Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese
Posted Nov 03, 2025
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This cottage cheese mac and cheese is packed with 17 grams of protein per serving! A high-protein recipe that tastes just as good as the classic version!
I am on a major cottage cheese kick these days, putting in my eggs and pancakes, and now in this cottage cheese mac and cheese!
This recipe has become a go-to easy dinner for my family, because I love that I can make a meatless meal with so much protein.
Cottage cheese macaroni and cheese has a creamy, silky smooth homemade sauce that’s irresistibly cheesy and loaded with protein! Plus, it is ready in under 30 minutes for a super quick, kid-approved dinner or side dish.
Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese: Ingredients & Substitutions
- Elbow macaroni. Use your favorite pasta shapes if you don’t have macaroni. I recommend shells, wheels, etc. You can also use gluten-free pasta.
- Whole Milk. I suggest half and half or 2% milk as the best substitutes.
- Cottage cheese. full-fat cottage cheese is the best, but you can use any variety you prefer.
- Salted Butter. unsalted butter woks well.
- All-Purpose Flour. There are a few substitutions that work well for the flour including corn starch, tapioca starch/flour, and all-purpose gluten-free flour.
- Cheddar Cheese. use your favorite – gouda, pepper jack, etc.
How to Make Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese
As always, because I love writing my recipes as thoroughly as possible to ensure you succeed in making them, we’ll walk through how to make this dish step-by-step.
Cook the Macaroni
Begin by cooking the macaroni (or your choice of pasta) in salted water until al dente. Drain, but do not rinse and set aside.
While the pasta is cooking make the sauce. Begin by blending the milk and cottage cheese until smooth in a blender. This ensures the sauce will be silky smooth and not lumpy!
Then, melt the butter in a 5 quart saucepan.
Once the butter is melted, whisk in the flour, salt and pepper and cook for 30 to 60 seconds, until the flour is bubbly and very lightly browned.
Then, add the blended cottage cheese and milk mixture and whisk.
Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the sauce has thickened and coats the back of a spatula.
Once the sauce is thick, turn off the heat (but leave the pot on the warm burner) and whisk in the cheddar cheese until the sauce is smooth.
Add the cooked macaroni and stir until the sauce is evenly distributed. Let the cottage cheese macaroni and cheese sit, uncovered to cool slightly. It might look like a lot of sauce, but it thickens and absorbs into the pasta as it cools a little bit.
Serve
Serve the cottage cheese macaroni and cheese warm with a delicious salad or vegetable side dish.
Or, you can serve it as a side to your favorite main dish recipes like meatloaf, grilled buttermilk chicken, etc.
Store/Freeze
Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
It will thicken as it cools, but will thin out again when it’s reheated. Reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Cottage Cheese Mac & Cheese Recipe FAQS
There is 17 grams of protein in a 1-cup serving of this recipe.
No, as long as you follow the cooking method and don’t try to rush it by cooking on high-heat, your mac and cheese will have a silky smooth sauce and won’t be grainy.
Yes, but full-fat cottage cheese results in the creamiest texture and best flavor. If you use low-fat, the sauce may be slightly thinner.
My top 3 favorites are:
Elbow Macaroni
Shells
Wheels
Use gluten-free pasta like this gluten free elbow macaroni or gluten-free shell pasta. Then use gluten-free flour in the sauce.
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Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 ounces elbow macaroni
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk
- 16 ounces cottage cheese (2 cups)
- 4 Tablespoons salted butter
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 12 ounces cheddar cheese (shredded, 3 cups)
Instructions
- Cook macaroni in salted water according to package instructions. Drain, but do not rinse and set aside.
- Then, in a blender, blend milk and cottage cheese until smooth.
- Next melt the butter in a 5 quart saucepan.
- Add the flour, salt and pepper and whisk to combine. Cook for 30 to 60 seconds, until the flour is bubbly and very lightly browned.
- Pour in the blended cottage cheese mixture and whisk.
- Cook over medium heat until the sauce is thickened, about 3-5 minutes
- Turn off the heat and whisk in the cheese until melted.
- Add the cooked macaroni and stir until combined.
- Let cool slightly (sauce thickens as it cools)
- Serve warm.
Notes
- Elbow macaroni. Use your favorite pasta shapes if you don’t have macaroni. I recommend shells, wheels, etc. Gluten-free pasta works well too!
- Whole Milk. I suggest half and half or 2% milk as the best substitutes.
- Cottage cheese. full-fat cottage cheese is the best, but you can use any variety you prefer.
- Salted Butter. unsalted butter woks well.
- All-Purpose Flour. There are a few substitutions that work well for the flour including corn starch, tapioca starch/flour, and all-purpose gluten-free flour.
- Cheddar Cheese. use your favorite – gouda, pepper jack, etc.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
