Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce with Cottage Cheese Recipe
This Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce with Cottage Cheese is a deliciously smooth and flavorful sauce made by roasting butternut squash, bell pepper, shallots, and garlic, then blending them with creamy cottage cheese, parmesan, fresh thyme, and a touch of red pepper flakes. Perfectly paired with your favorite pasta, this healthy and comforting dish is ready in just 40 minutes and serves five.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 5 servings
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian-inspired
- Diet: Low Fat
Ingredients
Roasted Vegetables
- ½ small butternut squash, seeds scooped out
- 1 medium red bell pepper, cut into thirds
- 1 medium shallot, quartered
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- Salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
Sauce Ingredients
- 1 cup cottage cheese (2% M.F.)
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- ¼ cup reserved pasta water
Pasta
- 1 box (340g) protein rigatoni pasta, cooked according to package directions
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Aromatics: Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). Place the quartered shallot and peeled garlic cloves into a small aluminum foil packet. Drizzle with half of the olive oil, then fold the foil to seal the packet completely to create a roasting pouch.
- Prepare Vegetables for Roasting: Rub the remaining olive oil over the halved butternut squash and the cut red bell pepper pieces. Season all with salt and black pepper. Place the butternut squash and bell pepper skin-side up in a shallow baking dish and add the foil packet containing the shallots and garlic to the dish.
- Roast Vegetables: Roast the vegetables in the preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes, or until the butternut squash is tender and easily scoopable. While roasting, cook the pasta according to package instructions and reserve ¼ cup of pasta water before draining.
- Transfer Roasted Ingredients to Blender: Once roasted, scoop the flesh from the butternut squash and add it to a high-speed blender along with the roasted bell pepper, shallots, and garlic from the foil packet.
- Add Dairy and Seasonings: Add the cottage cheese, fresh thyme leaves, red pepper flakes, grated parmesan cheese, and the reserved pasta water to the blender with the roasted vegetables.
- Blend the Sauce: Blend all ingredients on high until the mixture is completely smooth and creamy. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper as needed, then blend again briefly to combine.
- Combine Sauce with Pasta and Serve: Pour the creamy sauce over the cooked and drained rigatoni. Stir well to fully coat the pasta. If necessary, gently warm the sauce and pasta mixture on the stovetop before serving. Serve with additional freshly grated parmesan cheese on top for garnish.
Notes
- You can substitute protein rigatoni with any preferred pasta shape.
- For a vegan version, replace cottage cheese and parmesan with plant-based alternatives.
- Reserved pasta water helps loosen the sauce to the perfect consistency.
- Adjust red pepper flakes according to desired spice level.
- Use fresh thyme for best flavor, but dried thyme can be substituted at 1 tsp.
