pasta and even meal prep the recipe to save time on weekdays.
Why you might love this cottage cheese pasta recipe?
- High in protein.
- Perfect for a pre-workout or post-workout meal.
- You can prep the sauce and add it to pasta during weeknights.
- You can add the sauce to any type of pasta.
If you love high protein meal prep recipes, you might want to check out:
- Healthy Chocolate Protein Donut Recipe
- Cheesy Chicken Buffalo Pasta Recipe
- Easy Jerk Chicken Bowl Recipe With Mango Salsa
- Protein Baked Oatmeal with Bananas
How to make the cottage cheese pasta sauce?
1) Main ingredients
Cottage Cheese Sauce: You will need a high speed blender to make a sauce from these ingredients:
- Cottage Cheese
- Milk
- Parmesan Cheese
- Cornstarch / Corn Flour (optional but thickens up the sauce)
- Garlic
- Dried Oregano
Pasta: Use your preferred type of pasta. Penne pasta or spaghetti is better and easier to meal prep.
Spinach: Here is a good opportunity to use plenty of spinach leaves and throw it into the pan cottage cheese pasta.
2) Method
Add all the ingredients to a high speed blender. I use a nutribullet blender.
Cook the sauce on medium to high heat. Be prepared of the amazing aroma.
All the cooked pasta of your choice. Then add the spinach leaves and cover on low heat.
Cottage Cheese Pasta & Sauce
Ingredients
- 200 g penne pasta
- 300 g cottage cheese
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 40 g parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tsp cornstarch optional
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 80 g baby spinach leaves
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a food processor or blender, add the cottage cheese, milk, parmesan cheese, cornstarch, garlic powder, dried oregano, salt and black pepper, and blend until smooth.
- Prepare the penne pasta by adding boiled kettle water to your saucepan, add olive oil and salt, and the penne pasta. Half cook for 5 to 8 minutes and drain.
- Pour the cheese mixture into a large saucepan and add the penne pasta to cook on medium heat for 5 to 8 minutes. Add the spinach leaves and cover the pan for 2 to 4 minutes, and stir to combine.
Notes
- Refrigerate and consume with four days
- Cornstarch or corn flour is optional, but it will help thicken up the sauce.
Nutrition
Frequently asked questions
Is cottage cheese pasta really macro friendly?
This is subjective talk but if you have a balanced diet and regularly keep yourself in good shape, then I would say this is a macro-friendly meal prep because it can certainly fit into a general daily caloric plan.
I often make this for my lunch meal prep at work, and for a larger meal, you could also use this a side dish with chicken breasts, which goes really well.
Of course, if you are following a low carbohydrate diet or on a keto diet then you might not find it macro friendly.
How does it taste?
This truly does smell and taste like a mac and cheese which is an added bonus, however it feels so much more lighter.
The parmesan cheese certainly helps in terms of flavour and lightness.
I have not experimented enough to try variation of other cheeses but light cheeses in general will work well with this recipe.
Verdict
The first time I made this recipe was when I had leftover cottage cheese and wanted to find a different way to utilize this ingredient.
I was bored of eating this cold and wondered would it even work trying to turn this into a creamy sauce?
Ever since, I rarely make mac and cheese again, as I enjoy this version and feel comfortable with the macros and it keeps me full.
This is a pasta recipe which is perfect for a meal prep too because it still tastes great days later and it allows time for the pasta to soak up this delicious creamy and cheesy sauce.
Meal Plan Weekly is a resource for busy people and home cooks around the world. What started as a solo blog has now turned into a website of healthy recipes and home cooking tips written by home cooks, chefs and nutritionists around the world. Our mission is to make healthy cooking easy, with realistic recipes that you will actually cook and balanced meals that you can fit into your meal plan.