Despite the fact that half my recipes involve marinara sauce, cottage cheese, and pasta or spaghetti squash, I do like to switch things up sometimes 😉 That’s why I created this cottage cheese kale sauce pasta, AKA a super-vibrant green sauce to break up all the red.

It’s inspired by Joshua Mcfadden’s viral kale pasta sauce from his cookbook Six Seasons. I kept the garlic, Parmesan, and olive oil from his original recipe, and then added lemon juice and of course cottage cheese for an extra creamy consistency and boost of protein. 

how much pasta should I make?

This recipe was makes enough sauce to coat 12 ounces of pasta. If you prefer to use an 8-ounce box (like Banza), hold back on adding all of the sauce at once. If you don’t use it all, leftovers are great on grain bowls, breakfast sandwiches, roasted veggies, or of course a future pasta night.

cottage cheese kale sauce pasta

serves 4
hand holding a bowl of kale sauce pasta

Ingredients

  • 1 cup 2% or full-fat cottage cheese (I always use Good Culture)
  • kosher salt
  • 12 ounces lacinato kale (1 large or 2 small bunches), tough stems removed
  • 12 ounces pasta (use protein pasta for extra protein; both short and long shapes work great)
  • 1 ounce Parmesan cheese, finely grated (1/2 cup), plus more for serving
  • 2 small cloves garlic
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • freshly-ground black pepper

Instructions

  • Take out the cottage cheese and let it sit at room temperature (this will help prevent it from breaking).
  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the kale and cook until tender, about 4 minutes.
  • Using tongs, transfer the kale to a high-powered blender or food processor (it's okay if some of the water drips into the blender). Keep the pot of water at a boil.
  • Give the kale a few minutes to cool down so it's not piping hot. Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package directions for al dente (the water will likely be green or yellow-ish from the kale; that’s ok!) If using Banza, remember to reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes less than the directions call for. Otherwise it can easily overcook. Reserve a scoop of the pasta water; drain. 
  • Add the cottage cheese, Parmesan, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and several grinds black pepper to the blender with the kale and blend until smooth. Taste and season with more salt as needed.
  • Pour the sauce into the now-empty pasta pot and set it over low heat to re-warm it, if necessary (you always want to keep cottage cheese-based sauces over low heat so they don't separate). Add the cooked pasta and toss to coat, adding a splash of pasta water if needed.
  • Divide into bowls and top each serving with grated Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.
*Note: this recipe originally called for 8 ounces of pasta. It has since been updated to call for 12 ounces.