This whipped ricotta pasta is an indulgent comfort food dinner that's so easy to make in less than 30 minutes! Flavored with lots of herbs and garlic, and topped with pistachios for a good crunch, it's a cozy vegetarian pasta dish all the family will love.
Pasta is the go-to quick dinner in my home - is it yours? If you're tomato-free as I am, then I hope you enjoy all the choices we have here, including my brown butter zucchini pasta and baked ricotta and butternut squash pasta.
This creamy whipped ricotta pasta has all the feels of a good bowl of comfort food, and is very quick to prepare. It's perfect for a busy weeknight dinner and equally for entertaining too! Serve with a fresh green salad or veggies on the side.
Love all things ricotta? Do have a peek at my ricotta pesto pasta and my ricotta stuffed chicken breasts for next time!
This recipe was updated with new photos and slight amendments to the recipe on February 3, 2023.
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⭐ Why you'll love this pasta recipe
- The best comfort food. The combination of creamy ricotta cheese and carbs . . . Simply the best for a busy weeknight dinner!
- Versatile. Pair this whipped ricotta pasta with vegetables of your choice or a healthy side salad.
- Easy to make. A super simple pasta dish that's perfect for a quick weeknight dinner - and kid-friendly too!
🍝 Ingredients
All the ingredients and their quantities are set out in the recipe card below.
Just a few ingredients to make this whipped ricotta pasta recipe. Some notes on a few of them:
- Pasta - I like to use farfalle, but of course use your favorite or that you have to hand.
- Ricotta - a soft fresh cheese that goes so gooey when whipped and warmed through.
- Thyme - to flavour the ricotta sauce.
- Pistachios - they give the best crunch for the crumb topping. Make sure to use unsalted pistachios!
📖 Swaps and variations
Swap thyme for another dried herb. You could also use rosemary or sage. They both are quite pungent so I suggest you may wish to reduce the quantity a little.
Swap farfalle for another pasta type. I suggest using a smaller pasta such as fusilli, penne or orecchiette. There are lots of ideas for pasta types on my substitutes for orzo post!
Swap shallots for onion. Both give that tasty onion flavor, so use the type you prefer or have to hand.
🔪 Step by step instructions
Making this whipped ricotta pasta with herbs is very simple, with just a few steps:
Step 1
Cook the pasta. Cook your farfalle to packet instructions in salted water (image 1).
Make sure to reserve half a cup of pasta water before draining in a colander.
Step 2
Cook shallots and garlic. In a skillet, cook shallots, garlic and dried thyme in butter for 4-5 minutes or until the shallots soften (image 2).
Recipe tip: make sure to reserve some of the pasta water!
Step 3
Whip the ricotta. Add the ricotta and fresh herbs to a food processor or blender. Blend for 10-20 seconds or until it has a 'whipped' texture (image 3).
Step 4
Combine the ricotta pasta. Add the drained pasta and whipped ricotta to the skillet with the shallots and garlic. Stir to combine, adding small amounts of the reserved pasta water to get the sauce to a consistency you like (image 4).
💭 Recipe tips and notes
- Adjust the amount of fresh herbs in the whipped ricotta to the amount of your preference.
- Make sure to reserve some of the pasta water - it's so easy to forget I find, but it helps to bring the sauce together.
- Make the sauce and whip the ricotta while the pasta is cooking so it comes together at the same time.
- You can easily use the back of a spoon to crush the pistachios.
- If you want to add some vegetables, a little broccoli can be cooked in the same pot as the pasta.
📋 Frequently asked questions
You don't have to, but whipping the ricotta makes for a much lighter sauce.
Whipped ricotta is light and creamy, and tastes quite indulgent! You can flavor the ricotta with herbs, spice or a sweetener if you like.
You would need to use a gluten free pasta alternative for this recipe to be suitable for that dietary requirement.
🍽 How to serve whipped ricotta pasta
You can serve this pasta dish on its own, or add some sides:
- For hot vegetable sides I think you will love my air fryer broccoli and cauliflower, my roasted asparagus and Brussels sprouts or my air fried bok choy. All good for getting in some greens!
- Salads are always a good side for pasta. I suggest that my kale with tahini dressing and my cucumber beet salad are good healthy options!
🥣 More pasta recipes
Find so many tasty pasta dishes here, including my popular herbed tahini pasta, broccoli pesto pasta and brown butter and sage butternut squash pasta. Some recent recipes to enjoy:
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 please do leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐ if you've tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Whipped Ricotta Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 oz farfalle or pasta of choice
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 small shallot finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced or finely diced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ cup ricotta
- 2 tablespoon fresh herbs
- 2 tablespoon unsalted pistachio nuts crushed
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper optional
Instructions
- Begin by cooking your pasta according to packet instructions in salted water. Reserve half a cupful of the pasta water after cooking. Drain in a colander.
- While the pasta is cooking add the butter to your skillet and gently cook the shallot, garlic and thyme for 4-5 minutes, or until the shallot has softened.
- Add the ricotta to your food processor or blender with the fresh herbs and blend for 10-20 seconds or until it is whipped in texture.
- Tip the drained pasta and whipped ricotta into your skillet and stir to combine with the shallot and garlic mixture. Add small amounts of the reserved pasta water, stirring and adding more to get the consistency of sauce you like. Heat through for a few minutes to warm the ricotta.
- Spoon the ricotta pasta into your bowls and sprinkle over the crushed pistachios and more fresh herbs. Season with salt and black pepper. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
- Adjust the amount of fresh herbs in the whipped ricotta to the amount of your preference.
- Make sure to reserve some of the pasta water - it's so easy to forget I find, but it helps to bring the sauce together.
- Make the sauce and whip the ricotta while the pasta is cooking so it comes together at the same time.
- If you want to add some vegetables, a little broccoli can be cooked in the same pot as the pasta.
- To crush the pistachios, simply use the back of a spoon. You will want to use unsalted pistachio nuts for this recipe.
- Please note that nutritional information is offered as a courtesy. It is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- shallot isn't rated. White onion can be used as a swap.
- black pepper, which scores 2.
- garlic, which scores 1.
- wheat, for the pasta, which scores 1. It has a question mark for being a liberator.
Adrienn says
Lovely recipe, finally good alternative for creamy pasta. I made it with glutenfree pasta and added some asparagues at the end and it was really tasty quick lunch. Thanks for it!
throughthefibrofog says
So glad you like it! I often add some veg on the side too.
Sheryl says
'Quick few ingredients' are my type of cooking lol. this ricotta pasta sounds absolutely delicious and easy to make!
throughthefibrofog says
My kind of cooking on days when symptoms are flaring for sure! Hope you like it 🙂
Shruti Chopra says
This looks yummm as all your recipes do but my favourite part of this recipe has to be the crunch!! I love the texture of nuts especially a long with creamy things!
throughthefibrofog says
yes, me too! Love a bit of crunch and the different textures and flavours.
Nicole says
This is delicious and simple to make, as are all the other dishes I’ve made of yours! Thank you for sharing your creations so that others who need a lower histamine diet can see that they can still enjoy good food. Although there are few available resources for compliant meals out there, your recipes have consistently been tasty and easy, and your site is my go to for inspiration.
throughthefibrofog says
So glad you liked the ricotta pasta Nicole! It's one of my favourites too as it's so easy to make. It really makes me happy that the resources are helpful to you, and I'm so pleased that they help people out on a low histamine diet as I know how tricky it can be to follow at times. Thank you for taking the time to comment, so appreciate it 🙂