High-Protein Mac & Cheese

Make it

1. Boil the pasta. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the 6 oz of pasta to the time on the box. If you're using chickpea or lentil pasta, check it a minute early — protein pastas can go soft fast. Before you drain, scoop out about 1/2 cup of the pasta water and set it aside; that starchy water helps loosen the sauce later.
2. If you're adding chicken, warm it now. Toss the diced cooked chicken in a small pan (or the microwave) just to heat through. Pre-cooked rotisserie or last night's leftovers make this a 2-minute step.
3. Build the cheese sauce. Drain the pasta and return it to the warm pot off the heat. Add the 1 tablespoon of butter and stir until it melts, then add the shredded cheddar a handful at a time, stirring so it melts evenly into a glossy coat. Splash in pasta water as needed if it looks thick.
4. Stir in the protein boost — off the heat. This is the key move. With the pot off the burner, fold in the Greek yogurt (or cottage cheese). Keeping it off direct heat stops it from splitting or going grainy. Stir until the sauce is creamy and even. Add the chicken now if using.
5. Season and loosen. Add the garlic powder, a pinch of salt, and black pepper. If the sauce tightened up, stir in a splash more pasta water until it's silky and coats every noodle.
6. Serve hot. Mac and cheese waits for no one — it firms up as it cools. Scoop into two bowls and eat while it's creamy.

Tips to make it better

• Cottage cheese, blended, is the secret weapon. If the curds bug you, blitz the cottage cheese smooth with a few seconds in a blender or with an immersion blender before stirring it in. You'll never know it's there — just a richer, creamier sauce with a protein jump.
• Sneak in some color. Stir a couple handfuls of frozen peas or chopped broccoli into the boiling pasta for the last 2 minutes. They cook right alongside the noodles and you get veggies with zero extra dishes.
• Want it extra cheesy without thinning the sauce? Use sharp cheddar instead of mild — you get more flavor per handful, so a little goes further and the sauce stays thick.

The whole trick is one rule: add the yogurt or cottage cheese with the heat OFF. Hot enough to warm through, never hot enough to boil — that's how it stays creamy instead of curdled.