Be sure to use a large enough skillet with a top for this recipe. A Dutch oven also works well.
Ingredients You Need
Cottage cheese: you’re gonna whip the cottage cheese til smooth in a food processor or high-speed blender. Make sure you’re using full-fat cottage cheese for the creamiest mac. Lower fat cottage cheese has higher water content, and will result in a runnier mac. No one wants that!
Shredded cheddar: freshly shredded cheddar is best!
Pasta: choose your own adventure here! We like using fusilli or another twirly pasta that can hold all that delicious mac and cheese sauce.
Top Tips
Storage & Reheating
More Mac and Cheese Recipes
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Preheat the oven to broil and line a 9×9-inch glass baking dish with parchment paper.
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Boil the noodles according to package instructions. Add the broccoli to the boiling water when there is about 1 minute left of boiling time to blanch the broccoli. Reserve ¼ cup of pasta water, then strain and set aside.
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Add the cottage cheese, 2 cups of cheddar cheese, 1 tablespoon reserved pasta water and sea salt to the blender and blend until completely smooth. If the sauce is not smooth, add more water 1 teaspoon at a time.
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Add the pasta, broccoli, and cooked chicken to a separate dish (not the hot saucepan), and fold in the cottage cheese sauce.*
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Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Top with more cheddar cheese and broil for 3 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
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Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- *If you add all the ingredients back into the hot sauce pan, it will thin your cheese sauce out too much. Don’t do this.
- I used 2% cottage cheese, but any type will work.
- I used shredded cheddar cheese, but any melty cheese could work. For example, gruyere, gouda, Monterey Jack, or even American cheese would be great substitutions.
Calories: 374 kcal, Carbohydrates: 25 g, Protein: 28 g, Fat: 18 g, Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 2 g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
