High Protein Mac and Cheese

Silky smooth cheese sauce enrobes bite-sized pasta in this ultra creamy, flavorful high protein mac and cheese that packs a whopping 55 grams of protein per serving. It also most emphatically does not taste like health food, and that’s a good thing! Grab your blender or food processor and get ready to whip up this super simple cheese sauce for the mac and cheese that just may replace your go-to recipe for good!

High Protein Mac and Cheese

Everyone in our house went absolutely bonkers for this mac and cheese. I’m Team Stovetop Mac and my husband is Team Baked Mac and Cheese. Our boys go back and forth. But one thing we all agreed on was that this was an exceptionally good mac and cheese, however much protein it did or did not have.

I did get some side-eyes when I told the guys I was tinkering with a high protein recipe. There may have even been a couple “why?”s muttered under someone’s breath. But when all was said and done, they inhaled this mac and cheese and gave it enthusiastic thumbs-ups all the way around.

My husband even said that this was “way better than regular mac and cheese!” The additions I made to boost the protein also happened to make the creamiest, cheesiest tasting mac and cheese I’ve ever made. I challenge anyone to taste this and say “Oh yeah. It tastes like health food. This must be virtuous mac and cheese.”

Protein Mac and Cheese

I know that protein mac and cheese doesn’t sound temping but I’m telling you it is outrageously good. It’s got my fool-proof blend of seasonings and spices that makes mac and cheese a comfort food to remember. But even more importantly, it is the creamiest mac and cheese I’ve ever made.

You may be wondering why anyone would bother making high protein macaroni and cheese in the first place. In years past, I’d be right there with you.

My doctor told me “as a woman of a certain age” to increase my protein intake at my page. First of all, how dare he? Second of all, pfffft. I’m very young in my own mind if not on paper.

But seriously, the current recommendation for ladies my age is to take my weight, multiply it by 0.36, and then double that number. We’re supposed to eat that many grams of protein a day. Whoa.

That is a LOT of protein.

Middle aged ladies aren’t the only protein fiends, though. My fitness crazed and weight-lifting adult sons also try to maximize the protein in their daily meals as well as supplementing it. Thankfully, there are a great many ways to power-load your meals with commonly found ingredients.

High Protein Mac and Cheese Recipe

What makes this macaroni and cheese so high in protein? We bring in three mega protein sources.

First, whey powder is a pretty wholesome way (or should I say ‘whey’?) to boost both protein and calcium in my daily diet. Whey powder is made of freeze-dried liquid that was drained away during yogurt or cheese making.

Whey powder does the heavy hitting in raising the protein count in this mac and cheese. But it also is a big part of why this macaroni and cheese is so ever loving creamy. We have to turn to science to understand why it works like it does. Whey molecules are what is known as hydrophilic molecules. This means they like water. A lot.

Protein Mac and Cheese Recipe

In other words, they are attracted to water and hang onto it. It’s their function. They bind onto that liquid and keep it in the cheese sauce you build. That’s a good thing! My preferred brand of whey powder is Naked Whey unflavored protein powder.

I think it goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway: don’t use flavoured whey or protein powder. Vanilla or chocolate mac and cheese is just wrong. Don’t go there.

Yes, you can certainly skip the whey powder if you don’t have access to it, but you’ll have a slightly less indulgent and silky tasting cheese sauce.

While I don’t sip on glasses of milk, I’m a big fan of cooking with it. I try to use high protein whole milk in my cooking as much as possible. Fair Life’s high protein milk has fifty percent more protein and fifty percent less sugar than regular whole milk, so choosing that makes it a no-brainer for me!

The final big guns in our protein mac and cheese are courtesy of good old cottage cheese. I’m partial to Good Culture whole milk cottage cheese because it has live and active cultures and even more protein than it’s “regular” counterpart.

It’s important to note that whole milk and whole milk cottage cheese will yield the creamiest, cheesiest cheese sauce. You can, of course, substitute lower fat or skim milk products in here, but you’ll have a waterier, less flavourful end product.

The recipe itself couldn’t be simpler to make. You blend everything but the pasta together until smooth in a food processor or blender, then stir it over medium heat until it’s bubbly and thickened. Stir in the pasta and voila!

You may be tempted to just stir all of the goodies together, but trust me when I tell you that is a bad idea. Remember how I said whey powder is hydrophilic? Yep. It’ll just clump up unless you apply a little muscle.

The muscle here is a food processor or blender. It pulverizes it into cooperating and boy is it worth it.