If you are looking for a way to make a pasta bake more nutritious, AND more flavourful, then you need to try adding cottage cheese, just as I do with this chicken mince one. You’ll start by cooking this bake as a one pot pasta dish, then add it to an oven dish and top with a layer of cottage cheese, followed by a layer of grated cheddar cheese and finally, bake it in the oven.

Chicken and cottage cheese pasta bake - with chicken mince

I use chicken mince for this bake because it’s the easiest way to add chicken to a pasta one pot AND because I think it works best texture wise. With its tomato sauce, plus a few handfuls of spinach, along with the cottage cheese topping, this really is a nutrient packed pasta bake. It’s also an easy one to make and you’ll only have one pan and one oven dish to wash up after dinner.

If you have a toddler, weaning baby or fussy eater and are wondering how to adapt this chicken mince pasta bake for your family, see here >

The Stars of my Chicken and Cottage Cheese Pasta Bake

Chicken

As I said above, I find minced (or ground) meats work much better in one pot pasta dishes so we are using chicken mince. Go for minced chicken breast if there is a choice between that and thigh.

Pasta

You’ll want to go for fusilli / rotini pasta. Note that if you do use a different type of pasta, the cooking timings may differ. If you use a shape that takes longer to cook than fusilli / rotini, you’ll need to add on a couple extra minutes when you are doing the first part of the cook on the stove.

Tinned Tomatoes

Either tinned chopped tomatoes or finely chopped/crushed will work. If you have someone in the family who doesn’t like big chunks of tomatoes, go for finely chopped or crushed.

Spinach

I like to use fresh, baby leaf spinach but you could also use frozen spinach. When you are doing the first stove part of the cook, just make sure you allow all the water to come out of the spinach and then to be cooked away.

Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese is very nutritious, providing several essential vitamins and minerals and is also high in protein, making it a great ingredient to add into meals where you can. I recommend you go for full-fat cottage cheese as it has a higher protein content than fat-free. If you are on a strict diet, you can use fat-free.

FAQ’s For My Chicken and Cottage Cheese Pasta Bake

Can I prepare this Chicken and Cottage Cheese Pasta Bake in advance?

You could prepare the onion, garlic and cheddar in advance and store them in the fridge. The seasonings could also be pre-prepared and left out at room temperature, covered.

Could I part cook it in advance?

Yes, you could do all the stove top cooking then add it to a large oven proof dish, leave it to cool (within 2 hours), then layer on the cottage cheese and the cheddar, cover with clingfilm / plastic wrap and refrigerate. You will need to bring it close to room temperature by taking it out the fridge 1 hour before you are ready to bake it. You could also freeze it before baking it, but you would need to defrost it in the fridge for at least 24 hours, then take it out the fridge 1 hour before you are ready to bake it.

Can I feed more people with this bake?

This recipe already feeds at least 5 adults. You can stretch it out further by serving it with garlic bread and salad to at least 6 adults. If you wanted to feed even more than that, you can double the recipe, but you need to bear in mind that the stove cooking portion will take longer. You’ll need to allow at least an extra 5 minutes for the liquid to cook away. You’ll also need to have 2 large oven dishes to bake it in.

Can I Store Chicken and Cottage Cheese Pasta Bake leftovers?

You can store any Chicken and Cottage Cheese Pasta Bake leftovers in an air-tight container or resealable food bag in the fridge for up to 3 days (cook day + 2). Leftovers can also be frozen, just defrost for 24 hours in the fridge and reheat in the microwave, stirring halfway, until steaming hot all the way through.

More on safe food storage and reheating.

What diets is this recipe suitable for?

My Chicken and Cottage Cheese Pasta Bake is nut and egg free (so long as you use dried pasta).

Family meals suitable for baby weaning and toddler friendly - pasta bake

Adapting My Chicken and Cottage Cheese Pasta Bake For Your Family

Eating together is beneficial for families of all ages and stages, for a multitude of reasons; nutritional, behavioural, psychological and for healthy family functioning. This section will show you how to tweak this Chicken and Cottage Cheese Pasta Bake recipe for sharing with a weaning baby, toddler or a fussy eater, which will help make it easier to eat together as a family.

Keeping Fussy Eaters Happy

If you have a picky eater who isn’t a fan of tomatoes, use a tin of crushed tomatoes to eliminate sizeable chunks of tomato which is likely to put them off. If you have a fussy eater who doesn’t like spinach, you could use 2 large handfuls of spinach instead of 3, or allow them to leave it. You can always give them a salad vegetable that they are ok with on the side if you like.

Making My Chicken and Cottage Cheese Pasta Bake Suitable for Baby Weaning

Use full fat cottage cheese as oppose to fat-free as little ones need the nutrients and energy it provides. Hold back on adding in salt and use a pasta shape like rigatoni or penne for little ones not yet using cutlery.

How to Serve to Babies & Toddlers

6 months+

Slice up any spinach leaves in their portion and chop up the melted cheese so it’s more manageable for them.

12 months +

Once they are using cutlery, you can use fusilli / rotini and chop up it into small bites.

I’ve also added these notes to the bottom of the recipe so you have them to hand when you come to cook.

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Chicken & Cottage Cheese Pasta Bake

Packed with nutrients, this pasta bake boasts a combo of chicken mince, tomato sauce, spinach and a topping of cottage cheese and cheddar.

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 10

Course Main Course

Cuisine British

Servings

Ingredients

½ tablespoon olive oil
500 g chicken mince
1 onion diced
2 cloves garlic
300 g fusilli or rotini
400 g tinned crushed or chopped tomatoes
1 ltr hot water
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs
160 g cheddar grated
600 g cottage cheese, see notes
2-3 large handfuls spinach, frozen is fine
Salt & black pepper to taste

See notes for baby & toddler tweaks

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large preferably non-stick saucepan over a high heat. Add the chicken mince and the onions and fry, stirring often for around 6 minutes, or until the meat is starting to go golden. Use your spoon to break the meat into little chunks as you go. Drain off excess fat if there is any.
Add the garlic, pasta, hot water, tinned tomatoes, sugar, paprika, herbs, salt and black pepper to a large pan and stir well. Turn heat to high and once boiling, turn heat to medium and cook over a rolling boil, stirring often for 12 minutes. Then add the spinach and continue to cook for a further 2-4 minutes, until the pasta is cooked through and the sauce has cooked away and is just coating the pasta.
Remove from the heat and stir in around ¼ of the cheese until melted. Transfer to a large oven dish and level out. Top with a layer of the cottage cheese, followed by the rest of the grated cheese.
Bake at 200ºc/180ºc fan/400ºf/gas 6 for 25-30 minutes, until the cheese is starting to go golden round the edges.

Notes

You can use fat-free cottage cheese if you like, bear in mind it is lower in protein.

Baby & Toddler

Use regular cottage cheese, not fat-free. Hold back on adding in salt.

6 months + Use a pasta shape like rigatoni or penne. Once cooked, slice up any spinach leaves in their portion and chop up the melted cheese so it’s more manageable for them.

12 months + Once they are using cutlery, you can use fusilli/rotini and chop it up into small bites.

STORAGE

Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days (cook day + 2). Leftovers can be frozen, just defrost for 24 hours in the fridge and reheat in the microwave, stirring halfway, until steaming hot all the way through.

Nutrition

Calories: 622kcalCarbohydrates: 60gProtein: 46gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 126mgSodium: 836mgPotassium: 1041mgFiber: 3gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 570IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 385mgIron: 3mg

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