Hidden Veggie Protein Pasta
This hidden veggie protein pasta is a creamy, high-protein dinner that’s perfect for picky eaters and busy weeknights! Roasted zucchini, bell pepper, onion, and cherry tomatoes are blended with cottage cheese and nutritional yeast for a velvety, veggie-packed sauce that tastes just like a rich tomato cream sauce. Toss it with your favorite gluten-free pasta for a family-friendly meal that’s vegetarian, protein-packed, and ready in under 30 minutes.
Hidden Veggie Protein Pasta ingredients:
Zucchini: Zucchini adds a subtle sweetness and creamy texture to the sauce once it’s roasted and blended. Its mild flavor makes it perfect for “hiding” in the mix, adding extra fiber and nutrients without overwhelming the dish. Roasting it first deepens its flavor and helps it blend into a silky-smooth base. It’s an easy way to sneak in more veggies while still making the pasta taste indulgent.
Cherry Tomatoes: Cherry tomatoes bring a juicy burst of sweetness and tang that balances the richness of the cottage cheese in the sauce. Roasting them intensifies their natural sugars, creating a deeper, almost caramelized flavor that gives the pasta a fresh, summery note.
Cottage Cheese: Cottage cheese packs this pasta with protein and creaminess. When blended, it turns velvety smooth, adding richness to the sauce while staying light and nutritious. You truly can’t taste it! Plus, it boosts the protein content, making this dish extra satisfying. If preferred, swap for ricotta for a similar creamy sauce.
Nutritional Yeast: Nutritional yeast brings a cheesy flavor that gives the sauce a Parmesan-like taste without dairy, and helps thicken the sauce slightly. It also contributes a boost of plant-based protein and B vitamins, making the dish even more nutrient-dense. Just a little goes a long way here! If you’re not dairy-free, swap for double the amount of parm.
Brown Rice Penne: Brown rice penne is a hearty, gluten-free pasta that holds its shape well and pairs perfectly with the thick, creamy sauce. I find that brown rice based pastas hold up better compared to other gluten-free options, like chickpea-based pasta. Swap for regular if you don’t need to eat gluten-free!
Hidden Veggie Protein Pasta
4
servings20
minutes30
minutesThis hidden veggie protein pasta is a creamy, high-protein dinner that’s perfect for picky eaters and busy weeknights! Roasted zucchini, bell pepper, onion, and cherry tomatoes are blended with cottage cheese and nutritional yeast for a velvety, veggie-packed sauce that tastes just like a rich tomato cream sauce. Toss it with your favorite gluten-free pasta for a family-friendly meal that’s vegetarian, protein-packed, and ready in under 30 minutes.
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Ingredients
1 small zucchini, diced into 1-inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, diced into 1-inch pieces
1/2 large yellow onion (or 1 small yellow onion), quartered
1 cup cherry tomatoes
4 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
10 ounces gluten-free penne (brown rice based recommended)
16 ounces 4% milkfat cottage cheese
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425F. Prepare a large sheet pan.
- Add the zucchini, bell pepper, onion, cherry tomatoes, and garlic to the sheet pan. Cover with the oil, oregano, salt, basil, black pepper, and red pepper flakes and toss to combine, coating the vegetables in the oil and spice evenly. Bake until the vegetables are soft and browning, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool on the counter for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the pasta. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add the penne, and cook until al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water before draining.
- Add the cooled vegetables to a blender or large food processor along with the cottage cheese, nutritional yeast, and 2 tablespoons of the reserved pasta water. Blend on high speed until completely smooth, 45 to 60 seconds. If needed, add additional pasta water to thin.
- Combine two cups of the blended sauce with the cooked pasta. Mix and add additional sauce until desired sauciness is reached. *See recipe note
- Divide evenly among four plates and top with chopped parsley and grated parmesan, if desired.
Notes
- Storage: Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days. Freeze the sauce for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: Microwave until warm, about 2 minutes.
- Yield: This recipe makes 4 cups of sauce, unless you like your pasta very saucy, you’ll only need to use 2 cups for 10 to 12 ounces of gluten-free pasta. Freeze the leftover sauce, or refrigerate for leftovers later in the week.
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Absolutely loved this one! I topped it with some shrimp. Best part is, I have leftover sauce to enjoy this recipe again later in the week.
Delicious recipe, a great way to get veggies. I made enough for my lunch the next day.
This one is so good!!
Made it with shells since I had some, which definitely worked. Could have fooled me that it had a single veggie (definitely fooled my two year old) – tastes like a rich mac and cheese so would definitely recommend for kids. Personal preference, but will jazz it up next time with some chicken and spinach, maybe a little spice?
she does it again….. all I do is make Jenn recipes. great dish, like an elevated mac and cheese. I added the red pepper flakes which was a great kick!
Great for a lunch meal prep! I used a whole head of garlic because I love the roasted garlic flavor. Worked well with chickpea pasta which is what I had on hand. Topped with fresh parm and it was delicious!
Could any dairy free substitute work here? Sounds so good! I’ve seen a tofu cottage cheese recipe I could try in here
I think this could work well as a swap! Anything that has a similar consistency to the cottage cheese to help thicken it up will work.
Made this for my family and everyone loved it! Definitely versatile I had yellow squash on hand and green peppers and still turned out great!
This is so freaking good!
This was delicious, and my 6 year old loved it. I will say that I wish it looked prettier. Mine sort of looked like throw up. It tasted wonderful though and I would make this again. I did use a lot of pasta water to thin it out as it was soooo thick. It reheated nicely the next day.
This is fantastic! I made a double batch, so we ended out eating it everyday for a week. No one got tired of it! Definitely putting this on regular rotation.
I personally did not like the red pepper in the sauce. I found it overpowering the rest of the vegetables. Otherwise, it was fine. I used chickpea penne pasta and that worked well.
Made this for my husband and my parents and everybody LOVED it! I love how versatile it is: I didn’t have cottage cheese, so I used a combo of cream cheese, sour cream and yogurt. I didn’t have bell pepper, so I used another zucchini and added some carrots and a few more cherry tomatoes. I didn’t have nutritional yeast, so I added more parm. AND I didn’t have enough penne, so I used spaghetti 🤣🤣 I know I’m crazy and should have just waited for weekly grocery store run, but I wanted it now! And it was sooo good. I can’t wait to make it again! I’m definitely keeping this one in the rotation 😊
This pasta is delicious! I actually swapped out the cottage cheese with about 1/2 cup of coconut milk because my kids and I can’t have dairy. I just thought I’d try it – and it totally works! The sauce was amazing even without cottage cheese! It obviously takes out the “protein” element, but next time I’ll add in chicken for the protein.
Would you have any ideas for a dairy free swap for the cottage cheese? Would a dairy free plain yogurt work or woud coconut milk work better?
Oh my goodness, had to come back here to report back on this DELICIOUS meal! I’ve made my own pasta sauces and they’ve been (eh) but THIS…this was so tasty! I personally loved the flavor the red pepper and red pepper flakes gave this sauce. We served it with gluten free Casarecce pasta (which was also new to us) and air fryer chicken. This was a great, quick and easy Monday night dinner. Thanks for sharing!
I made that vegan cottage cheese! It worked really well!