Lightened Up, High Protein Pasta!
This easy, creamy, cottage cheese pasta sauce is a total game changer, especially if you’re like me and always looking for ways to add extra protein to your meals.
Instead of the heavy cream and butter used to make most rich and creamy pasta sauces, this sauce uses plain cottage cheese to make a pasta sauce similar to a roasted red pepper alfredo, but with fewer calories, less fat, and a boost of healthy protein.
This delicious pasta meal, complete with ground chicken is ready to eat in under 30 minutes, making it perfect for a busy weeknight or a hearty weekend lunch.
I’ll share some tips on how to customize the recipe too! This one recipe for cottage cheese pasta sauce can create endless menu ideas.
Ingredient Notes
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Cottage Cheese: The star of this recipe is all the rage right now, and I am here for it! Cottage cheese allows us to make a creamy sauce that is high in protein without any cream or butter. 4% milkfat cottage cheese will make the creamiest version of this sauce, but low-fat cottage cheese works too.
- Roasted Red Peppers: Jarred red bell peppers are one of my favorite recipe-makers. They give this dish so much savory flavor and a lovely orange color. For even more flavor, try flame-roasting fresh red bell peppers, removing their skins, and using those instead.
- Parmesan Cheese and Garlic: Use freshly minced garlic and freshly grated Parmesan for the best flavor.
- Pasta: I’m using a high-protein gluten-free pasta variety today, but any kind of pasta works! If you’re shopping for high-protein pasta, look for varieties made with chickpeas (like Banza), lentils, or quinoa. Any shape will work too! Try spaghetti, rigatoni, or fusilli.
- Ground Chicken: This is my go-to protein when I’m making healthy meals. Ground chicken has all of the convenience of ground beef, but it’s lighter! You can also use ground turkey, lean ground beef, vegan meat crumbles, tofu, sautéed mushrooms, or leave the meat out for a vegetarian version.
Tip!
Give this recipe a veggie boost, and a low-carb makeover: Serve the sauce and chicken over cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles instead of pasta!
Storing Tips
Pasta with cottage cheese sauce is best if you eat it right away. The sauce doesn’t do well with too much heat, so it can easily separate or curdle if you reheat the leftovers.
That said, you can store any leftover cottage cheese pasta in an airtight storage container in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. Reheat very gently in a skillet on the stove over low heat with a splash of water for best results.
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Cottage Cheese Pasta Sauce with Roasted Red Bell Pepper and Chicken
Equipment
- Large pot and colander, for the pasta
- Food processor, or blender
- Large skillet
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Spatula or wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240 g) cottage cheese
- ¼ cup (25 g) grated Parmesan cheese plus more for garnish
- 8 ounces (225 g) roasted red bell peppers jarred in brine, drained
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
- 1 pound (450 g) ground chicken or substitute ground turkey, beef, or omit for a vegetarian version
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- 8 ounces (225 g) dried pasta gluten-free protein pasta used, but any variety works
- Fresh basil for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in salted water according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a blender or food processor, combine the cottage cheese and roasted red bell peppers. Blend until completely smooth and set aside. Do not heat this sauce directly to avoid curdling.
- Blend until completely smooth and set aside. Do not heat this sauce directly to avoid curdling.
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the ground chicken, season with smoked paprika, salt, and pepper, and cook until fully browned, breaking it up as it cooks (5-7 minutes).
- Add and sauté minced garlic for 30 to 60 seconds until fragrant.
- Turn off the heat. Add the blended cottage cheese sauce and cooked pasta to the skillet with the chicken, stirring gently to combine. Let the residual heat warm the sauce slightly, but do not return it to direct heat. Use a splash of reserved pasta water if needed to loosen the sauce to your desired consistency.
- Serve immediately, garnished with fresh basil and extra-grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes:
- Cottage cheese can separate or curdle when overheated. Always add it to the pan off the heat and warm it gently with residual heat. This preserves the smooth, creamy texture and prevents graininess.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat gently to avoid curdling, ideally by warming slowly on the stove with a splash of water.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Cottage Cheese Pasta Sauce Variations
If you want to add a different spin on this simple food processor pasta sauce, all you need to do is get creative with ingredients! Try adding one of these extras along with or in place of the roasted red peppers to change the flavor profile:
- Caramelized Onions will add a rich sweetness to the sauce.
- Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes, regular canned tomatoes, marinara sauce, or even fresh tomatoes that you’ve peeled.
- Something Acidic, like lemon juice, white wine vinegar, or a splash of vodka.
- Add Heat with a pinch of cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, or a dash of hot sauce.
More Satisfying Pasta Recipes
Simple, humble cottage cheese is the secret ingredient when it comes to adding extra protein into your pasta dishes! Be sure to save this recipe, and share it with your friends.
Recipe Tips
- Cottage cheese pasta sauce shouldn’t be cooked! In the recipe, you’ll notice that we add the sauce to the pasta and chicken after the heat has been turned off. This is because high heat will cause the creamy pasta sauce to separate or curdle.
- A food processor works best to blend the cottage cheese and peppers into a smooth sauce. You can also use a high-speed blender, but I find that the sauce is easier to remove from the wide bowl of my food processor. Let the processor run for as long as necessary to achieve a smooth texture.
- Save some of the pasta water to add to your sauce. I always pull out about 1 cup of pasta water before I drain the pasta. You may need to thin the cottage cheese pasta sauce out a bit, and the starchy water from the pasta is the best way to do that.
Questions and Answers About Cottage Cheese Pasta Sauce
Can I freeze Cottage Cheese Pasta Sauce?
No, I do not recommend freezing this sauce or the pasta. The sauce will separate once it thaws and won’t come back together when it’s reheated.
Is there a way to make ahead cottage cheese pasta?
You can blend the cottage cheese pasta sauce and then store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Allow it to come to room temperature before adding it to hot, freshly cooked pasta.
How much protein is in this recipe?
With ground chicken, each serving of this cottage cheese pasta has approximately 36g of protein per serving! I think that’s pretty impressive for a pasta meal. Without adding any meat, the sauce itself gives you about 16 grams of protein per serving.
Why can’t I heat cottage cheese pasta sauce?
Cottage cheese doesn’t melt like some other cheeses do. It has a high moisture content and a texture made of curds, which prevents it from melting smoothly. For this reason, we blend the cottage cheese to smooth out the texture, and heating it will cause the small pieces of curds to separate from the moisture again.
What Else Can I make with Cottage Cheese?
There are so many fun recipes that will show you how to add protein to your favorite dishes using cottage cheese! Try my Cottage Cheese Pancakes, Cottage Cheese Cookie Dough Bites, or Cottage Cheese Scrambled Eggs next.
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