High Protein Mac and Cheese

Method

1. 1

   Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook the macaroni one minute short of the package time — it will finish softening in the hot sauce, and undercooking now keeps it from turning to mush later. Reserve about half a cup of the starchy cooking water before you drain, then set the pasta aside. Do not rinse it; the surface starch helps the sauce cling to every piece. If you want even more protein, swap in a chickpea or lentil elbow, which adds roughly 5g per serving on its own.

2. 2

   Make the roux. Melt the butter in the same pot over medium heat, then whisk in the flour and cook for about 90 seconds until it smells faintly nutty and loses its raw edge. This is your roux, and it is what stops the milk from separating into a grainy mess. Pour in the milk slowly, whisking constantly, and keep stirring for three to four minutes until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in the salt, mustard powder, and pepper while the sauce is still loose.

3. 3

   Melt in the cheese. Lower the heat to its minimum setting and add the grated cheddar in two or three handfuls, stirring each addition until it has fully melted before adding the next. Adding it all at once, or over high heat, makes cheese seize and turn stringy. Grate your own from a block if you can — pre-shredded cheese is coated with anti-caking starch that resists melting smoothly. Once the sauce is glossy and uniform, you are ready for the step that actually matters here.

4. 4

   Stir in the potato protein off the heat. Take the pot completely off the burner and let it sit for a full minute, then whisk in the potato protein isolate a little at a time. This is the entire trick: protein isolate stirred into a sauce still sitting over direct heat will tighten and curdle into grainy specks, but a sauce that has dropped below a simmer accepts it smoothly. Whisk until no dry streaks remain. Unflavored potato protein isolate disappears into the cheddar with no taste of its own, so the flavor reads as ordinary mac and cheese — it simply carries far more protein. Loosen with a splash of the reserved pasta water if it thickens too much.

5. 5

   Combine, or go dairy-free. Fold the drained macaroni into the sauce and stir until every piece is coated, then serve immediately while it is creamy. For a dairy-free protein macaroni and cheese, skip the butter, milk, and cheddar: whisk a sauce from 3 tbsp olive oil, 3 tbsp flour, 2 cups unsweetened soy milk, ½ cup nutritional yeast, 1 tsp salt, and a little garlic powder, then stir in the potato protein off the heat exactly as above. To bake either version, transfer to a dish, top with breadcrumbs, and bake at 375°F for 15 minutes — add the protein before baking, but keep the oven time short, as prolonged high heat can still leave a slightly grainy texture.