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This Cottage Cheese Alfredo Sauce is so easy to make in just 5 minutes in your blender! It’s packed with protein and is the perfect creamy, cheesy sauce to compliment any pasta. No heavy cream or butter needed!
What Makes This Recipe Great
Growing up, I would order fettuccine alfredo every time we went to a restaurant. It’s one of my favorite pasta dishes, however it would sometimes leave me feeling bloated and awful thanks to the heavy cream and butter. Not to mention, usually it’s made with flour, which is not gluten free. This Cottage Cheese Alfredo sauce is a lightened up version that tastes just like traditional Alfredo sauce with just a few simple substitutions. It is the perfect comfort food and comes together quickly right in your blender! This healthy alfredo sauce recipe is creamy, cheesy, and simply delightful tossed with your favorite pasta! It’s also packed with protein from the cottage cheese. I feel like cottage cheese recipes are all the rage right now, and for good reason. Make sure to check out my Cottage Cheese Ranch Dip and Tik Tok Alfredo Bake, too!
Recipe Highlights
- Gluten free
- Easy to make
- Minimal prep and cook time
- Versatile – works with any pasta or veggie noodle
- Made with simple ingredients
- Protein-packed
- The perfect sauce for chicken and shrimp, too!
- The best creamy pasta sauce for the whole family
- Made right in your blender
Ingredient Notes
Cottage cheese: This is the star of the show! Even if you are not a cottage cheese fan, I bet you will love this cottage cheese alfredo. The curds get blended up and the sauce is smooth and creamy, so you will not even be able to tell it’s cottage cheese. My favorite brand is Good Culture. It’s made with great ingredients and the texture is incredible.
Milk: You can use any milk for this recipe. I like to use the Fairlife milk for added protein, but almond milk, coconut milk, oat milk, or regular milk work, too.
Parmesan cheese: I like to use grated parmesan for the best texture. It melts easily into the sauce.
Arrowroot powder: This is kind of like cornstarch and helps to thicken up the alfredo sauce.
Gluten Free Pasta: Jovial Foods is my favorite brand. Their tagliatelle works great with this recipe. You can also use a low carb option like hearts of palm pasta or zucchini noodles, instead. Feel free to use chickpea pasta or another protein pasta substitute for additional protein.
Italian seasoning: This is optional, but I like the flavor it adds to the sauce.
How To Make Cottage Cheese Alfredo
Step 1
Cook the pasta according to package directions, drain, and set aside. Add all ingredients (except pasta) into your blender.
Step 2
Blend on high for 30-60 seconds or until you have a smooth and creamy sauce. You can also use a food processor if you do not have a blender.
Step 3
Pour the cottage cheese pasta sauce into a skillet. Add the cooked pasta on top of the cold sauce.
Step 4
Turn the stove to medium-low heat and toss the pasta with the sauce. It will thicken as it warms up over the course of 2-3 minutes!
Serve topped with fresh parsley and more parmesan cheese.
Tips, Tricks & Variations
Storage: I do not recommend making the sauce on its own and storing. The texture may change when you reheat it. For best results, toss with the pasta as it warms up. You can store leftover cottage cheese alfredo pasta mixed with the sauce in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freezing: I do not recommend freezing this creamy alfredo sauce.
Sauce texture: It is important to follow the steps mentioned and add the cooked pasta on top of the cold sauce, then toss together over medium low heat. Otherwise, the sauce could curdle if you heat it first before adding the hot pasta. If you want to make the sauce on its own, simply whisk over medium low heat until you have a slightly thickened, smooth sauce.
Spicy: If you want to add a little heat, add 1 tsp red pepper flakes to the sauce before blending!
Chicken alfredo: To add more protein, follow the method for making the chicken (and broccoli) in this recipe, and add them in once you’ve made the cottage cheese Alfredo. Adding in fresh spinach and tossing with the pasta and sauce until wilted is also a great option!
Alternative to cottage cheese: I haven’t tested it, but Kite Hill cream cheese could potentially work in place of the cottage cheese, and nutritional yeast in place of the parmesan.
Recipe FAQ’s
Unfortunately I haven’t tested this recipe with anything else. However, you could try to use cream cheese or Kite Hill dairy free cream cheese in its place.
Kite Hill cream cheese could work as an alternative to cottage cheese in this recipe, however it might not have quite the same taste and texture.
Yes, I typically use 2% milk fat cottage cheese, but lower fat should work, as well. Full fat will result in a creamier sauce.
More Gluten Free Pasta Recipes
High Protein Cottage Cheese Alfredo Sauce Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup cottage cheese, I like to use Good Culture 2%
- 1 cup milk, I used Fairlife milk for added protein, but almond milk works, too
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp arrowroot powder
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 12 oz gluten free pasta, I used Jovial Foods Tagliatelle
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, combine all sauce ingredients in a high speed blender.
- Blend on high for 30-60 seconds until smooth and creamy.
- Pour the sauce into a large skillet.
- Add the cooked pasta. Turn on the heat (after adding the pasta) and set it to medium low. Toss the pasta with the sauce for 2-3 minutes. It will thicken as you toss it. Enjoy topped with fresh parsley!
Notes
Nutrition
All nutrition facts are an estimate and automatically calculated. While I fact check them using My Fitness Pal, please note that they may not always be 100% accurate and depend on ingredients used. Weigh your total and divide by the number of servings for the most accurate grams per serving size.
I was skeptical but it’s so easy and delicious! I didn’t have any arrowroot powder so I just added the milk slowly until it reached desired thickness. I added some spinach and roasted some broccoli. So excited about this recipe will definitely be in my regular meals.
The flavor for this recipe was excellent! I nixxed the arrow root and didn’t replace it with anything but I wish I had used a little corn starch, my sauce was loose. Solved it by undercooking the noodles a tad and continuing them in the sauce. That was on me. My husband RAVED about the flavor.
We made this recipe and everyone loved it. Both adults and kids. We used Heavy Cream instead of milk and made Shrimp and mushroom over Spaghetti squash. Love this recipe.
Hi, this was tasty when served freshly made. Thank you for the recipe!
Since I’ve stored the sauce tossed in pasta to eat at later, is which is the best method to reheat: via microwave or on the stove?
This worked exactly as written, thanks!