High-Protein Marry Me Chicken Pasta (Creamy Comfort Food Without the Extra Fat)
Some meals just hit differently. Rich, creamy, deeply satisfying — the kind that makes you want to curl up on the sofa and eat straight from the pan. This is that meal. Except it’s also quietly doing a lot of good things for your body.
This high-protein twist on Marry Me Chicken Pasta has everything you love about the original — a silky, flavour-packed sauce, golden pan-seared chicken, and perfectly coated pasta — with one clever swap that changes the whole nutritional game.
The Secret Sauce
Traditional Marry Me Chicken relies on heavy cream for that indulgent, velvety sauce. This version uses blended high-protein cottage cheese instead — and the result is genuinely incredible.
Combined with chicken stock, sun-dried tomatoes, Parmigiano Reggiano, and warm spices, it blends into a completely smooth, creamy sauce you’d never guess was secretly high in protein.
“You genuinely wouldn’t think there’s cottage cheese in it — it tastes like something far more indulgent than it is.”
The Chicken
Diced chicken breast keeps things lean and high in protein — ideal for meal prep since it holds up well when reheated. Season it generously with Italian herbs, salt, and cracked black pepper, then cook it over medium-high heat without touching it for the first minute or two. That undisturbed contact time is what gives you that gorgeous golden caramelisation and depth of flavour.
The Pasta
Shell pasta is the move here — those little cups catch and hold the creamy sauce so every bite is fully coated. Cook it three minutes less than the packet instructions, then let it finish cooking in the sauce. It absorbs the flavour as it finishes, and the texture stays perfectly al dente rather than going soft and heavy. If you like things extra saucy, a small splash of chicken stock at the end loosens it up beautifully.
Why This Meal Works
the recipe
Marry Me Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 500g (1.1 lbs) Shell pasta
- 1 tbsp (20ml) Sun-dried tomato oil
- 800g (1.7 lbs) Chicken breast, boneless & skinless, diced
- 1 tbsp (6g) Dried Italian herbs
- 2 cups (400g) High-protein cottage cheese
- ⅔ cup (180ml) Chicken stock
- 1 tsp (4g) Onion powder
- 1 tsp (4g) Garlic powder
- 1 tsp (4g) Smoked paprika
- ½ cup (50g) Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
- ½ cup (100g) Sun-dried tomatoes
- 200g (7 oz) Baby spinach, washed
- To taste Salt & cracked black pepper
- To serve Extra Parmigiano Reggiano
Method
- Bring a large pot of generously salted water to the boil. Cook the shell pasta for 3 minutes less than the packet instructions. Drain and set aside.
- Add the diced chicken breast to a bowl along with the dried Italian herbs, a good pinch of salt, and cracked black pepper. Toss well to coat evenly.
- Make the sauce: blend the cottage cheese, chicken stock, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, grated parmesan, sun-dried tomatoes, salt, and pepper until completely smooth and creamy. Set aside.
- Heat the sun-dried tomato oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the seasoned chicken and spread it out in a single layer. Leave it undisturbed for 1–2 minutes to develop colour and caramelisation.
- Stir and continue cooking for a further 4–5 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and lightly golden.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add the cooked pasta and blended sauce to the pan. Gently fold everything together until evenly coated.
- Cook over low heat for 2 minutes. Do not use high heat here — the sauce can split.
- Add the baby spinach and stir through for about 1 minute until just wilted.
- Taste and adjust seasoning. Add a splash of extra chicken stock if you’d like the sauce a little looser.
- Divide into 5 × 750ml meal prep containers. Finish with extra grated Parmigiano Reggiano and cracked black pepper. Dig in.
Chef’s tip: The sauce must be blended fully — any lumps of cottage cheese will be visible in the final dish. If your blender is small, blend in batches and combine. The sauce should be completely smooth and pourable.
Storage & Reheating
To reheat, microwave until piping hot, or warm gently in a pan over medium heat. If reheating from the fridge, add a small splash of chicken stock or water to loosen the sauce back up — it makes a big difference.
final thoughts
This is exactly the kind of recipe I love — one that proves you don’t have to choose between eating well and eating food that actually tastes good. The creamy sauce, the golden chicken, the perfectly sauced pasta… it delivers on every front. And knowing it’s loaded with protein and lower in fat than the original makes it even better.
Make it on a Sunday, portion it out, and you’ve got five lunches or dinners sorted for the week. Future you will be very grateful.
If you’re after more macro-friendly comfort food ideas, have a browse through my other high-protein recipes — there’s plenty more where this came from.
