If you're a pasta lover who also wants steady energy after dinner, this blender Alfredo is going to earn a permanent spot in your weeknight rotation.
Cottage cheese, parmesan, garlic, and a blender. And, per my kids, you cannot taste the cottage cheese. Smooth, rich, and when you add chicken, you're looking at 45+ grams of protein per serving!
Quick Look: Cottage Cheese Alfredo
🖐 Prep Time: 15 minutes
🌶 Cook Time: 20 minutes
⏱ Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 6
Protein: ~45g per serving with chicken / ~23g sauce and pasta only
Equipment: Blender and one-pot on the stovetop
🚫 No Heavy Cream: Cottage cheese blends into a sauce so silky you won't miss it
💚 Difficulty: Easy + Fast
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Check out the other ➡️ cottage cheese recipes!
Tips Before Your Make This Recipe
Freshly grated parmesan makes a difference. Pre-grated parmesan has anti-caking agents that prevent it from melting smoothly into the sauce. Grate it from a block and it helps to make the sauce extra smooth.
Low heat on the sauce. When you add the blended sauce to the pan, keep the heat low. The residual heat from the pan after searing the chicken and melting the butter is enough to bring the sauce to temperature and prevents it from curdling.
Using the pasta water. This is a trick you'll see in all sorts of pasta recipes to help make the sauce silky smooth. Just scoop out a cup of pasta water before you drain the pasta and use it to finish the alfredo sauce. The extra starch leftover in the water adds body to the sauce.
How to Make Cottage Cheese Alfredo Sauce (Step by Step with Photos)
Start by adding the cottage cheese, parmesan, milk, garlic, salt, and pepper to a blender. Blend until completely smooth.
Get your pasta cooking in well-salted boiling water. Before you drain it, scoop out about a cup of pasta water and set it aside. You'll use it to adjust the sauce consistency at the end.
Season your diced chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and sear the chicken until golden and cooked through. If your pan isn't very large, work in batches so you don't crowd the pan. Crowding will cause too much water to collect and you won't get a nice sear on the chicken. The color on the chicken is flavor you're building for the sauce.
Once the chicken is cooked through (internal temp of 165F) remove the chicken and set it aside. Add a tablespoon of butter to the same pan over medium low heat and let it melt, starting to scrape up some of the browned bits (also called 'fond'.)
Pour the blended sauce into the pan and turn the heat off because we don't want to cause the sauce to boil and curdle. The residual heat from the pan will be plenty to warm everything through.
Whisk to combine the sauce with the butter and fond, scraping up all the browned bits, then add pasta water a quarter cup at a time until the sauce is silky and coats a spoon. Some folks like it thicker, some thinner, so adjust to your liking.
Add the chicken and the pasta to the sauce or serve the sauce and chicken from the pan with pasta on the side so everyone can portion their own. Finish with freshly grated parmesan, fresh herbs, and a pinch of red pepper flakes if you like a little heat.
Swaps and Ways to Make It Your Own
Garlic: The recipe calls for one clove which gives you a savory background note without being in-your-face. Add a second (or third!) if you're a garlic household.
Fresh herbs: I added a generous quarter cup of chopped fresh basil straight into the sauce at the end. My herb garden is out of control right now. Fresh parsley works, too!
Add vegetables: Steamed broccoli or fresh spinach can go in when you add the chicken. The spinach will wilt and both add more vitamins and fiber!
Swap the protein: Italian sausage, shrimp or tempeh would be great swaps based on what you've got in the fridge. Just cook them off in the chicken step and proceed with the rest of the recipe. You won't get the same level of fond, but still dang tasty!
Joanie's Balanced Bites for Blood Sugar Balance
This recipe is blood sugar-friendly without any modification or additional pairings if you're using a lower-carb / higher fiber / higher protein pasta. My favorites are lupini bean pasta from Brami and veggie pasta like Goodles.
If you prefer regular pasta, this recipe still contains plenty of protein and fat to help balance out the carbs, just keep portion ratios in mind and add a fiber-rich side like my Mushroom Basil Salad or Caprese Chopped Salad.
Also check out my salad guide inside my FREE Best Dressings E-book.
