This cottage cheese pasta sauce is ultra delicious, simple, healthy, and packed with flavor. It’s a high protein pasta sauce that’s perfect for when you’re craving some quick and easy, healthy(ish) comfort food!

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high protein cottage cheese pasta sauce mixed with spinach in a ceramic bowl

What’s not to love about this cottage cheese pasta sauce? It’s creamy, has a rich and well-balanced flavor, and perfect healthy(ish) comfort food. Other reasons to love it include:

Simplicity: you only need a few ingredients for this amazing sauce and pasta.
Protein: blending cottage cheese into the sauce not only makes it ultra creamy, but adds a hefty boost of protein, too!
Flexible: whether you’re using homemade tomato sauce or store-bought, adding veggies or omitting, you can easily adapt this recipe to your specific needs.
Quick: the sauce is made in less time than it takes for the pasta to boil – such an easy dinner!
Family-Friendly: it’s hard to beat creamy, cozy pasta dishes. The whole family will be a fan!

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

For a full ingredient list with quantities, please check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

ingredients to make cottage cheese pasta sauce

Pasta – you can use any type of pasta you prefer. I love Barilla’s Protein Plus pasta for its delicious taste and boost of protein (not sponsored, I swear, they don’t know me but I love them!). And legume-based pastas are also higher protein and higher fiber alternatives.
Reserved Pasta Water – before draining the pasta, you’ll want to remove a cup of the pasta cooking water and set aside. There’s some starch in the cooking water that helps emulsify the sauce, plus it helps warm the sauce and create the perfect texture.
Cottage Cheese – any kind you prefer! I’ve used low fat and full fat, both with excellent results. You can also use a lactose-free cottage cheese, if you have a lactose sensitivity.
Tomato Sauce – make sure you’re using a tomato sauce you enjoy the taste of! I’m obsessed with my homemade oven roasted garden tomato sauce – I freeze it for all year round!
Grated Parmesan – freshly grated parmesan tastes and works the best!
Fresh Basil – this adds the best boost of freshness, flavor, and a super subtle sweetness that just rounds out the sauce perfectly. If basil isn’t in season or you can’t find fresh basil, try using a couple teaspoons of dried basil or Italian seasoning for a little extra boost of flavor.
Spinach – while this isn’t 100% necessary, I love adding spinach into the finished dish. It wilts down and adds extra volume, veggies, and nutrients to the dish in a delicious way.

The Basic Directions

For complete instructions, please check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Boil pasta, reserving one cup of pasta water before draining.
Blend pasta water, cottage cheese, pasta sauce, parmesan, and basil.
Pour over pasta with thawed chopped spinach (if desired) and stir until sauce is warmed through and evenly coating the pasta.
Dish up and enjoy!

Tips and Variations

Out of spinach? It’s fine if you skip it altogether. The sauce is still delicious on its own!
Add some spice with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes added to the sauce before blending.
Add more vegetables to add more volume and nutrition to your meal! Try roasted or sauteed zucchini, bell peppers, mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, eggplant, or more!
Protein rich cottage cheese is already the star of this dish, but try adding ground meat, air fryer tofu, grilled chicken, white beans, or your other favorite protein sources to boost the protein content even more. You can also use a protein pasta or chickpea pasta for a protein boost, too.
Focus on fiber. Choose a fiber-rich pasta, like whole wheat or a legume-based option, like chickpea or lentil pasta. Bulk up the fiber further by mixing in chickpeas or white beans or additional higher fiber vegetables.

adding spinach to cottage cheese pasta sauce

Storage, Freezing, & Reheating

How to Store Cottage Cheese Pasta Sauce:

Cottage cheese pasta sauce is best stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container (I love these glass containers and jars!)

Can you freeze cottage cheese pasta sauce?

I don’t recommend freezing cottage cheese pasta sauce – it alters the texture a bit too much after thawing.

How long will this last in the fridge?

Refrigerate up to 3 days.

How to Reheat Pasta Sauce with Cottage Cheese:

This pasta dish reheats beautifully. Reheat in a skillet on the stove or in a microwave-safe container in the microwave until warm. You may find that you need to add a splash of broth or water, especially when reheating on the stove.

How to Serve

This tomato sauce with cottage cheese is delicious on its own, but you can also try pairing it with some of these recipes:

a forkful of cottage cheese pasta sauce over noodles

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Blender – I love my Ninja Kitchen blender.
Measuring cups and spoons – I always get asked about these measuring cups in my social media videos.
Large pot – I love my stainless steel pot that also comes with a built in pasta strainer.
Colander – necessary if your pot doesn’t have a pasta strainer component!

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