This hen broccoli cottage cheese mac and cheese packs 28g of protein per serving and makes for the final word straightforward weeknight meal. It’s the proper means to make use of leftover hen or rotisserie hen to make issues even simpler. I hope you’re keen on this recipe as a lot as me and my toddlers do!
- Protein-packed: 28g of protein per serving to be precise!
- Tremendous creamy sauce: Blended cottage cheese not solely packs protein, but it surely’s tremendous creamy and sticks to the noodles rather well.
- Good way to make use of up leftover hen: I like making this pasta when I’ve leftover hen, or if I’m brief on time, I’ll simply seize a rotisserie hen on the grocery retailer to make use of. Both means, it makes issues tremendous straightforward!
Elements You Want
Cottage cheese: you’re gonna whip the cottage cheese til easy in a meals processor or high-speed blender. Ensure you’re utilizing full-fat cottage cheese for the creamiest mac. Decrease fats cottage cheese has increased water content material, and can lead to a runnier mac. Nobody desires that!
Shredded cheddar: freshly shredded cheddar is finest!
Pasta: select your individual journey right here! I like utilizing fusilli or one other twirly pasta that may maintain all that scrumptious mac and cheese sauce.
Broccoli: You’ll blanch the broccoli within the pasta water for the final minute of boiling pasta. No have to soiled one other dish!
Prime Ideas
- Do NOT combine the pasta and the cheese sauce collectively within the scorching pot: The sauce will soften into soup and change into too skinny. I like to recommend mixing the sauce and pasta collectively in a separate bowl — combine it within the serving bowl to save lots of on dishes!
- Use high-fat cottage cheese: I’m speaking full fats or a minimum of 2%. Decrease fats cottage cheese has the next water content material, and no person desires watery mac and cheese.
Extra Mac and Cheese Recipes
Preheat the oven to broil and line a 9×9-inch glass baking dish with parchment paper.
Boil the noodles based on bundle directions. Add the broccoli to the boiling water when there may be about 1 minute left of boiling time to blanch the broccoli. Reserve ¼ cup of pasta water, then pressure and put aside.
Add the cottage cheese, 2 cups of cheddar cheese, 1 tablespoon reserved pasta water and sea salt to the blender and mix till utterly easy. If the sauce isn’t easy, add extra water 1 teaspoon at a time.
Add the pasta, broccoli, and cooked hen to a separate dish (not the recent saucepan), and fold within the cottage cheese sauce.*
Switch to the ready baking dish. Prime with extra cheddar cheese and broil for 3 minutes or till cheese is melted and bubbly.
Take away from the oven and let relaxation for five minutes earlier than serving.
- *For those who add all of the substances again into the recent sauce pan, it is going to skinny your cheese sauce out an excessive amount of. Don’t do that.
- I used 2% cottage cheese, however any kind will work.
- I used shredded cheddar cheese, however any melty cheese may work. For instance, gruyere, gouda, Monterey Jack, and even American cheese can be nice substitutions.
Energy: 374 kcal, Carbohydrates: 25 g, Protein: 28 g, Fats: 18 g, Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 2 g
Vitamin info is robotically calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.
