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This high protein pasta recipe packs in over 40 grams of protein per serving. Cozy, comforting, and made in just ONE dish, I love how quickly it comes together.
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 high-protein powerhouse.
As the name implies, high-protein pasta is specifically made to be higher in protein. While traditional pasta is made from wheat flour, some brands omit the wheat and enhance their pasta with protein-rich ingredients like soy, chickpeas, or lentils.
Essentially a cheesy pasta bake, I use pasta with added protein and make a few select swaps to add even more protein and richness to an already hearty dish.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Ready in minutes. Just boil the pasta, cook the meat, layer everything, and let it bake.
- Easy to customize. Like low calorie pasta, this recipe is delicious as is, but can easily be customized with whatever mix-ins or sauces you prefer.
- Made with real ingredients. No protein powders or funky substitutes are needed. Just real pasta and real, protein-packed ingredients.
- No sacrificing flavor. From the rich cheese sauce to the hearty pasta and meat sauce, this recipe has all the same tastes and textures as standard pasta, with double the protein and half the carbs.
Looking for more high protein main dishes? Try protein pizza, protein mac and cheese, and Philly cheesesteak casserole.
Key Ingredients
- Protein pasta. Any high protein pasta can be used, including penne, rigatoni, and elbows. I find chickpea pasta keeps the best consistency. In terms of brands, I like Barilla and Banza.
- Olive oil. To saute the meat sauce.
- Onion and garlic. Key ingredients in any good pasta sauce!
- Lean ground beef. Adds the most amount of protein and the least amount of fat.
- Marinara or pasta sauce. Skip the expensive and sugar-laden grocery store brands and make your own pomodoro sauce or sugo.
- Italian seasoning. What is pasta or pizza without Italian seasonings?
- Eggs. To add richness and protein to the cheese sauce. Use room-temperature eggs.
- Greek yogurt. Adds creaminess and thickness to the cheesy layer while providing 14 grams of protein.
- Cottage cheese; Non-fat and smooth cottage cheese (unless you prefer a chunkier sauce!). This adds an extra 25 grams of protein.
- Parmesan cheese. Freshly grated, not the shelf-stable kind!
- Mozzarella cheese. To cover the top of the pasta.
How to make high protein pasta
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Cook pasta. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, then drain and set aside.
Step 2- Make the meat sauce. 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 3- Make the cheese layer. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, fresh parsley, Greek yogurt, parmesan cheese, and cottage cheese.
Step 4- Assemble. In a baking dish, layer meat sauce, half the pasta, cottage cheese mix, and the mozzarella. Repeat with the remaining pasta and cheese mix, then top with meat sauce and mozzarella.
Step 5- Bake for 40 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Cook the pasta for longer. Pasta high in protein takes slightly longer to cook than regular pasta, so keep that in mind and follow the package directions.
- Oil the pasta. I find drizzling a little oil over the drained pasta helps to prevent it from sticking together while I cook the meat 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.
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.
Reheating: Microwave the pasta for 30-40 seconds or reheat in a preheated oven until warm.
More pasta recipes to try
- Seafood pasta
- Seafood lasagna
- Lasagna with cottage cheese
- Boursin cheese pasta
- Gigi Hadid pasta
- Healthy pasta
Protein Pasta
Video
Ingredients
- 14.5 ounces protein pasta uncooked, see notes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 24 ounces marinara sauce
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup parsley finely chopped
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt plain and non fat
- 1 cup parmesan cheese freshly grated
- 1 pound cottage cheese
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
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 golden brown in spots. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with fresh parsley and slice and serve.
Notes
- Barilla Protein plus pasta. Comes in a variety of shapes, including penne, elbow, farfalle, and rotini. Each serving provides 10 grams of protein.
- Banza protein pasta. Made from chickpea flour, this brand packs in 23 grams of protein per serving.
- Modern table pasta. Made from lentils, each serving provides 20 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber.
Nutrition
Originally published January 2022, updated and republished March 2025
Can I also ude normal pasta with lots of cottage cheese etc? Its still high protein.
I made this recipe this week. Just changed Greek yoghurt for normal yoghurt. Still it was veeery good!
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 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!