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Cottage Cheese Pasta Sauce served on a plate

Cottage Cheese Pasta Sauce

Creamy viral cottage cheese pasta sauce with 30 grams of protein per serving and no heavy cream.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Italian
Calories: 480
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 12 oz short pasta penne, rigatoni, or cavatappi
  • 1 1/2 cups full-fat cottage cheese 4% milkfat
  • 3/4 cup grated parmesan
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes optional
  • 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
  • Fresh basil for topping

Method
 

  1. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a rolling boil. Cook the pasta 1 minute less than the package says. Reserve 1 cup pasta water before draining.
  2. Add cottage cheese, parmesan, garlic, olive oil, lemon zest, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to a blender. Blend 45 to 60 seconds until completely smooth.
  3. Pour the sauce into a wide skillet over low heat. Add 1/4 cup pasta water and warm 2 minutes, whisking gently. Do not boil.
  4. Add the drained pasta to the skillet. Toss 1 to 2 minutes, adding more pasta water as needed until the sauce coats every noodle.
  5. Remove from heat. Top with extra parmesan and torn basil. Serve immediately.

Notes

Always blend the cottage cheese until completely smooth. Keep the heat low when warming the sauce so the protein does not curdle. Save your pasta water — it glues the sauce to the noodles.