This chicken Alfredo without heavy cream has all the cozy comfort of the classic, made lighter with a smooth, velvety sauce blended from cottage cheese. It’s packed with protein, made with simple ingredients, and comes together in about 30 minutes—perfect for an easy, family-friendly dinner.
Why You’ll Love This High Protein Chicken Alfredo Pasta
- Blended cottage cheese makes this creamy sauce smooth and rich, just like classic Alfredo, without heavy cream
- Chicken and cottage cheese make this recipe both high protein and satisfying
- Made with simple ingredients and ready in about 30 minutes
- A healthy dinner that’s family and kid-approved.
Jump to:
- Why You’ll Love This High Protein Chicken Alfredo Pasta
- Chicken Alfredo without cream
- Ingredient notes
- What Makes This Alfredo High Protein?
- How to make high protein chicken Alfredo
- Storage and Reheating Tips
- What Pasta Shape Works Best For Alfredo?
- Variations and Substitutions
- Tips for the Creamiest Alfredo Sauce
- More high protein pasta recipes
- Recipe
- You may also like
- Meet the Author
Chicken Alfredo without cream
All the cozy, creamy, twirl-your-fork-around-it vibes of classic chicken Alfredo—just without the heavy cream. The secret? Blended cottage cheese. It transforms into a silky, rich Alfredo sauce that tastes indulgent but feels surprisingly light.
Packed with protein, this healthy chicken Alfredo is the kind of dinner that actually keeps you full—not reaching for snacks an hour later. No fuss, no complicated steps, just simple ingredients and about 30 minutes from start to finish. And like my other lightened-up comfort food favorites—Cottage Cheese Buffalo Chicken Dip and Ground Turkey Shepherd’s Pie—it’s a guaranteed, family-approved win at the table.
Ingredient notes
- Pasta - fettuccine or linguine works best
- Cottage cheese - full or low-fat; I like Good Culture
- Milk - diary or unsweetened plant-based
- Grated parmesan cheese - use fresh parmesan and grate it yourself for best results
- Fresh garlic clove - minced
- Corn starch - or tapioca flour
- Nutritional yeast (optional) - for color and cheesy flavor
- Fresh parsley - finely chopped, for garnish
- Chicken - boneless skinless chicken breast or one large breast, cut in half lengthwise
- Chicken Seasoning - You can use my Homemade Chicken seasoning or your favorite store brand
See recipe card for quantities.
What Makes This Alfredo High Protein?
Traditional Alfredo sauce is made with heavy cream, butter, and cheese, which makes it rich, but not very high in protein. This version swaps the heavy cream for blended cottage cheese, which adds a significant protein boost while still creating a smooth, creamy sauce.
Chicken breast, parmesan cheese and milk add even more protein to this dish. One serving has 38 grams of protein. If you want even more, swap regular pasta for high protein pasta.
How to make high protein chicken Alfredo
- Step 1: Season the chicken on both sides.
- Step 2: Bake for 25 minutes in 400 degrees.
- Step 3: Blend cottage cottage cheese, milk, parmesan cheese, corn starch, salt, pepper and nutritional yeast until smooth.
- Step 4: Cook minced garlic in olive oil, then add the blended sauce and simmer until hot and bubbly.
- Step 5: Cook pasta according to package instructions and reserve some pasta cooking water. Add cooked pasta to sauce.
- Step 6: Stir together and thin the sauce with reserved pasta water or milk, if needed.
- Step 7: Serve topped with sliced baked chicken and fresh parsley.
Storage and Reheating Tips
- The sauce thickens in fridge, so you’ll want to add a small splash of milk when reheating.
- Reheat the sauce on the stove, low and slow so it doesn’t split.
- Freezing any leftover sauce is not recommended as the texture will be affected.
What Pasta Shape Works Best For Alfredo?
Fettuccine is the classic choice for Alfredo and that’s what I’m using in the photos. The wide, flat noodles hold onto the creamy sauce really well, giving you that perfect, silky bite every time.
That said, other shapes work just as well depending on what you have on hand:
- Linguine - slightly thinner than fettuccine but still great for a smooth, creamy sauce
- Farfalle (bowtie) - catches the sauce in all the folds and adds a little texture
- Penne, shells or fusilli - the ridges help grip the sauce, making every bite extra flavorful. I used fusilli in my cottage cheese Alfredo recipe post
Variations and Substitutions
- You can use shrimp or salmon instead of chicken
- Make a vegetarian version - top it with roasted or steamed vegetables, such as broccoli or squash and zucchini
- Use different pasta (high protein, gluten free, whole wheat)
- Shortcut - use leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken
Tips for the Creamiest Alfredo Sauce
- Blend the sauce well, and use pasta water as needed.
- Don’t overheat and don't let the sauce boil or it may split. Just gently heat it up.
- Use freshly grated parmesan to get the best meltability and texture.
More high protein pasta recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Recipe
High Protein Chicken Alfredo
Ingredients
- 10 oz pasta fettuccine, farafelle or linguine - see notes
- 1 cup low fat cottage cheese
- 1 cup milk of choice
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 teaspoon corn starch or tapioca flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley as garnish
For the chicken
- 10 oz boneless skinless chicken breast or one large breast, cut in half lenghwise
- 2 teaspoon chicken seasoning
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve about ½ cup of pasta water, then drain.
- Cook the chicken. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the chicken in a medium bowl, add olive oil and season with chicken seasoning on both sides. Mix to coat. Place the seasoned chicken on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes.
- Make the sauce while the chicken is baking. In a blender, combine cottage cheese, milk, parmesan cheese, cornstarch, salt, black pepper, and nutritional yeast (if using).Blend until completely smooth.
- Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large skillet. Add minced garlic and cook, stirring for about 2 minutes. Cook, stirring frequently, until warmed through and slightly thickened, about 3–5 minutes. Do not let it boil.
- Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and toss to coat. Add a splash of reserved pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce.
- Top pasta with sliced cooked chicken and garnish with fresh parsley. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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Meet the Author
Hi, I'm Agnieszka. I'm a mom of three and recipe developer, writer and photographer behind Wholly Tasteful. I love creating comforting, delicious, family-friendly recipes that you can feel good about.
Sophia says
I was so excited to try this high protein version, especially since I had cottage cheese in the fridge. I would definitely make this again. The heavy cream in regular recipes is well, too heavy for me.
Jason says
I was pleasantly surprised by this! I wasn't sure how to feel about alfredo with no cream, but it's really good.
Janda says
This is a new favorite for me. I love the richness without having to use heavy cream.
Harlow says
This is a smart, lighter take on Alfredo. Using things like cottage cheese or yogurt for the sauce is such a great way to boost protein and still get that rich texture!
Bogusia says
A delicious and healthy dish