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This cottage cheese alfredo is a lower fat, lower calorie version of the rich and creamy pasta favorite! One of the best cottage cheese recipes, it’s an easy dinner to make and the best part? You’d never even know it’s healthy.
Show of hands: who hates alfredo?
You.. there, in the back. GET OUT. You are but a robot amongst us sent to destroy the empire.
The alfredo empire of deliciousness, that is. Uh… I digress. Another show of hands: who loves the fat and calories in a bowl of creamy, rich fettuccine alfredo?
You.. there, in the back. GET OUT. I hate you for your metabolism.
Alfredo has always been one of my favorite pasta sauces, but I tend to reserve it for a special occasion treat, due to the high amounts of butter, cream, and cheese. And then… I found this. We typically associate cottage cheese with gummy bites at an assisted-living center or our tiny-ass dog Magnolia, whom we were instructed by the vet to feed cottage cheese mixed into her dry food so she’d put on some pounds (11, going on 12! But we still tell everyone she’s a week-old lab, for the sake of O’s masculinity). But think again, people! Blended with some other ingredients, it transforms into a luxurious, creamy sauce, at a fraction of the guilt and hippyness.
Why This Recipe Is So. Dang. Good.
- It’s wonderfully rich and creamy, thanks to the cottage cheese, but lower in fat and calories. Also thanks to the cottage cheese!
- This cottage cheese recipe comes together really, really quickly, and you could make it almost entirely during the time your pasta is boiling.
- You can add all sorts of different spices or seasonings to this cottage cheese alfredo. It’s super versatile.
But be warned. You might have to fend off dozens of requests a day for this stuff. I’m not lying.
The first time I made this, O ate his bowl — and subsequently licked the bowl clean — in total silence.
“He hates it,” I told myself. “Oh well. It’s still so much better for us, and I think it’s pretty damn delicious.”
An hour later.
“That was the best thing I’ve ever had,” O spouts, unprovoked. “Can we have it again tomorrow?”
No. No, we can’t. But “tomorrow,” he repeated the question. I repeated the answer. I need variety, dammit! No matter how good something is. The day after “tomorrow,” he repeated the question, and I, the answer. And so on, until I caved and whipped it up the next week. And then the week after that as a sorry-I’m-going-to-St.-Louis-without-you-and-leaving-you-to-fend-for-yourself dish. I’m not exaggerating in claims of how insanely good this stuff is.
Update: Now that O and I have been married for what feels like a hundred years and have a kid, I have a new anecdote to verify the deliciousness of this cottage cheese recipe. My kid freaked out because somewhere along the line that day he was promised “mac and cheese,” and I kind of thought this would work for that particular request. He wailed a bit but finally tried it. My picky, picky toddler then claimed,
“I love it so much. I want to eat it on Wednesday. I want to eat it on Monday. I want to eat it a lot of times when we come home.“
So… if that doesn’t tell you something about this cottage cheese alfredo, I don’t know what would.
Tips for Success
- Make sure you blend the cottage cheese alfredo mixture until it’s very smooth.
- This cottage cheese recipe is best with about half a pound of pasta. If you don’t mind a less saucy pasta, upping your pasta poundage is fine!
- Simmer your sauce just until it’s thickened – you don’t want to reduce it too much!
Variations
- Instead of basil and oregano, sprinkle in a bit of Cajun seasoning and serve with blackened chicken, tomatoes, and green onions for a Creole pasta.
- Use cultured cottage cheese to make this cottage cheese recipe even healthier.
- Try arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch if you have to or want to avoid corn.
If You Love This Recipe, You’ll Also Love…
- Whole30 Tuna Zoodle Casserole
- Creamy Pumpkin Sage Alfredo with Ronzoni Gluten Free Penne
- Fried Zucchini Basil Gluten-Free Pasta with Fresh Mozzarella
- Baked Feta Pasta
- Healthy Chicken Alfredo with Spaghetti Squash (Whole30, Paleo, Dairy Free)
- Keto Alfredo Sauce
And if you’re looking for a wonderful version of classic Fettuccine Alfredo, this recipe from Erren’s Kitchen is fantastic!
