Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese {High Protein & Hidden Veggies}
A healthy spin on the traditional mac and cheese - it's creamy, high in protein, with added nutrients from vegetables you won't even notice are there! It's an easy dish the whole family could eat.
Ingredients
- 1 cup low-fat, small curd cottage cheese
- 1/4 cup chicken broth, or more
- 2 cups frozen butternut squash (or fresh, roasted squash)
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 3 cups dry Barilla Protein Plus Rotini Noodles, or preferred pasta
- 1/2 cup pasta water or milk
- Salt, pepper, garlic powder (optional - to taste)
Instructions
- Assemble all ingredients. Fill a pan with water and cook on medium high heat. Salt the water.
Make the Veggie and Cottage Cheese Puree
- Add chicken broth then cottage cheese to a blender. Microwave the frozen squash, add to blender, and blend until smooth.
Making the Cheese Sauce
- Add pasta to water once it's boiling.
- While the pasta is boiling, melt the butter in a pan on medium-low heat. Once the butter has melted, incorporate flour into the pan and stir constantly for 3 minutes - making a roux.
- Once the flour and butter are combined, change to low heat or simmer and add the cottage cheese/veggie mixture and stir.
- Incorporate the cheese into the mixture.
- Drain the noodles and add to the cheese sauce. Mix the cheese sauce and pasta together. Add salt and pepper to taste. If it seems too thick, add more chicken broth to thin it out - but you may need to re-season. Enjoy!
Notes
If I were making this for dinner, I might bake some chicken to either eat on the side or add bite-sized pieces to the dish - but with 28 grams of protein per serving you don't need to!
Customize or personalize this dish however you want! I know my kids would not eat anything too crazy, so I kept it simple. It is very mild in flavor, so if you or your kids are a little more adventurous when it comes to their food - this dish would be even better with some extra additions. Maybe garlic, habanero peppers, hot sauce, buffalo chicken sauce - the sky is the limit. You could top with more cheese or Panko breadcrumbs and bake it in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes.
Freeze any extras you have to make a quick dinner for your kids (or yourself) on other busy nights.
Nutritional Information: 500 calories, 28 grams of protein per serving for 4 people. However, this recipe makes a large portion and could feed 5-6 people - especially if you add an additional protein source.