This super simple protein pasta sauce with hidden veggies uses just three ingredients and is packed with protein, vitamin A, potassium, and fiber. As a busy mom, it’s one of my favorite ways to balance convenience and nutrition – without making separate meals for everyone. It’s an easy way to upgrade your favorite pasta sauce while adding a boost of nutrients… and it tastes delicious, too!
I decided to experiment with this recipe, not knowing if my two picky toddlers would actually eat it. However, kids love pasta – why not attempt to make it a little more nutritious? I simply added cottage cheese and sweet potatoes to a jarred pasta sauce – and guess what – my kids ate it! I even saved a little sauce and made a pizza with it.
This recipe can be customized to meet you and your family’s preferences. It might just give you inspiration to try this with other recipes as well.
Reasons to Try This Recipe
- It’s super easy – you don’t even have to make pasta sauce from scratch (but you totally could).
- Perfect for a busy weeknight or lazy Sunday. Plus, you could make a huge batch and repurpose it for pizza later in the week.
- This recipe takes a toddler favorite and elevates it – so every bite is a little bit more nutritious. Ideal for kids who don’t eat many vegetables – because they won’t even taste them!
- This is a great meal to get your kids involved with the cooking process, which can help with increased food acceptance. My kids love to add ingredients to a blender and watch it go!
Directions
This recipe uses about a 1/2 jar of pasta sauce and makes about 4-5 servings.
You can put the rest of the pasta sauce in the fridge and use in the next 7 days OR double this recipe and have a lot of leftovers for the week!
Freezing is also an option, but it is not usually recommended as it can change the texture of the cottage cheese. You could freeze the leftover jarred pasta sauce without the cottage cheese, though.
Ingredients
Step-By-Step Instructions
Alright, so ready to make a super simple protein pasta sauce with hidden veggies? All you’ll need are the ingredients, a measuring cup, a blender, and a pot for the pasta.
If you love this recipe, try this mac and cheese with hidden veggies or my butternut squash cottage cheese pasta sauce. Or you might just see how easy it is to customize your own favorite recipes.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve about 1 cup of pasta water before draining.
- While the pasta cooks, microwave the frozen sweet potato cubes until soft.
- In a blender, combine the pasta sauce, cottage cheese (or yogurt), sweet potatoes, and ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water. Blend until smooth. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.
- Return the drained pasta to the pot (or a large pan) and pour the sauce over top. Heat on low, stirring to combine.
- Add parmesan cheese and stir until melted. Slowly add more reserved pasta water as needed until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.
- Top with additional parmesan cheese and serve.
The Taste Test
I compared the jarred pasta sauce to the blended protein pasta sauce and I felt like they were very comparable. This is probably why my kids ate this pasta – but I was still SHOCKED. It just goes to show that you could probably customize any pasta sauce to make it healthier!
Easy Protein Pasta Sauce with Hidden Veggies
Ingredients
- 1 cup Rao's vodka pasta sauce or preferred jarred or homemade sauce
- 2 cups sweet potatoes cubes, frozen
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast see notes
- 1 box Barilla Protein Plus Pasta or preferred pasta
- 1/2-1 cup pasta water
- 1 lb. Italian sausage, optional
- Garlic powder, salt, pepper (to taste)
Method
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve about 1 cup of pasta water before draining.
- While the pasta cooks, microwave the frozen sweet potato cubes until soft.
- In a blender, combine the pasta sauce, cottage cheese (or yogurt), sweet potatoes, and ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water. Blend until smooth. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.
- Return the drained pasta to the pot (or a large pan) and pour the sauce over top. Heat on low, stirring to combine.
- Add parmesan cheese and stir until melted. Slowly add more reserved pasta water as needed until the sauce reaches your desired consistency.
- Top with additional parmesan cheese and serve.
Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Other Ideas For Protein Pasta Sauce with Hidden Veggies
Just because this recipe isn’t completely “homemade” it can still be a part of a healthy diet for you and hopefully your entire family! Balancing nutrition and convenience just makes sense sometimes when you’re a busy mom.
The sky is the limit here. What are some other foods your kids love where you can use the same principles of this dish?
For example, incorporating roasted cauliflower and Greek yogurt to an alfredo sauce – as it likely will not change the color of the sauce. Another great idea would be making a white cheddar macaroni and cheese with added veggies and protein.
If you try this sauce with your kids, let me know – did they eat it?