Rooster Broccoli Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese

This rooster broccoli cottage cheese mac and cheese packs 28g of protein per serving and makes for the final word simple weeknight meal. It’s the proper manner to make use of leftover rooster or rotisserie rooster 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, nevertheless it’s tremendous creamy and sticks to the noodles very well.
  • Smart way to make use of up leftover rooster: I really like making this pasta when I’ve leftover rooster, or if I’m quick on time, I’ll simply seize a rotisserie rooster on the grocery retailer to make use of. Both manner, it makes issues tremendous simple!

Elements You Want

Cottage cheese: you’re gonna whip the cottage cheese til clean in a meals processor or high-speed blender. Be sure you’re utilizing full-fat cottage cheese for the creamiest mac. Decrease fats cottage cheese has greater water content material, and can end in a runnier mac. Nobody desires that!

Shredded cheddar: freshly shredded cheddar is greatest!

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 must soiled one other dish!

A pot of cooked pasta and broccoli being stirred with a wooden spoon, with steam rising.
Cheese sauce is being poured over chopped chicken, broccoli, and pasta in a white baking dish.
A white dish filled with macaroni and cheese topped with melted cheese and broccoli; a box of elbow pasta and a cup are in the background.
A fork lifts a portion of cheesy pasta with broccoli and chicken from a yellow enamel bowl.

Prime Suggestions

  • 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 one 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 in response to package deal directions. Add the broccoli to the boiling water when there’s 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 fully clean. If the sauce shouldn’t be clean, add extra water 1 teaspoon at a time.

  • Add the pasta, broccoli, and cooked rooster 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.

  • *When you add all of the substances again into the recent sauce pan, it’ll 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

Diet info is mechanically calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.