Cottage Cheese Alfredo
Equipment
- standard blender or food processor
- Silicone spatula
- Small saucepan
Ingredients
For the Cottage Cheese Alfredo Sauce
- 1 cup milk of choice see Notes
- ½ cup cottage cheese see Notes
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt more or less to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper more or less to taste
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder plus more to taste
- ½ cup grated fresh parmesan or fresh romano
- dried basil to taste
- dried oregano to taste
Serving Suggestions (All Optional)
- prepared pasta any type, any amount
- prepared meat of choice
- prepared vegetables of choice
- chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
For the Cottage Cheese Alfredo Sauce
- Add 1 cup milk of choice, ½ cup cottage cheese, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, and ½ cup grated fresh parmesan to blender. Blend ingredients together until mixture is completely smooth, pausing to scrape down sides of blender as needed.
- When mixture is smooth, transfer mixture to small saucepan. Stir in desired amounts of dried basil and dried oregano, then place saucepan on stovetop over medium-low heat. Simmer mixture, stirring frequently, until sauce is heated through completely.
- Once sauce is heated through, taste sauce and add additional salt, pepper, basil, and/or oregano as desired.
- Reduce heat under saucepan to low. Simmer sauce approximately 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture has thickened slightly.
To Serve
- Add desired amount of prepared pasta to sauce and use tongs to toss pasta, ensuring pasta is coated in sauce. Let pasta simmer in sauce approximately 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer pasta to serving plates or bowls.
- Top pasta with prepared meat of choice or prepared vegetables of choice as desired. Spoon any remaining alfredo sauce from saucepan over pasta, then garnish with chopped fresh parsley and serve immediately.
Video
- Make it Low Fat: Use skim milk, low-fat cottage cheese, and reduced-fat parmesan cheese.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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This is by far the easiest, fastest, tastiest, and healthiest homemade Alfredo sauce I’ve ever made. Thank you for a delicious recipe that will definitely hit the rotation several times monthly. Doubled the sauce for 1/2 lb box whole wheat spaghetti. Served with broccoli, rotisserie chicken, and baguette.
That sounds like a wonderful meal! Thank you so much, Cynthia!
This was sooo good!! We love Alfredo but hate the nauseating feeling we usually get after eating it. My kids really enjoyed it. We added a bag of frozen broccoli to the pasta and I skipped the cornstarch and subbed pasta water to help thicken it up. This will be my new go to from now on.
Thank you so much, Mari! I’m so happy you all enjoyed it so much!
Sooooo good!!
So glad you enjoyed the alfredo! Thanks for sharing, Erika! 😊
Yum. I used stock onstead of milk to reduce calories further. So darn good.
So glad you enjoyed, Michelle! Thanks for sharing! 😊
This is glorious. I’m not an alfredo fan usually, but appreciate the ease of a jar or frozen meal with it. This is AT LEAST as good as store bought and presumably much healthier.
I put it on whole wheat pasta (the sauce is so good you wouldn’t even notice it wasn’t white pasta).
I added a little red pepper and cayenne because I like spice and then just reduced it until it was the texture I like.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing, Julia! 😊
New staple in our family! Used fresh garlic and added some lemon zest. Can you freeze the sauce?
Hey, Jake! So happy y’all enjoyed this one so much! While you can freeze the sauce, I don’t really recommend it – the taste and texture of dairy products can change during the freezing & defrosting processes, especially with cottage cheese.
It was correct, outstanding dish. Toddler ate it so fast I’m surprised she didn’t make herself sick. I used real garlic instead of powder, though.
So glad it was toddler-approved! That’s always a tough one! Thank you for sharing, Nina! 🙂
This was so easy to make! Very delicious and a big hit with my family. I added shrimp and chicken to increase the protein. This will be my go to recipe going forward.
Love the addition of the shrimp and chicken! Glad it was a hit with your family! Thanks for sharing, Faye! 🙂
This was delicious. I added frozen peas and low-fat turkey breast to up my protein. It will definitely be part of my go-to recipe list.
Delicious. Thanks so much, Patty!
Absolutely delicious.
Great! Thanks so much for your review, Bre!