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High-Protein Beef Macaroni Bake

This filling take on a familiar macaroni bake gets plenty of protein from eggs, cottage cheese and cheese. The recipe makes one large baking dish.

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75 minDifficulty: Easy
Golden-brown beef macaroni bake with a cheese topping and a hearty centre

Servings in this printout: 8

Ingredients

Servings8
  • 400 g dry macaroni
  • 600 g 7% beef mince
  • 70 g yellow onion
  • 13.5 g oil
  • 500 g cottage cheese, 2–5% fat
  • 6 pcs eggs
  • 200 g 1.5% milk
  • 200 g 15% cooking cream
  • 200 g grated Emmental cheesefor the egg mixture
  • 100 g grated Emmental cheesefor the topping
  • 3 g garlic powder
  • 1 g black pepper
  • 2 g paprika
  • 6 g saltto taste

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a large ovenproof dish with one third of the listed oil.
  2. Cook the macaroni in salted water for about two minutes less than the packet instructions. Drain.
  3. Finely chop the onion. Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan and brown the minced beef with the onion. Season with garlic powder, black pepper, paprika and salt.
  4. Blend the cottage cheese until smooth. Mix in the eggs, milk and cooking cream. Stir in 200 g of the grated cheese.
  5. Combine the macaroni and beef mixture in the baking dish. Pour over the egg mixture and stir gently.
  6. Scatter the remaining 100 g of grated cheese over the top. Bake for 40–50 minutes, until the centre is set. Cover loosely with foil if the top browns too quickly.
  7. Leave to rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

Original recipe nutrition per serving

The nutrition values below belong to the original recipe. They are not nutrition values for the separate GL-only version. No macro package has been verified for the GL-only version.

Nutrition values are approximate estimates, not laboratory analyses. Products and portion size affect the result.

Net carbs
37.18 g
Total carbohydrates (incl. fibre and polyols)
38.79 g
Protein
47.63 g
Fat
27.93 g

A reliable glycemic load estimate is not available.

Some ingredient data or calculation inputs could not be verified, so there is no reliable estimate for the whole serving.

Why is the estimate missing?
  • dry macaroni · A suitable GI value was unavailable for this ingredient.

Estimate for the modified recipe

Original recipe GL unavailable

Modeled GL estimate · 16.9–17.8 / serving

Confidence · Low Some values or assumptions in the calculation are uncertain.

The estimate for this version also uses modeled assumptions.

The range describes only named comparator scenarios. It is not a biological range or confidence interval for the whole meal.

How was the estimate calculated?

This estimate applies only to the amounts and preparation details below. The original recipe nutrition is not a macro package for this version.

Confidence: low. An ingredient-based estimate, not a measurement of the prepared meal.

GI value reported in a source

Value used in the model

Original recipe amounts and preparation

  • 400 g · dry macaroni
  • 600 g · 7% beef mince
  • 70 g · yellow onion
  • 13.5 g · oil
  • 500 g · cottage cheese, 2–5% fat
  • 6 pcs · eggs
  • 200 g · 1.5% milk
  • 200 g · 15% cooking cream
  • 200 g · grated Emmental cheese
  • 100 g · grated Emmental cheese
  • 3 g · garlic powder
  • 1 g · black pepper
  • 2 g · paprika
  • 6 g · salt

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a large ovenproof dish with one third of the listed oil. Cook the macaroni in salted water for about two minutes less than the packet instructions. Drain. Finely chop the onion. Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan and brown the minced beef with the onion. Season with garlic powder, black pepper, paprika and salt. Blend the cottage cheese until smooth. Mix in the eggs, milk and cooking cream. Stir in 200 g of the grated cheese. Combine the macaroni and beef mixture in the baking dish. Pour over the egg mixture and stir gently. Scatter the remaining 100 g of grated cheese over the top. Bake for 40–50 minutes, until the centre is set. Cover loosely with foil if the top browns too quickly. Leave to rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

Separate version amounts and preparation

Servings for these amounts · 8

  • 400 g · dry durum-wheat macaroni
  • 600 g · minced beef, 7% fat
  • 70 g · peeled onion
  • 13.5 g · neutral cooking oil
  • 500 g · cottage cheese, 2–5% fat
  • 330 g · egg without shell
  • 200 g · milk, 1.5% fat
  • 200 g · cooking cream, 15% fat
  • 300 g · grated Emmental
  • 3 g · garlic powder
  • 1 g · ground black pepper
  • 2 g · paprika powder
  • amount in the original recipe · salt

Use the original method with these details.

Boil and drain durum macaroni before baking at 180°C for 40–50 min as in the original method. Penne/spaghetti comparisons do not measure casserole GI. Garlic-powder carbohydrate 0–3 g is the full-mass ceiling, not an assumed nutrient value.

Research sources and technical details

Source names and technical notes appear in their original form.

Sources and limitations · B

Small named spice and seed portions are included in the B model with code50. This is a project assumption, not their measured GI.

Assumption sensitivity

16.865–18.236 / serving

This experiment assigns GI assumptions0–150 to selected uncertain portions. It is neither a physiological upper bound nor a statistical confidence interval.

GL method ↗

Notes

  • Taste the beef mixture before transferring it to the dish and adjust the salt to your liking.
  • Nutrition values are estimates and vary with the products used.