Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese

This cottage cheese mac and cheese is a protein-packed, delicious twist on the classic comfort food that’s surprisingly satisfying! It’s…

A Couple Cooks – Recipes worth repeating.

This cottage cheese mac and cheese is a protein-packed, delicious twist on the classic comfort food that’s surprisingly satisfying! It’s easy to whip up this creamy spin in a blender.

Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese

Cottage cheese has become a trendy ingredient lately, and luckily here at A Couple Cooks Alex and I have always been super fans of this protein-packed cheese. Here’s our latest idea for what to make with it: cottage cheese mac and cheese!

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!

Jump to the recipe—now.

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:

  • 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.
Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese

Tips for blending the sauce

Making mac and cheese with cottage cheese is so simple: all you have to do is cook the pasta to al dente and blend the sauce while the pasta is cooking. You should have plenty of time to whip up the sauce while the pasta cooks. If the pasta happens to take longer or you pre-cook your pasta, make sure to toss it with a bit of olive oil or it will stick to the pan.

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.

Bake it for even more flavor!

This cottage cheese mac and cheese is ready in just 20 minutes if you cook the pasta, then toss it together with the blended sauce. We go for this option for quick weeknight dinners.

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.

Note for serving a crowd

This recipe works well doubled for serving a crowd. You can use the 2x button in the recipe below to quickly double the quantities. Using 1 pound of pasta, you can pour it into a 9 x 13″ baking dish and bake for 15 minutes at 350°F before serving.

Bowl of cottage cheese

What are the benefits of cottage cheese?

Why put cottage cheese into your mac and cheese, anyway? According to Healthline, this cheese is a healthy option when compared to other types of cheeses. Here are some of the benefits of cottage cheese:

  • 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.

Quick ways to make it a meal

Is mac and cheese a main or a side? To us it’s usually a main dish: but this cottage cheese spin works either way! I love this one either way, as a quick weeknight meal or baked up in a big pan as a side for entertaining. If you’re eating it as a main dish, here are a few quick ways to make it into a meal:

Cottage cheese mac and cheese

Storing leftovers

Cottage cheese mac and cheese lasts refrigerated for up to 3 days. To reheat it, place it in a pan on the stovetop and gently reheat, adding a splash of milk or pinch of salt if necessary. 

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 recipes to get started:

01

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

This cottage cheese pancakes recipe is the best genius trick! It makes a protein packed pancake that tastes like French…

02

Cottage Cheese Dip

This cottage cheese dip tastes just like ranch dip, but it’s made with a few spices and this healthy cheese!…

03

Cottage Cheese Breakfast Bowls

These cottage cheese breakfast bowls are a healthy and easy breakfast! Top them with berries or apple, cinnamon and a…

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Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese

Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese


  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 4

Description

This cottage cheese mac and cheese is a protein-packed, delicious twist on the classic comfort food that’s surprisingly satisfying! It’s easy to whip up this creamy spin in a blender.


Ingredients

  • 8 ounces short pasta*
  • 1 cup 4% milkfat cottage cheese
  • ¾ cup milk of choice (we used 2%)
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon paprika (optional, for color)
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and boil until al dente (check a few minutes before the package instructions indicate). Drain the pasta.
  2. Meanwhile, in a blender, blend the cottage cheese, milk, cornstarch, shredded cheddar cheese, garlic powder, paprika, and kosher salt. Pour the cheese mixture into a skillet and heat for 5 minutes, until thickened. Once it is thickened, remove from the heat until the pasta finishes.
  3. When the sauce is finished, add the cooked and drained pasta. Stir to combine. Taste and add a pinch of salt if necessary.
  4. Serve immediately, or allow it to sit for a few minutes to absorb the sauce flavors (you can also transfer to a baking dish and bake for 15 minutes at 350°F for even more flavor). If desired, top with seasoned panko or breadcrumbs for a crunchy topping. Leftovers last up to 3 days refrigerated; reheat gently on the stovetop and add a splash of milk or pinch of salt if necessary.

Notes

*This recipe is easy to double for a crowd, then place in a 9 x 13 pan and bake for 15 minutes at 350°F .

  • Category: Main dish
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Vegetarian
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Keywords: Cottage cheese mac and cheese, mac and cheese with cottage cheese

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

Perfect Strawberry Smoothie

This recipe unlocks the secret to the perfect strawberry smoothie! It’s deliciously thick, perfectly sweet, and bursting with fresh flavor.…

A Couple Cooks – Recipes worth repeating.

This recipe unlocks the secret to the perfect strawberry smoothie! It’s deliciously thick, perfectly sweet, and bursting with fresh flavor.

Strawberry Smoothie Recipe

It’s more difficult than you think to make a perfect smoothie without a recipe. Our strawberry smoothie recipe uses just 5 ingredients to make the creamiest texture and a pure, sweet berry flavor. Make it, memorize it, and make a perfect healthy smoothie on repeat!

Jump to the recipe—now.

Why this recipe is the perfect strawberry smoothie

It’s my job to make the best smoothie recipes on the internet. I’ve created over 65 smoothie recipes focusing on natural fruits and vegetables and healthy proteins like yogurt, while avoiding sugary juices. Along with my co-author Alex, we’ve made green smoothies, vegetable smoothies, fruit smoothies and energy smoothies.

