This tomato, pepper, and cottage cheese pasta sauce comes together in no time using just one pot. It’s perfect for the whole family, from babies starting their solids journey to toddlers, teens, and adults. Enjoy!
We love homemade, tomato-based pasta sauces. You can add different veggies to boost the flavor, and if you blend it, the kids will never know what’s in it.
This time, I picked up some Valentine’s-shaped pasta and wanted to make a quick and easy sauce with tomatoes and peppers. To make it extra creamy and add a bit of protein, I’m adding cottage cheese and blending everything together.
If you are looking for more pasta dishes for your midweek meals, some of my kids favorites are my turkey pasta sauce ready in just 30 minutes and homemade spaghettiOs.
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👩🏻🍳 Why you should try my recipe
- Ready in 40 minutes.
- You can add more veggies to your little one's taste.
- Great meal for the whole family to enjoy.
- Freezable for busy days.
🥘 Ingredients
To make this pasta sauce, we are going to use olive oil, onion, garlic, tomato paste, tomatoes, red pepper, spinach, cottage cheese, salt and black pepper.
- Tomato paste: I'm using a heaped tablespoon of tomato paste to give the sauce a stronger tomato flavor and a nice bright red color.
- Tomatoes: You could use fresh tomatoes like I do here or substitute for one and a half crushed tomatoes.
- Red pepper: I'm using one sweet red pepper to add flavor and goodness to the sauce.
- Cottage cheese: I'm using cottage cheese to add more protein to the pasta sauce and make it creamier. You could also use some cream cheese.
- Salt: If you are making the pasta sauce for babies under 12 months, then skip the salt and only add some when serving older kids and adults.
For full quantities and to print the recipe, see the recipe card below.
🔪 Step-by-step Instructions
So get your ingredients ready and let's get started!
01. To start, I prepare all the veggies. I roughly chop the onion, cut the red pepper into smaller chunks and same with the tomatoes.
02. Next, I cook the onion and garlic for a couple of minutes to get all the sweetness out. Then, I add the tomato paste and cook it for a minute or two.
03. I add the tomatoes and pepper along with a bit of water or stock. After seasoning, I let everything cook for about 25 minutes. You’re looking for the tomatoes and peppers to soften and for the sauce to thicken, rather than stay watery like it is at the start.
04. Next, I add the spinach and leave it for 10 more minutes to cook and get wilted.
05. Now the tomato, pepper and cottage cheese pasta sauce is nearly ready. I remove the pot from the heat and add the cottage cheese in. That will bring the temperature down.
06. I like to use an immersion blender because it does a great job blending the veggies. Also, everything stays in the same pot which means less cleanup. Just be careful of splashing so you don’t burn yourself.
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Babies under 12 months: For little ones doing BLW who are still getting used to holding food, I recommend serving this sauce with short-shaped pasta that isn’t too slippery. Rotini, fusilli, and farfalle are some of my favorites for this age. When cooking the sauce, leave out the salt, and add it only to the plates of older kids and adults.
Older kids and adults: For all other ages, you can serve this pasta sauce with any type of pasta, short or long. Reserve a little of the pasta water, then add the cooked pasta to the same pot with the sauce along with the reserved water. Toss everything well and serve with your favorite grated cheese on top.
🧰 Storage
The recipe makes about six adult servings of tomato, pepper, and cottage cheese pasta sauce. Once the sauce is mixed with the pasta, I find it’s best enjoyed right away.
So if you’re like me and don’t plan to use all the sauce at once, you can set aside about half and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for another midweek meal, or freeze it for up to 3 months.
❓ FAQ
To keep the pasta sauce sweet, you can use a red or yellow bell pepper or 3-4 mini bell peppers
If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a food processor or a regular blender that can handle hot liquids.
If you tried my tomato, pepper and cottage cheese pasta or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
📋 Recipe
Tomato, Pepper And Cottage Cheese Pasta Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 1-2 garlic cloves
- 1 red bell pepper
- 4 medium tomatoes
- 4-5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 handful spinach leaves
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- salt (NOT for babies under 12months)
- ground black pepper
Instructions
- Peel and chop the onion. Roughly cut the garlic cloves. Dice the tomatoes and bell pepper and set aside.
- Place a pot over medium heat and add the olive oil.
- Add the chopped onion and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes until soft.
- Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes while stirring.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and peppers. Add 1 cup of water and cook for about 25 minutes.
- Add the spinach leaves and cook for 10 more minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat. Add the cottage cheese.
- Blend everything with an immersion blender or regular blender until smooth.
- Serve with your favorite pasta.
Video
Notes
- Reserve a quarter cup of the pasta water. Add the pasta and reserved water to the pot with the sauce and mix to coat the pasta well.
- You could use cream cheese instead of cottage cheese.
- Freezable for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
🥣 More to try
If you liked my tomato, pepper and cottage cheese pasta sauce, you should try some of these recipes too:
Julia Droulia
A delicious pasta sauce that the whole family is going to love. I hope you make it and enjoy it as much as we do. Please leave me a comment here and share your feedback with a star rating as well