Protein Pasta Recipe
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My high protein pasta recipe has over 40 grams of protein per serving. The pasta is baked with a tomato meat sauce and three kinds of cheese. It’s perfect for meal prep and weeknight dinners.
Since I started tracking my protein, I’ve had to pay attention to one of my favorite meals, pasta, and find a way to transform it into a protein-packed dinner.
I tested a few different high-protein pastas from the grocery store to make sure they tasted and cooked like real pasta. While they did, simply swapping in pasta wasn’t enough to make it truly satisfying. Instead, I added a meat-and-cheese sauce to round it out.
I call this my triple-threat high protein pasta bake because it adds protein in three key ways: the protein pasta itself, the meat sauce, and the creamy cheese sauce. Everything is baked together in one dish, and with at least 40 grams of protein per serving, it’s a balanced, satisfying meal I feel good about serving my family.
Table of Contents
Why this high protein pasta recipe works
Quick and easy: With a busy family and schedule, I’m all about fuss-free dinners. For this, you boil the pasta, cook the meat, layer everything, and then bake it. That is it!
Made with real ingredients: No protein powders or funky substitutes are needed—just authentic pasta and real, protein-packed ingredients.
Meal prep-friendly: I often make a double batch of the pasta for quick, easy lunches throughout the week. It also reheats like a dream, so you can freeze the uncooked pasta until you’re ready to serve.
Key Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients. These are a few points about the main ones:
- Protein pasta. Any high-protein pasta can be used, including penne, rigatoni, and elbows. I find chickpea pasta keeps the best consistency.
Protein pasta brands
There are several popular brands of protein pasta, and their protein content ranges from 10 grams per serving to 23 grams per serving. Here are my favorite options I’ve tested:
Barilla Protein Plus pasta. I find this cooks most like traditional wheat pasta and has a mild flavor. It’s great for picky eaters. 10g protein per serving.
Banza protein pasta. Made from chickpeas and packs in 23g of protein per serving. It’s slightly firmer, so cook it to al dente.
Modern table pasta. Lentil-based with 20g protein and 5g fiber per serving. It’s hearty and filling, but I find it softens quickly if overcooked. I loved this, but my partner said it tasted rubbery.
- Meat sauce. It’s essentially a Bolognese sauce with lean ground beef, garlic, onion, and tomato sauce. I like to make my own pomodoro sauce or sugo so I can control the sodium and sugar levels.
- Cheese sauce. The eggs help bind everything, while cottage cheese and Greek yogurt add creaminess and extra protein, without making it heavy.
- Mozzarella cheese. To cover the top of the pasta.
How to make high protein pasta bake
Step 1- Heat olive oil in a skillet. Sauté onion and garlic for 2 minutes, then add ground beef and cook until browned. Stir in marinara sauce and Italian seasonings; cook until warm.
Step 2- In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, fresh parsley, Greek yogurt, parmesan cheese, and cottage cheese.
Step 3 – In a baking dish, layer the meat sauce, half of the pasta, the cottage cheese mix, and the mozzarella. Repeat this process with the remaining pasta and cheese mixture, then top with the meat sauce and mozzarella.
Step 4- Bake for 40 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Cook the pasta to al dente. High-protein and legume-based pastas cook differently from traditional wheat pasta, so follow the package directions closely. I recommend slightly undercooking it to prevent it from becoming mushy as it bakes. I learned in culinary school that al dente pasta is best for pasta bakes.
- Oil the pasta. Drizzle a little olive oil over the drained pasta and toss gently to prevent sticking while you prepare the sauce.
- Add more protein. In addition to the ground beef, toss in air fryer meatballs, shredded rotisserie chicken, or ground Italian sausage.
- Amp up the veggies like spinach, bell peppers, onion, Swiss chard, tomatoes, or garlic for extra fiber and flavor. I like sauteing them first to remove excess moisture.
Storage instructions
To store: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 5 days.
To freeze: Place the cooled protein pasta in an airtight container (or individual containers) and store it in the freezer for up to 6 months. Let it cool completely first, to prevent ice crystals.
Reheating: Microwave the pasta for 30-40 seconds or reheat in a preheated oven until warm.
More high protein pasta recipes
- Cottage cheese pasta sauce (with rigatoni)
- Cottage cheese lasagna
- Cottage cheese alfredo
- Seafood pasta
- Seafood lasagna
- Healthy pasta
Protein Pasta
Video
Ingredients
- 14.5 ounces protein pasta 410g, uncooked, see notes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil 15ml
- 2 cloves garlic 6g, minced
- 1 large onion 160g, chopped
- 1 pound lean ground beef 450g
- 24 ounces marinara sauce 680g
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning 7g
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup parsley 12g, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt 120g, plain and non fat
- 1 cup parmesan cheese 100g, freshly grated
- 1 pound cottage cheese 450g
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese 110g
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking dish and set aside.
- Cook the pasta as per package instructions. Once cooked, drain it and set aside.
- In a medium pan, add the olive oil and place it over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes, until fragrant. Add the lean ground beef and break apart and cook until no longer pink. Add the marinara sauce and Italian seasonings and and cook until the sauce is warm. Remove from the heat.
- In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, fresh parsley, Greek yogurt, parmesan cheese and cottage cheese.
- Add a thin layer of the meat sauce onto the base of the baking dish then add half the cooked pasta, then half the cottage cheese mixture, then a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese. Add the remaining half of the cooked pasta, followed by the remaining cottage cheese mix. Pour the remaining meat sauce all over the top, then the remaining mozzarella cheese.
- Bake everything for 35-40 minutes, until the cheese has melted and is golden brown in spots. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with fresh parsley and slice and serve.
Absolutely love it!
Thanks so much, Kayla!
I love this protein pasta as part of my meal prep (I love it cold hehe). My picky boyfriend requests it every week.
Thanks so much for the lovely feedback, Marla- I am like you, and enjoy baked pasta dishes cold too!
This was delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Can I also ude normal pasta with lots of cottage cheese etc? Its still high protein.
Yes, you can. Although I think you may also enjoy my cottage cheese alfredo recipe (it’s lots of pasta and cottage cheese sauce). https://thebigmansworld.com/cottage-cheese-alfredo/
I made this recipe this week. Just changed Greek yoghurt for normal yoghurt. Still it was veeery good!
That would work beautifully!
This sounds as so healthy and high protein meal. Great to try this while working intense job.
Best protein pasta recipe ever!
This recipe is downright awesome, I’ve made it three times already and enjoy it thoroughly every time, as does my husband who’s not as big on “healthy” options as me. I cannot believe the portion size you get for those calories!! I used low-carb pasta in mine for lower calories, and it’s still just as delicious.
I just made was so good. What exactly is the portion size y we should get? I was confused about that but it was delicious.
I love this recipe, have made it several times. A+
I am a sports Dietitian and I made this recipe for one of the soccer team’s I consult for. It tasted delicious and was a great meal to fuel their energy stores for their two games the next day. We have a vegetarian so even with swapping out the meat for sautéed veggies it tasted great and still had a good amount of protein. Will be using again! Thank you!
This is my favorite way to enjoy high protein pasta. Easy to make and best meal prep.
THIS WAS AMAZING!!! So satisfying to eat a protein pasta dish that is actually really good for you! It was super filling, too. We used lasagna sheets rather than pasta and made it an actual lasagna (using the cottage cheese rather than ricotta- so much healthier). I loved this and so did my husband. Thank you!