Cottage Cheese Pasta

• servings: 4 servings
• active time: 5 minutes
• total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

8 ounces pasta

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup diced onion (120 grams)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound ground turkey (I used 93/7)

2 cups diced red bell pepper (220 grams)

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (use less for less spicy)

3 packed cups spinach, chopped (90 grams)

salt and pepper, to taste

for topping - fresh basil, grated parmesan cheese...

2 cups pasta sauce

1 cup cottage cheese (I used low-fat)

Directions

Cook pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to the package instructions. Once al dente, drain. When draining, reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water.

Prep your veggies while the pasta water heats up.

Brown your meat. When the water is about to boil, you’ll start cooking everything else. It takes about 15 minutes to cook everything else, so start cooking according to how long it takes your pasta to cook. Heat a large nonstick pan over medium-low heat, add oil, and let it get hot. Add onions, salt, and pepper and sauté for 3-4 minutes until softened. Then add garlic and saute for 1 minute until fragrant. Add ground turkey and break it up with the back of a spoon or meat chopper. Saute for 3-4 minutes. Add bell peppers, dried basil, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper, stir to combine, and saute for 4-5 minutes. Finally, add chopped spinach, stir to combine, and saute for 1-2 minutes until wilted.

Make the sauce. While the meat and veggies are cooking, make your pasta sauce. Add marinara sauce and cottage cheese to a high-speed blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.

Drain pasta, saving 1/4 cup of pasta water.

Assemble. Add cooked pasta, cottage cheese pasta sauce, and 2 tablespoons of pasta water (or more if desired) and stir to combine. Let warm through, about 1-2 minutes.

Enjoy! Top with toppings of choice and enjoy!

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 serving (1/4 of recipe
• Calories: 562 kcal
• Total Fat: 19.8 g
• Saturated Fat: 4.3 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 8.8 g
• Cholesterol: 91 mg
• Sodium: 797 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 60 g
• Dietary Fiber: 6 g
• Total Sugars: 11.6 g
• Protein: 37.2 g