High-Protein Creamy Pumpkin Pasta!

All things fall, all things pumpkin, all things pasta.

The sauce for this simple pasta dish is so luxurious, thanks to the creamy pumpkin cottage cheese sauce. Cottage cheese is really having a moment and rightfully so. It’s a simple and inexpensive way to add protein to your meals (42 grams of protein in this beauty!) and if you are a cottage cheese hater, please give this a try because the cottage cheese gets blended up and makes this pasta so creamy and delicious and you won’t even know that it’s in there. Promise.

The best part is that the sauce requires zero cooking – you just blend and toss it with the hot pasta, and top the dish with delectable toasted crispy garlic breadcrumbs. It’s ready in only 20 minutes, and makes a great weeknight meal!

It’s sweet, earthy and beautifully warming, perfect for drizzly weather, you’ll love it.

High-Protein Creamy Pumpkin Pasta!

1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling!)

1 1/2 cups organic cottage cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

pinch of cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1-2 tablespoon olive oil

1/3 cup diced onion

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 lb. pasta*

Optional Garnish: Crispy Topping (recipe below), chopped fresh sage and crushed red pepper

Cook your pasta according to directions in salted water and reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. To make the sauce: add the pumpkin puree, cottage cheese, grated parmesan cheese, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and pepper to a high speed blender and blend until smooth.

Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat on the stove. Then, sauté the diced onion in the olive oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. After that, add the crushed garlic to the pan and sauté, but make sure not to burn the garlic. 

Add the blended mixture to the pan and thoroughly mix the sauce. Heat the sauce in the pan over low heat. Add the rinsed and drained cooked pasta to the pan with the sauce, thinning with pasta water as needed and season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Top with fresh parmesan cheese, sage, crushed red pepper and crispy breadcrumbs. Enjoy! Serves 4

Optional Crispy Topping:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage leaves
½ cup panko bread crumbs
Pinch of kosher salt

Melt the butter or olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. When the butter is melted and frothy, add the garlic and cook until lightly golden, about a minute to 90 seconds. (Be very, very careful not to let it burn, friends!! If it starts to color too quickly, turn down the heat.) Stir in the fresh sage, bread crumbs, and a tiny pinch of salt. Once all the crumbs are toasty and golden brown, immediately transfer the topping to a small bowl and briefly set aside while you finish the pasta.

*Feel free to swap out regular pasta for a legume-based pasta (like Banza chickpea pasta) for even more protein and fiber or you could use zucchini noodles for a low-carb option.