Chicken, broccoli and cottage cheese pasta bake
45 min · 64 g protein · 590 cals / serving
The family pasta bake, made high-protein: wholewheat penne and broccoli in a creamy cheese sauce that is really cottage cheese and milk blended smooth with garlic, mustard and cheddar, with golden seared chicken folded through and a cheddar and parmesan top baked until bubbling. Nobody will taste the cottage cheese; it freezes in portions for the busy weeks.
Ingredients
- 7 oz whole wheat pasta, wholewheat penne or fusilli
- 1 1/3 lb frozen chopped broccoli, frozen florets
- 1 lb 2 oz chicken breast, in bite-size pieces
- 1 tsp paprika
- 3/4 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp salt, divided
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp canola oil
Cottage cheese sauce
- 2 cups cottage cheese (1%), low-fat
- 1 cup 1% milk
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 3/4 cup grated reduced fat cheddar cheese, mature (extra-sharp), divided
Topping
- 3 tbsp grated parmesan
Steps
- Heat the oven to 430°F (390°F fan, 425°F) and bring a large pot of salted water to the boil (a kettle speeds it up).
- Cook the pasta 2 minutes less than the packet says, adding the broccoli for the last 3 minutes. Drain and tip back into the pot.
- Meanwhile, toss the chicken with the paprika, garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the chicken 6–7 minutes, turning, until golden and 165°F inside.
- Blend the cottage cheese, milk, garlic, mustard and the rest of the salt until completely smooth, about 1 minute (a stick blender in a jug works). Stir in half the cheddar.
- Fold the sauce and chicken through the pasta and broccoli, tip into a baking dish about 23 × 33 cm (9 × 13 inches) and scatter with the rest of the cheddar and the parmesan. Bake 15 minutes until bubbling and golden at the edges.
- Let it stand 3 minutes before serving. It keeps 3 days in the fridge and freezes for 3 months in portions; reheat covered, with a splash of milk, until steaming in the middle.
Good to know
Will it taste of cottage cheese?
No: blended until completely smooth it becomes a mild, creamy white sauce, and the mustard and cheddar make it taste like cheese sauce. Blend it properly; a lumpy sauce is the one giveaway.
White pasta for fussy eaters?
Ordinary penne works the same way and tastes milder, at about the same score; wholewheat simply adds a little more fibre.
Can I use chicken thighs?
Yes, they are cheaper and juicier, at about 62 instead of 67. Or skip the searing altogether with 14 oz of shredded leftover roast chicken, stirred in with the sauce.
Per
- Calories
- 107
- Protein
- (44%)
- 12 g
- Fat
- (24%)
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- (32%)
- 9 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 245 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 2359 kcal goes into the pot and 2171 g of ingredients comes out as about 2195 g of food: 107 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.