This High-Protein Cottage Cheese Pasta tastes like a creamy vodka sauce, but it’s made with blended cottage cheese instead of heavy cream and skips the alcohol.
Creamy Cottage Cheese Pasta
I was skeptical that cottage cheese could replace cream in pasta sauce, but this healthy Cottage Cheese Pasta Sauce changed my mind. Blended until smooth, it creates a rich, velvety sauce that tastes surprisingly similar to vodka sauce, without the heavy cream. My husband ate the whole bowl before I told him it was made with cottage cheese!
Why This Cottage Cheese Pasta Sauce Works
If you’re skeptical about cooking with cottage cheese, you’re not alone. My husband is too, so I waited until he finished his bowl before telling him what was in the sauce. He couldn’t believe it.
- You can’t even taste the cottage cheese. It tastes like a creamy vodka sauce.
- Rich and velvety. Blended cottage cheese creates a silky pasta sauce without heavy cream.
- Ready in under 30 minutes. An easy dinner for busy weeknights.
- High in protein. Each serving packs over 30 grams of protein.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This simple cottage cheese pasta sauce has layers of flavor: caramelized onions and tomato paste, red pepper for spice, and nutty Parmesan and fresh basil to finish it. See the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- 93% lean ground meat: Make it with ground beef, turkey, or chicken.
- Meat seasoning: Italian seasoning, kosher salt, garlic powder, black pepper
- Olive oil to cook the onions and garlic in.
- Aromatics: Finely diced onions and smashed garlic cloves.
- Crushed red pepper flakes for a hint of spiciness.
- Tomato paste: Most tubes of tomato paste are about 4.6 ounces, so use the entire thing. If you only have a can, use about three-quarters of it.
- Chicken bone broth for extra protein.
- 2% cottage cheese: Using a thick, high-quality cottage cheese like Good Culture is essential for creating a creamy pasta sauce.
- Low-fat milk thins the sauce and adds more richness than water.
- Grated Parmesan cheese provides a nutty, complex flavor. Buy a block and grate it yourself for the freshest taste.
- Rigatoni pasta is a short, hollow tube-shaped pasta.
- Basil for a pretty, fresh garnish.
How to Make Cottage Cheese Pasta
After sautéing the aromatics and tomato paste, blend everything until smooth, then warm it over low heat on the stove. See the recipe card at the bottom for printable directions.
- Cook the pasta: Boil the pasta according to package directions. Before draining, reserve ½ cup of the pasta water.
- Cook the meat: Brown the ground turkey in a large skillet and season with the spices. Transfer to a plate.
- Sauté the aromatics: In the same skillet, heat the olive oil and cook the onion, garlic, and crushed red pepper until softened.
- Cook the tomato paste: Stir in the tomato paste and cook until it darkens. Deglaze the pan with bone broth, scraping up any browned bits. Let cool for a minute or two.
- Blend the cottage cheese sauce: Blend the cottage cheese and milk until completely smooth. Add the tomato paste mixture and Parmesan, then blend again until silky.
- Finish the sauce: Pour the sauce back into the skillet over low heat. Stir in reserved pasta water, a little at a time, until creamy enough to coat the pasta.
- Combine: Add the cooked pasta and ground turkey to the sauce and toss until coated. Garnish with basil and Parmesan.
Tips for a Smooth and Creamy Sauce
- Choose high-quality cottage cheese. Some brands are thinner than others, so use a thicker one to make a creamier sauce. Good Culture is my go-to, but Nancy’s Probiotic and Daisy are also good options.
- Don’t forget to save the pasta water! The starchy liquid is the secret to creating a glossy, creamy sauce. It thins the sauce, so it clings to every piece of pasta.
- Don’t boil the sauce. Keep the heat low and stir often to prevent it from curdling.
Variations
- No Italian seasoning? Substitute dried herbs, like oregano and parsley.
- Vegetarian pasta: Leave out the ground meat, and stir in spinach at the end.
- Cottage cheese: You can use whole milk cottage cheese, but I wouldn’t recommend fat-free. The sauce would be too thin.
- Broth: Swap bone broth for vegetable or chicken broth.
- Protein boost: Use a high-protein pasta, like Barilla Protein+ or Goodles.
- Keep it mild: Feel free to omit the red pepper flakes if you don’t want any heat.
- Parmesan: Substitute Pecorino Romano.
3
5 mins
0
15 mins
1
10 mins
4
15 mins
Storage and Meal Prep Tips
- Refrigerate leftovers for up to 4 days.
- Microwave the pasta until warm. Reheating tip: The pasta will absorb some of the sauce, so add a splash of water, broth, or milk to thin it.
- Meal prep tip: Store the sauce and meat together and keep the pasta separate to prevent it from soaking up the sauce. When packing in individual containers, put about 1 ½ cups of pasta in a 2-cup container and roughly ½ cup of the sauce and meat in another.
Yield: servings
Serving Size: 2 cups
Cottage cheese pasta sauce
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Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
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Heat a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the ground turkey, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Cook 5 to 6 minutes, breaking up until cooked through. Remove from heat and transfer meat to a plate. Wipe the skillet.
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While the turkey is cooking, cook the rigatoni according to package instructions to al dente reserving ½ cup of pasta water before draining for thinning out sauce later and set aside.
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Heat the skillet over medium heat and add 1 ½ teaspoons of olive oil, onion, garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook 3 to 4 minutes until onions are translucent.
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Add the tomato paste and cook 2 to 3 minutes and make sure onions and garlic are well coated in tomato paste. It will begin to turn a darker red, and that is what you want. De-glaze with bone broth, stir well, and remove from heat.
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Add cottage cheese and milk to a large blender and blend for 15 to 30 seconds until smooth throughout. Add the tomato sauce to the blender and the parmesan cheese and blend until smooth.
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Pour it back into the skillet adding some water to the blender and pouring it into the sauce to get it all out, and stir over low heat until cohesive. If needed, add some reserved pasta water 1-2 tablespoons at a time, to get the right texture.
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Drain the pasta then add it to the sauce with the ground meat and stir. Top off with additional grated parmesan and fresh basil. Enjoy!
Last Step:
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Serving: 2 cups, Calories: 497 kcal, Carbohydrates: 60 g, Protein: 34.5 g, Fat: 13 g, Saturated Fat: 4 g, Cholesterol: 79 mg, Sodium: 652 mg, Fiber: 3.5 g, Sugar: 7 g
FAQ
No! Cottage cheese doesn’t have much flavor on its own. Once you blend it with the other ingredients, you can’t tell it’s there because it’s smooth and creamy. You taste more of the tomato paste, onions, garlic, and Parmesan.
Yes, you can freeze the cottage cheese pasta sauce for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge the day before, then reheat it on the stove or in the microwave, and boil the pasta. You can also freeze the sauce and pasta together. Just add a splash of water to thin the sauce.
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