Looking for a fun way to test out the high protein cottage cheese macaroni trend? You’re in the right place. This Hawaiian style mac salad combines blended cottage cheese with traditional grated carrots and onions, macaroni, and a few spices to make a low calorie side dish perfect for teriyaki chicken or any occasion.
Ingredients for High Protein Macaroni Salad
You will need cooked macaroni, and you’re welcome to use any high protein, fiber-rich pasta like chickpea or lentil pasta. Just keep in mind, this mac salad is served chilled and some of the protein pastas can get a bit claggy in the refrigerator.
In addition to the cooked macaroni, you will need a white onion and a couple of carrots to grate into the cooked macaroni. The raw veggies provide some punchy flavors and texture that’s really great. If you have picky eaters in the house, you can omit the veggies and maybe substitute with a bit of onion powder.
Traditional macaroni salad of any kind is made with mayo, and lots of it. This recipe calls for a much smaller amount of mayo (it’s hard to replicate) and a cottage cheese mayo-substitute. Blending cottage cheese and mixing it with a bit of honey, dijon mustard, white pepper, and the vinegar that’s in the macaroni mixture gets close to mayo with a fraction of the calories.
It’s worth mentioning, you can tweak the amounts to fit your desired flavor profile. Hawaiian macaroni salad is much sweeter and less tangy than traditional southern macaroni salad. If you want to increase the amount of honey and skip the dijon altogether, go right ahead. You can also include other ingredients like mirin, if you like.
If you dislike cottage cheese, stick with me. I’m not a fan either. But I’ve used it to make all kinds of dishes like queso and protein mac and cheese that I really enjoy.
Part of the beauty of this recipe, in particular, is that the cooked macaroni goes in a bowl with the vinegar and veggies to slightly cool before the blended cottage cheese is added. So there are no concerns about curdling or proteins separating from interactions between the dairy and heat or acidity.
Once everything is added together, all that’s left is to salt and pepper to taste. Which might be the most important step of all, and I’m afraid many people skip or undervalue the importance of. Don’t forget!
What to Serve with Hawaiian Mac Salad
The Hawaiian plate lunch is where you typically find macaroni salad. Proteins like teriyaki chicken or kalua pork are served with mac salad and rice.
And you can’t go wrong with this serving style. This mac salad would work great alongside everything from grilled chicken to braised and shredded pork or beef, chicken katsu, or any other tasty proteins.
If you’re on a low calorie diet and don’t have room for both macaroni salad and rice, make something like high volume rice with bone broth jasmine rice and cauliflower rice.
I would love to hear how you serve this high protein macaroni salad. Let me know in the comments or a recipe review. And if you have any questions about ingredient substitutions or cooking methods, you can leave them in the comments as well.
High Protein Macaroni Salad (Hawaiian Style)
A high protein spin on Hawaiian style mac salad made with blended cottage cheese mayo, grated carrots and onion, honey, and spices.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Macaroni
- 2 small Carrots, peeled and finely grated
- 1/2 medium White Onion, grated or minced (optional)
- 2 Tablespoons Cider Vinegar or Rice Vinegar
- 1-2 handfuls Scallions or Chives, thinly sliced (optional)
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
For the Sauce
- 2 cups Low Fat Cottage Cheese
- 1/4 cup Milk
- 1/4 cup Mayo (or light mayo)
- 1 Tablespoon Honey
- 1-2 teaspoons Coarse Dijon Mustard, to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon White Pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil before salting and cooking the pasta until al dente.
- While the macaroni cooks, add the sauce ingredients to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth and set aside.
- Add the carrots, onion, and vinegar to a large bowl.
- Once the pasta is cooked, strain the water and add to the bowl with the veggies and vinegar. Toss everything together.
- Add the cottage cheese sauce and gently fold everything together. Salt and pepper to taste and add any chives or scallions, if desired.
- Cover the assembled macaroni salad with cling film and refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours before serving.
Notes
You can reduce the fat and calories per serving by swapping Kewpie mayo for light mayo. Each serving with light mayo has 185 calories, 9 grams of protein, 31 grams of carbs, and 3 grams of fat.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 3/4 cup (about 145g)Amount Per Serving: Calories: 210Total Fat: 5gCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 9g
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