If you do go with the lower-carb pasta, I like to add a slice of my lower-glycemic sourdough or a sourdough discard garlic knot alongside. And studies actually back this up: how much you mentally enjoy your food matters for your health, not just the macros on the plate.
Browse more Blood Sugar-Friendly Recipes →
Cottage Cheese Alfredo with Chicken Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
- Category: Dinner
- Method: blender, Stovetop
- Cuisine: American, Italian
- Diet: Gluten-Free, High-Protein, Low-Carb
Description
A silky, deeply flavorful Alfredo sauce made with cottage cheese, parmesan, and garlic — blended smooth in minutes and finished in the same pan as the chicken for a depth of flavor most Alfredo recipes never get close to. 45+ grams of protein per serving.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cottage cheese (2% or full fat)
- ½ cup freshly grated parmesan, plus more for serving
- ½ cup milk
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 12 oz Brami lupini penne (or your preferred higher-protein pasta)
- 1 to 1½ lbs chicken breast, diced
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- ¼ cup fresh basil or parsley
- Red pepper flakes, cracked black pepper, and extra parmesan for serving
Instructions
- Add cottage cheese, parmesan, milk, garlic, salt, and pepper to a blender. Blend until completely smooth.
- Cook pasta in well-salted water according to package directions. Before draining, scoop out about a cup of pasta water in a heat-safe cup and set it aside. You'll use it to adjust the sauce consistency at the end.
- Season diced chicken with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and sear chicken until golden and cooked through. If your pan isn't very large, work in batches. Crowding the pan traps steam and you won't get a proper sear. The color on the chicken is flavor you're building for the sauce.
- Once the chicken reaches an internal temp of 165°F, remove it and set aside. Add butter to the same pan over medium-low heat and let it melt, starting to scrape up the browned bits (also called fond).
- Pour the blended sauce into the pan and turn the heat off. You don't want the sauce to boil and curdle. The residual heat from the pan is plenty to warm everything through. Whisk to combine the sauce with the butter and fond, scraping up all the browned bits, then add pasta water a quarter cup at a time until the sauce is silky and coats a spoon. Some people like it thicker, some thinner. Adjust to your liking.
- Add the chicken back in and toss to coat.
- Add the pasta directly to the pan and toss, or serve the sauce and chicken with pasta on the side so everyone can portion their own. Finish with freshly grated parmesan, fresh herbs, and a pinch of red pepper flakes if you like a little heat.
Notes
Leftovers keep well in an airtight container for up to four days. Store sauce and pasta separately if possible.
Reheat sauce low and slow with a splash of milk to loosen.
Brami lupini penne is our pasta of choice here. Goodles is another great option. Both bring significantly more protein and fiber than standard pasta with a texture that actually holds up.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 474
- Sugar: 4.1 g
- Sodium: 1006.8 mg
- Fat: 12.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 41.9 g
- Fiber: 5.2 g
- Protein: 48.9 g
- Cholesterol: 102.1 mg
Troubleshooting Tips
"Can you taste the cottage cheese?" No. Once it's blended smooth it completely disappears into the sauce. No curds, no tang, no cottage cheese flavor. If someone at your table is skeptical, don't tell them until after they've had seconds.
The sauce turned grainy or curdled. This happens when the heat is too high. The residual pan heat from searing the chicken is really all you need. The sauce doesn't need to cook, it just needs to warm through. If you're making the sauce without chicken, keep the heat on low and don't let it bubble.
The sauce is too thick. Add pasta water a splash at a time and stir. It loosens quickly. Start with a tablespoon and go from there. It's easier to thin than to thicken.
The sauce is too thin. Could be a result of using fat-free cottage cheese. It has a higher water content and won't give you the same body. Stick with 2% or full fat. If you do need to thicken the sauce, add the pasta to it as the pasta will absorb the extra moisture.
Can I make the sauce ahead? Yes. Blend the sauce up to two days ahead and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. Give it a good stir before adding it to the pan. It will thicken slightly as it sits, so have pasta water ready to loosen it.
Can I freeze this sauce? Skip the freezer on this one. The sauce will separate when thawed and the texture won't recover. It keeps well in the fridge for up to four days though.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!