High-Protein Baked Cottage Cheese Pasta
Cottage cheese blended into a creamy sauce and baked over penne with tomato — all the comfort of a baked ziti with a serious protein bump.
Ingredients
- 300 g Penne
- 400 g Cottage cheese
- 400 g Tomato passata
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Salt
- 100 g Mozzarella (optional)
- 3 tbsp Basil (optional)
- ½ tsp Red pepper flakes (optional)
Method
- Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.
- Cook the penne until just shy of al dente, about 2 minutes under the packet time — it finishes in the oven.
- Drain the pasta.
- Meanwhile, blitz the cottage cheese with the garlic, olive oil, and a pinch of salt until smooth.
- Stir the blended cottage cheese and the passata through the drained pasta with the chili flakes.
- Tip into a baking dish, tear the mozzarella over the top, and bake until bubbling and golden, about 20 minutes.
- Rest for 5 minutes so it sets before serving.
- Tear the basil over and serve hot.
Tap “Start cooking” for live timers that flag what to get ahead on while something simmers.
About High-Protein Baked Cottage Cheese Pasta
High-protein baked cottage cheese pasta replaces the traditional ricotta cream filling in lasagna-adjacent dishes with a blended cottage cheese sauce, creating a casserole that's both creamy and protein-dense. The technique mirrors alfredo: blending cottage cheese with garlic and olive oil until silky smooth, then stirring it through the cooked pasta with tomato passata before baking with mozzarella on top. The pasta is cooked just shy of al dente to account for the oven time, ensuring it stays tender rather than turning mushy. Baking brings everything together, melting the mozzarella into a golden crust while the sauce underneath sets into something stable enough to slice and serve, yet creamy at the center.
High-protein baked cottage cheese pasta tastes comforting and familiar—all the richness of baked ziti with a texture that feels creamier than its lean protein content suggests. The basil torn over after baking adds a fresh herbal note, while red pepper flakes scattered in the sauce provide warmth without requiring a meat component. This is a dish that looks more labor-intensive than it is—no layering, no raw assembly—and reads as more luxurious than a weeknight timeline would suggest. It feeds four easily, has pleasant leftovers, and proves that baked pasta doesn't require heavy cream or multiple cheeses to satisfy; technique and blending matter more than ingredient count.
High-Protein Baked Cottage Cheese Pasta: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in High-Protein Baked Cottage Cheese Pasta?
A serving has about 511 calories — 27.7g protein, 65.5g carbs, 14.8g fat, 3.4g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 27.7g of protein, roughly 22% of its calories.
Is High-Protein Baked Cottage Cheese Pasta gluten-free?
As written, no — it contains Penne. You'd need a certified gluten-free swap for that ingredient to make it gluten-free.
Is High-Protein Baked Cottage Cheese Pasta dairy-free?
Not as written — it uses Mozzarella. Swapping it for a plant-based alternative makes it dairy-free.
How long does High-Protein Baked Cottage Cheese Pasta take to make?
About 45 minutes start to finish, but only around 6 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
Do I need every ingredient to make High-Protein Baked Cottage Cheese Pasta?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out mozzarella, basil, red pepper flakes — they're optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does High-Protein Baked Cottage Cheese Pasta make?
This recipe makes 4 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.