My cottage cheese hamburger helper recipe is better than the boxed favorite you can get at the grocery store, and packed with protein, veggies, and comfort food vibes. You’ll absolutely love the creamy, high-protein sauce that sticks perfectly to the macaroni noodles and ground beef. I don’t say this lightly, but this recipe truly is comfort food at its finest! Make it for your next easy weeknight meal ❤️.
Protein-packed: 29g of protein per serving to be exact!
Super creamy sauce: Blended cottage cheese not only packs protein, but it’s super creamy and sticks to the noodles really well.
Comfort food you can feel good about: It’s all about comfort food recipes during the winter months, and this one is exactly that! Plus, it packs protein, veggies and amazing flavor to boot.
Protein Hamburger Helper Ingredients
- Ground beef: I prefer using 80/20 ground beef, but any fat percentage of beef will work.
- Veggies and spices: Carrots, white onion, peas, garlic cloves and dried thyme is all you’ll need. I like to mince the carrots and onion, so the pieces are smaller (and so my toddler is more likely to eat it!).
- Elbow macaroni: Macaroni noodles are quintessential to hamburger helper, but technically you can use any variety of pasta you’d like.
- Tomato paste and tomato sauce: The combination of tomato sauce and paste gives this hamburger helper both flavor and thickness.
- Beef broth: I’ve tested this recipe with beef broth and chicken broth, and both work! The flavor of the beef broth was richer and deeper. If you choose to go the chicken or vegetable broth route, you may need to add a bit more salt to compensate.
- Cottage cheese and shredded cheddar cheese: You’ll need both for the creamy hamburger helper sauce. It adds protein, creamy flavor and sticks to the noodles incredibly well.
- Meat: I know that the “hamburger” in hamburger helper calls for ground beef, but I also tested this recipe with ground turkey and chicken and they were both delicious.
- Veggies: Feel free to add other veggies such as minced bell pepper or minced celery.
- Broth: Veggie and chicken broth both work. You may need to adjust the salt content if you substitute for either of these.
Serving Suggestions
This cottage cheese hamburger helper is delicious and served with shredded cheese and minced fresh parsley. I’ve eaten it with a dollop of Greek yogurt/sour cream and hot sauce, too. Delish!
Store this pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
More High Protein Pasta Recipes
-
Heat the avocado oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook until the onions are translucent, about 4 minutes.
-
Add the garlic, tomato paste, and thyme, and cook for an additional minute. Add beef and partially cook.
-
Next, add the noodles, tomato sauce, and broth to the pan. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Stir, cover, and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the noodles are al dente.
-
Remove from the heat and stir in the peas, cottage cheese, and cheddar. Place the lid back on and let sit for 3-5 minutes.
-
Remove the lid and stir again. Serve with a little more cheese sprinkled on top.
- I used elbow macaroni noodles in this recipe. You could use any short noodle in this recipe.
- If the noodles are still too hard once the 15 minutes is up, add ½ cup of broth and simmer for 5 more minutes.
Calories: 532 kcal, Carbohydrates: 44 g, Protein: 29 g, Fat: 27 g, Fiber: 5 g, Sugar: 9 g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.