This pasta with cottage cheese sauce combines delicious fresh cheese, roasted red peppers and fragrant herbs. We stir the creamy cheese sauce through pasta to make a high protein comfort food dinner in all simple steps!
As a low histamine cook, I love to use fresh cheeses to make pasta sauces rather than higher histamine aged cheeses. They're creamy, smooth and easy to flavor with herbs, as in my pesto ricotta pasta, or veggies, such as in my red pepper ricotta pasta.
This cottage cheese pasta is both so pink in pretty, but also a tomato free sauce, as I always make, as we use roasted red peppers as a food swap. They give a nice flavor and color, and are easy to find in stores.
Looking for more fresh cheese pasta sauces? Have a peek at my chicken ricotta pasta and gnocchi with ricotta sauce.
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Ingredients
All the ingredients and their quantities are set out in the recipe card below.
Some notes on a few of them:
- Cottage cheese - I suggest to use a 4% milk fat cottage cheese for a richer, creamier flavor. It's what I use in recipes such as my cottage cheese stuffed chicken and cottage cheese chicken salad. Personally, I find lower fat options have a more tangy taste.
- Red pepper - I really like to use red pointed peppers to make this recipe and other tomato free pasta sauces, as they have a nice sweetness. You can also use regular red sweet bell peppers.
- Basil - use fresh basil leaves for that fragrant flavor!
- Pasta - of course, use pasta of choice, whether regular, spelt, gluten free or an alternative such as a brown rice pasta.
- Sweet paprika - if you're a low histamine reader, please be sure to use sweet paprika (scores 0 on the SIGHI list), rather than hot or smoked which are higher histamine.
Is Cottage Cheese Low Histamine?
Cottage cheese is on the 'eat freely' section of the British Dietetic Association list and the 'well tolerated' section of the SIGHI elimination diet for histamine intolerance list. It doesn't appear on the SIGHI list for mast cell disorders. As always, only enjoy if you tolerate it well.
How to Make Cottage Cheese Pasta Sauce
It's very easy to make this high protein pasta with cottage cheese sauce with fresh cheese, peppers, fragrant herbs and spice. No fancy kitchen equipment required, just a baking sheet and blender!
All the instructions are in the recipe card below, but these step by step photos should help guide you.
Step 1: Roast the red peppers
Slice the red peppers lengthways and remove the membrane, stalk and seeds. Add to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, drizzle over olive oil and sprinkle on the sweet paprika and dried thyme (image 1). Roast for 20-25 minutes. Place in a bowl covered with a plate for about 10 minutes, and once cool enough to handle, peel the skins from the peppers.
Step 2: Cook the pasta
Cook the pasta to package instructions in lightly salted water (image 2). Make sure to reserve about half a cup of the starchy pasta water to help make the sauce later!
Step 3: Make the cottage cheese sauce
Add the cottage cheese, roasted peppers, fresh basil leaves, a pinch of salt and black pepper (if using) to your blender cup (image 3). Pour in about ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water. Blend to a creamy sauce.
Step 4: Stir the sauce through pasta
Drain your pasta in a colander and add back to your pot. Pour in the cottage cheese sauce. I like to have the pot on a very low heat at this point, just to warm the sauce through (don't let it get too hot or the cheese could curdle). Stir the sauce through the pasta, adding pasta water a spoonful at a time, as needed, to get a creamy sauce to taste preference (image 4). Season and enjoy!
Recipe Tips and Notes
- I suggest to use a 4% full fat cottage cheese for a richer flavor, and creamier taste and texture.
- Make sure to reserve some pasta water! You may not need all of it, but it helps to create a smooth sauce.
- This recipe makes quite a lot of the cottage cheese pasta sauce as that's how my family likes it, but if you prefer less then reduce the amount of cottage cheese a little.
Frequently Asked Questions
You don't have to peel the peppers, but it gives a smoother sauce and removes any charred bits.
I like to use penne, fusilli or rigatoni, but you can also use spaghetti. If regular wheat pasta doesn't work for you, then there are lots of pasta alternatives such as brown rice pasta.
You can use jarred red peppers, but this may not be suitable for all low histamine readers.
I don't recommend to freeze it as the texture will change. Best to make it fresh!
More Pasta Recipes
Choose from lots of low histamine pasta recipes, including my popular chicken mascarpone pasta and carrot pasta sauce, as well as these recent ideas:
I'm always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes! And I love to hear from you, so please do leave a star rating and comment if you've tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Pasta with Cottage Cheese Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 sweet red peppers I use red pointed peppers
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 8 ounces pasta fusilli, penne or farfalle
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 390F / 200C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Slice your peppers into 2-3 pieces and remove the stalk, membrane and seeds. Add to the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle over the sweet paprika and dried thyme. Toss to coat in the spices. Roast the peppers for 20-25 minutes, until softened.
- Remove from the oven, place in a bowl and cover with a plate for 10 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, peel the skins from the peppers.
- Cook your pasta according to package instructions in lightly salted water. Reserve half a cup of the pasta water (you may not use it all). Drain in a colander.
- Blend the cottage cheese, roasted peppers, fresh basil leaves, ¼ cup of pasta water, salt and black pepper, if using, to a thick sauce.
- Add the cooked pasta back to the pot and pour in the cottage cheese sauce. Stir into the pasta, adding more pasta water, a spoonful at a time, for a thicker, smooth sauce, as needed. Season to taste preference.
Notes
- I suggest to use a 4% cottage cheese for a creamier, richer sauce.
- A gluten free pasta, or alternative pasta such as brown rice pasta, quinoa or other can be used.
- Nutritional information is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- cottage cheese is on the 'eat freely' section of the British Dietetic Association histamine list, and 'well tolerated' on the SIGHI elimination diet for histamine intolerance, but does not appear on the mast cell disorders version.
- wheat (pasta) scores 1. Use a gluten free or alternative pasta to dietary requirements.
- black pepper, which scores 2.
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