Cottage Cheese Penne Pasta is a delicious and easy-to-make pasta dish that has become increasingly popular over the years.
This dish consists of penne pasta mixed with cottage cheese, cream cheese, basil, garlic, and tomato sauce, resulting in a creamy yet tangy flavor.
This recipe is perfect for anyone looking for a high-protein, low-fat meal option that is both satisfying and incredibly tasty.
Cottage Cheese Penne Pasta has gained popularity in recent years due to its health benefits, versatility, and delicious mix of flavors.
This dish is perfect for a weeknight dinner, a meal prep option, or even a crowd-pleasing addition to a potluck or party.
Why you might love this recipe:
1. It’s a healthier alternative to traditional pasta dishes, thanks to the use of creamy and protein-rich cottage cheese instead of heavy cream or cheese sauces.
2. It’s a quick and easy meal to prepare, making it perfect for busy weeknights when you want something satisfying but don’t have a lot of time to cook.
3. It’s delicious and versatile, with the option to customize the dish to your liking by adding your favorite vegetables, herbs, or spices.

Cottage Cheese Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 200 g (1.8 cups) penne pasta
- 300 g (1.4 cups) cottage cheese
- 1/2 cup (0.5 cup) milk
- 40 g (1.4 oz) parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) cornstarch
- 4 (3 ) garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp (1 tsp) dried oregano
- 80 g (2.6 cups) baby spinach leaves
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
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.
- Enjoy and serve with your favorite sides
Notes
- Refrigerate and consume within three days if you plan to make-ahead.
- Cornstarch or corn flour is optional, but it will help thicken up the sauce.
Nutrition
Data source: USDA
Recipe FAQ
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 as 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.
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I tried step by step using the recipe and only swapped for semi-skimmed milk. My food went downhill 😭. It doesn’t really taste like Mac and cheese, more to sour cream sauce.
Hi Hannah,
We are sorry to hear that the recipe you tried did not turn out as expected. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the less-than-perfect outcome of your dish.
We take your feedback seriously and want to assure you that we will take a closer look at the recipe to determine how we can improve it and will further test it via our kitchen team.
We understand that you made a substitution with the milk, and it’s possible that this may have contributed to the dish not tasting like traditional Mac and cheese. However, we will re-work the recipe to ensure that it yields the desired results even with such substitutions.
We appreciate your valuable feedback and hope that you will give us another chance to serve you better in the future. We value your user experience journey and will do our best to make sure that your next experience with our recipe will be a success.
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