This Small Swap Turns Mac And Cheese Into A Protein-Packed Meal

A blend of cheeses, toasted breadcrumbs, sour cream, hot sauce, and fresh herbs like parsley can all be added to or swapped into homemade macaroni and cheese for extra flavor and texture. But if you want to make your mac and cheese more filling while adding protein, there's one simple ingredient that can do the trick: cottage cheese.

Cottage cheese packs 11 to 14 grams of protein per half cup, depending on the fat percentage, making it a delicious, protein-packed addition to homemade macaroni and cheese. It also gives the dish a creamy texture, with or without heavy cream. If you want to make your mac and cheese lighter, you can replace some or all of the heavy cream with cottage cheese. Since cottage cheese has a mild flavor, it can add these benefits without overpowering the cheesy taste you already love. Either way, adding cottage cheese won't complicate the recipe or add much to the cooking time.

There are two ways to add cottage cheese to macaroni and cheese. For a smooth cheese sauce with no visible curds, blend the cottage cheese in a food processor or blender before adding it to the dish. If you don't mind some texture, you can simply stir it into the cheese mixture. Most of the curds will soften as they heat, but the finished dish may not be quite as smooth as traditional macaroni and cheese. While there are plenty of recipes specifically designed for cottage cheese mac and cheese, you can also add it to your favorite recipe. As a general rule, use about 2 cups of cottage cheese to replace the heavy cream for every pound of pasta.

You can combine cottage cheese with cornstarch if you want to skip the roux that many macaroni and cheese recipes call for, and stir in your regular shredded cheese later. Or, make a roux like you normally would and add the cottage cheese along with the other cheeses if you don't mind using milk in the dish. Try adding cottage cheese to our simple mac and cheese or slow-cooker mac and cheese recipes — and thank us later. If cottage cheese isn't your thing, you can also boost the protein with canned tuna, shredded chicken or turkey, or even some extra milk.