Cottage Cheese Pasta

Cost effective, packed with protein and brimming with herby vegetable flavor, our Cottage Cheese pasta is the PERFECT way to do a summery pasta without the guilt. Thank you to AE Dairy for sponsoring this post.

Cottage cheese is making the ultimate comeback and I am absolutely here for it. And I don’t mean to boast but I was never really off the cottage cheese train in the first place. It’s always been a dairy item I reach for to fuel myself and my kiddos (hello protein and calcium) but I’m loving seeing cottage cheese live up to the glory it deserves. Across the internet you can find it in cookies, ice cream (which I’ve yet to try but stay tuned), and (today!) pasta.

The benefits of our cottage pasta are multi-faceted. First, the minimal ingredient list means this pasta is not only easy to throw together but incredibly cost effective. Second, the use of our favorite dairy brand’s (AE Dairy) Vegetable Cottage Cheese (more on this later) adds an unbelievable amount of flavor. Third, that same cottage cheese adds creaminess and a bountiful amount of protein in each bite without the addition of any cream or meat. Lastly, it’s freaking delicious.

Let’s get started!

Ingredients in Cottage Cheese Pasta

Olive oil. Olive oil is my go-to but avocado oil or butter will work in its place.

Tomatoes. I’m obsessed with little sugar bomb cherry tomatoes but since we cook the tomatoes down, any cherry or grape tomato will do.

Asparagus. Is there a more synonymous spring ingredient than asparagus? I thought about shaving the asparagus spear to have nice long strands throughout the pasta but ultimately decided small bite-sized pieces was more well suited for this.

Garlic. Lots of garlic. Mince it as fine as you can.

Pappardelle. I am obsessed with thick pappardelle noodles. Even as recently as a year or two ago you had to source this wide egg noodle at specialty food stores but these days you can find them in most grocery stores sold in little nests.

Cottage cheese. As the title implies, the pièce de résistance of our Cottage cheese pasta is of course, the cottage cheese. However today we’re not using any run-of-the-mill cottage cheese. We’re using Mr. E’s Garden Vegetable Cottage Cheese. A ridiculously delicious flavored cottage cheese (made by AE Dairy) packed with notes of tomato, garlic, onion, carrots, celery and bell peppers. It’s reminiscent of a veggie cream cheese spread but in cottage cheese form and I can’t get enough of it. If you can find this in your local grocery store, go purchase it now.

We are SO excited to be working with AE Dairy again over the next six months to showcase some of their awesome products. They are hands down my favorite dairy brand and I’m so proud they’re a local company producing some of the tastiest dairy products around.

Let’s make Cottage Cheese Pasta

Prep your pasta water. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Season generously with salt. It should taste as salty as sea water. I know it sounds like a lot but it is the only way you can flavor the inside of the pasta.

Cook the veggies. Heat a large skillet with high sides to a medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the olive oil. Swirl the pan to coat. Add the cherry tomatoes and season with a little bit of salt. Use a wooden spoon to toss the tomatoes in the oil. Let them blister, stirring every few minutes. When the skin has started to blister, use the back of your wooden spoon to smash the tomatoes. And this the part where you have to watch out. The tomatoes obviously get hot, which in turn makes the juicy goodness inside them hot so sometimes when you smash them the juice shoots out quite aggressively and you’ll want to watch out.

Cook the pasta. Pappardelle doesn’t typically take long to cook so you don’t want to cook it too early. Right before you cook the asparagus, drop the pasta into the boiling water. Use tongs to gently loosen the noodles and make sure they aren’t sticking together while they cook.

Cook the asparagus. Add the asparagus to the pan along with more salt. Toss to coat in the tomatoes. Cook the asparagus with the tomatoes for 3-4 minutes until the asparagus is bright green. Add the garlic, cook another minute until the garlic is fragrant.

Toss! When the pasta is just UNDER aldente, use the tongs to transfer the cooked pasta to the tomato and asparagus mixture. DO NOT drain pasta water. Spoon the cottage cheese on top of the pasta along with a little bit of starchy pasta water. Use tongs or serving spoons to gently toss the pasta, veggies and cottage cheese.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Is Cottage Cheese Pasta good leftover?

YES. 1000x yes.

Is Cottage Cheese Pasta healthy?

I am not a dietician but I would say yes? The only ingredient that’s questionable is the pappardelle but you could swap out whole wheat pasta if you need to.

Substitutions

• Use any long pasta noodle in place of pappardelle. Tagliatelle, spaghetti, fettuccine or linguine would work great. Actually, ANY pasta would work great.
• Add in your favorite spring or summer veggies. Zucchini, peas, squash – anything goes.
• For a little spice, throw in some crushed red pepper flakes with the tomatoes and asparagus.

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