But when it comes to picking favorites, it all comes back to this strawberry smoothie recipe for both of us! Here’s why it’s perfect, to us:

  • Light and creamy texture. It’s easy for smoothies to turn out too icy or thick. This one is light and creamy, with just the right icy and airy texture.
  • Subtly sweet, fruity flavor. Often smoothies are too bitter or overly sweet. This strawberry smoothie is lightly sweet, with just the right berry essence.
Best strawberry smoothie

Ingredients for this strawberry smoothie

Here’s what you’ll need to make this strawberry smoothie! Strawberries have a lot of nutritional punch for very few calories (per Cleveland Clinic), making them one of our favorite ingredients to incorporate in smoothies. We were careful to choose healthy ingredients for this smoothie: no overly sugary juices or syrups. Here’s what we selected:

  • Frozen strawberries: It’s easy to find and store frozen berries, and they add a great icy texture to this smoothie. If you prefer using fresh berries, use a frozen banana instead of one at room temperature.
  • Fresh banana: Many smoothie recipes call for frozen bananas, but we don’t often have them on hand or have the time to wait for freezing. So we customized this recipe to use a fresh banana!
  • Greek yogurt: Greek yogurt gives this recipe a protein boost and helpful probiotics. (If you love yogurt, you could add a touch more.) It also makes for a perfect creamy texture.
  • Ice: Here’s the most important part — ice is essential to a perfect strawberry smoothie! It makes just the right frothy texture. We’ve tried it without and it really makes a difference. Do not omit it!
  • Milk: You need just the right amount of liquid in a smoothie to get it to blend. Not enough and the blender gets stuck (the worst!), and too much it tastes milky. You can also use non-dairy milk.
  • Maple syrup: Adding a hint of maple brings out the sweetness in the berries. If you eat a low sugar diet you could omit, but it doesn’t quite taste sweet enough with no sweetener.
Strawberry smoothie

Add-ins and options

Of course, you can mix in whatever you’d like to customize your healthy strawberry smoothie! But if you want it to be perfect, you’ve got to use flavors that work. Here are some ideas:

  • Almond butter. Almond goes well with strawberry. Use about 1 tablespoon, 2 for a stronger almond flavor (it will also dull the color a bit).
  • Vanilla. Use ¼ to ½ teaspoon vanilla to heighten the flavors.
  • Mint or basil. Add a few fresh mint or basil leaves for an herbaceous spin.
  • Cocoa powder. Craving chocolate? Go to Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie.

Things not to add? Handfuls of spinach leaves! They turn this smoothie into an unappealing shade of brown. If you want a green smoothie, go to our Green Smoothie.

Strawberry smoothie variations

Strawberry smoothie variations

Craving a flavor twist? Don’t stop at strawberries! This versatile smoothie base can be transformed into a tropical paradise with a handful of mango or pineapple. Mix in blueberries for a tart and tangy upgrade, or add even more banana for extra sweetness. We’ve created separate recipes for each variation:

For a strawberry recipe without banana, try this one from smoothie expert The Blender Girl.

Ways to make it plant based

You can make this strawberry smoothie plant-based or vegan by doing the following:

  • Make our strawberry banana smoothie. Try our Strawberry Banana Smoothie: it’s vegan and uses only 2 ingredients!
  • Omit the yogurt and use non-dairy milk for the milk. We like using oat milk or almond milk. Oat milk is usually a little sweeter and creamier, so it’s our default for smoothies. You could also try coconut milk, which adds a nice coconut essence, or soy milk. To compensate for the yogurt, add a splash more milk as necessary to get it to blend.
Strawberry smoothies in two cups with straws and strawberry garnish

Storing leftovers

Smoothies are best eaten immediately. But this strawberry smoothie actually lasts 1 to 2 days refrigerated, stored in a sealed container or a mason jar with the lid on. It may separate, which is perfectly natural. Just shake it up and you’re good to go!

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Strawberry smoothie

Perfect Strawberry Smoothie


  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 2 small smoothies

Description

This 2-minute recipe unlocks the secret to the perfect strawberry smoothie! It’s deliciously thick, perfectly sweet, and bursting with fresh flavor.


Ingredients

  • 2 cups frozen strawberries
  • 1 banana (room temperature)
  • ¼ cup Greek yogurt*
  • 1 cup milk (or almond milk or oat milk)
  • 1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup, honey, or agave syrup
  • ½ cup ice
  • Optional add-ins: 1 tablespoon almond butter, ¼ teaspoon vanilla, fresh mint leaves or basil leaves

Instructions

  1. Place all ingredients in a blender, breaking the banana into pieces. Blend until creamy and frothy, stopping and scraping down the sides as necessary. Serve immediately or store in a covered jar in the refrigerator for 2 days.

Notes

*For vegan, make a Strawberry Banana Smoothie! Blend 2 cups frozen strawberries, 2 bananas (room temperature), ½ cup water and 8 ice cubes. Or, omit the Greek yogurt and add additional oat milk to get the smoothie to blend. 

  • Category: Drink
  • Method: Blended
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Keywords: Strawberry Smoothie, Strawberry Banana Smoothie

This strawberry smoothie recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, plant-based and dairy-free, see the recipe for variations.

A few favorite smoothies

We’ve got lots more where this came from! Here more smoothie recipes to try:

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.