Creamy Veggie-Packed Pasta Sauce
Simple, quick sauce to make your favorite pasta more delicious and nutritious. Veggies and cottage cheese blended with jarred tomato sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta, any kind
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped small
- 2 cups baby spinach, chopped
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese
- 2 cups jarred marinara or pasta sauce
- grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water then cook pasta according to package instructions, reserving about a cup of pasta water before draining.
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add carrot and cook for 2 minutes to soften. Stir in spinach and cook until wilted. If carrots are still hard, add a splash of water and cook until all the water has evaporated and carrots are soft.
- Add the cooked vegetables, cottage cheese, and 1 cup of the marinara sauce to a blender. (I like some of the pieces of tomato in my sauce, so I only blend 1 cup, but if you want the sauce completely smooth, add the 2nd cup to the blender as well.)
- Place the cooked pasta into the skillet (you cooked the veg in) or back into the pot you cooked the pasta in. Pour some of the sauce over the cooked pasta and stir to coat. Add as much as a little sauce as you'd like. If you didn't blend the 2nd cup of marinara, you can add it to the pasta now too. Turn heat onto low and add a splash or two of pasta water as needed to help coat the pasta and make the sauce creamy. Serve with Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on the top.