This rich and creamy cottage cheese pasta recipe is going to blow you away. The two-ingredient sauce tastes like alfredo, but it’s a million times easier and healthier. Tossed with spaghetti, parmesan cheese and peas it’s the ultimate weeknight dinner. Best of all, the entire meal comes together in the time it takes to boil a pot of pasta!
Healthy alfredo sauce
Forget the heavy cream and butter, this healthy alfredo style sauce is made with just cottage cheese and garlic. It’s rich and comforting, yet far lighter than traditional alfredo.
It's easy to overlook cottage cheese as an ingredient to cook with, but it’s the perfect way to add creaminess and protein to dishes without weighing them down (like in this Healthy Veggie Breakfast Strata and in these High-Protein Strawberry Waffles!).
Ingredients swaps and variations:
- You can either use plain cottage cheese or a chive-flavored cottage cheese in the sauce (which is pictured here). Don't use low-fat cottage cheese, which could break in the sauce.
- Frozen peas give the healthy alfredo pasta a pop of color and sweetness, but you can swap them out for chopped broccoli or asparagus (or you can omit them altogether).
- I love using spaghetti in this recipe, but linguini is a great choice as well.
Step-by-step instructions:
- In a food processor, blend garlic and cottage cheese until creamy. You just made your sauce! (Told you it was easy.)
- Transfer the creamy cottage cheese to a large heat-proof bowl.
- Cook a pound of spaghetti in boiling water, adding frozen peas during the last two minutes of cooking (reserve ½ cup of the cooking water). Toss the hot pasta and peas with the sauce along with parmesan cheese, adding enough of the reserved cooking water to make a creamy sauce that sticks to the noodles.
- Swirl the pasta into bowls and serve immediately.
Serving suggestions
Serve the pasta with more parmesan cheese for sprinkling, along with chopped chives if you'd like. It's the ultimate one-bowl dinner on its own, although you can throw a big green salad alongside if you’d like!
FAQs
Cottage cheese is the perfect swap for heavy cream in alfredo sauce. Blend the cottage cheese with garlic until smooth, then toss it with hot pasta for an easy, healthy alfredo pasta.
This cottage cheese alfredo pasta is best served right after it’s made, when the sauce is loose and creamy. However, leftovers are delicious for lunch the next day.
Cottage cheese is awesome in this lightened-up alfredo pasta, as well as in a Healthy Vegetable Breakfast Strata, High-Protein Strawberry Waffles, a Creamy Strawberry Smoothie, Tartines and this Healthy Veggie Dip.
Recipe tips:
- Be sure to use regular cottage cheese in this recipe, not low-fat, which could break when you add the hot pasta.
- You’ll need a food processor or high speed blender to blend the creamy sauce. However, you can skip this step if you prefer—the sauce will simply have curds.
- I love using gluten-free spaghetti, but you can use any long pasta shape you like.
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Other pasta recipes you might like:
- Easy, Creamy Pasta Bake
- Best Broccoli Pasta
- Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
- Spaghetti with Sweet Corn & Bacon
- No-Cook Tomato Pesto Pasta
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Get the recipe!
Creamy Cottage Cheese Alfredo Pasta
Equipment
- Food processor or high speed blender
Ingredients
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 small garlic clove, peeled
- 2 cups (1 16-oz) container cottage cheese (not low-fat)
- 1 pound spaghetti or linguini
- 1 cup frozen peas
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- Chopped chives, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and season it with salt.
- In a mini food processor (or high speed blender), process the garlic until finely chopped. Add the cottage cheese, and process until smooth (easiest sauce EVER!!). Scrape the sauce into a large heat-proof bowl.
- Cook the spaghetti in the boiling water according to the package directions. During the last 2 minutes of cooking, scoop out ½ cup of the cooking water (reserve it), and add the peas to the pot. Once the pasta is al dente, drain it (with the peas). Immediately transfer the hot pasta and peas to the bowl with the cottage cheese. Add the parmesan cheese, season well with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Add a few splashes of the pasta cooking water, tossing until the sauce is loose enough to evenly coat the spaghetti.
- Twirl the spaghetti into bowls and garnish with more parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of chives, if you’d like. Devour!
Notes
- This cottage cheese alfredo pasta is best served right after it’s made, when the sauce is loose and creamy. However, leftovers are still delicious for lunch the next day.
- Be sure to use regular cottage cheese in this recipe, not low-fat, which could break when the hot pasta is added.
- You’ll need a food processor or high speed blender to blend the creamy sauce. However, you can skip this step if you prefer—the sauce will simply have curds.
- I love using gluten-free spaghetti, but you can use any long pasta shape you like.
- Use cottage cheese in these other wholesome recipes: Healthy Vegetable Breakfast Strata, High-protein Strawberry Waffles, a Creamy Strawberry Smoothie, Build-Your-Own Tartines, and Healthy Veggie Dip.
Courtney says
This was really good! I liked that it has protein and it’s healthier than traditional Alfredo. I love Alfredo and eat it too much so it’s good to switch it up with this. I used angel hair and so because the pasta was so thin and cooks so fast I added the peas to the hot water and let it come back to a boil before adding the pasta. Next time I would save more water and add it to the sauce. Because I was using angel hair I was afraid to add too much water and didn’t save enough. And it was a little hard to mix. Next time I might add the water to the sauce first then add the pasta. Also would this work with other shapes like orechetti? That being said. I def want to make this again and just trouble shoot the sauce a little more. Thanks for a great recipe
Nicki Sizemore says
I'm so glad you enjoyed Courtney!! You can definitely use other pasta shapes (angel hair is a bit trickier, as you experienced, since it's so fine, but I'm glad you made it work!).
Dani says
The perfect last min lunch for my toddler! Love a protein packed recipe that I can disguise as indulgent
Nicki Sizemore says
Woohoo! So glad you enjoyed.
Jenna says
Just made this for lunch! Super easy and delicious! I used chickpea pasta and threw in some arugula before eating
Nicki Sizemore says
I'm so glad you enjoyed! I often throw in some spinach or arugula as well - thank you for sharing!
MB says
Had a homemade, roasted-garlic cottage cheese spread that I used for this recipe. So good and filling.
Nicki Sizemore says
I'm so glad you enjoyed!!
Lily says
Was super easy and delicious! Do you have the calorie count??
Nicki Sizemore says
Hi Lily, I’m so glad you enjoyed! Unfortunately I don’t have a calorie count for this recipe.
Mel says
This was awesome! I can't believe how good it turned out! Love love love your recipes, Nicki!
Nicki Sizemore says
Thank you so much, Mel!
Destiny says
This was super yummy & so quick to make! Blended everything up super easily & leftovers were even better the next day! Thanks so much❤️
Nicki Sizemore says
Thank you for your comment, and I’m so happy you enjoyed!!
Val says
Why can’t it be low fat? I’d make this in a heartbeat if I could use fat free cottage cheese.
Nicki Sizemore says
Hi there! Low-fat cheese will separate in the sauce, so in this case it's best to use full-fat.
Kristin says
This recipe did not work for me, the cottage cheese spread clumped in pasta and left a clumpy, watery sauce.
Nicki Sizemore says
I'm so sorry to hear you had trouble! What brand and kind of cottage cheese did you use?