Creamy Cottage Cheese Pasta Salad is bright and tangy without mayonnaise – this is a great high protein pasta salad recipe to bring to a cookout, tailgate, potluck, or BBQ! Loaded with veggies and easy to make ahead – this is one crowd pleaser pasta salad that everyone will love.
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If you’re looking for a creamy pasta salad without mayo – you’ve found the right recipe! I know cottage cheese isn’t everyone’s cup of tea (*looks over at husband*) but if you love it, you LOVE it! This cottage cheese pasta salad is a bright, tangy, and a fresh take on classic creamy pasta salads. The cottage cheese adds flavor, protein, and pairs really well with fresh summer tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers. This was definitely a fun recipe to try out: I’m adding it to my “Midwestern Fusion” recipes where I like to mash up fun ingredients that remind me of home. This is a great recipe if you like cottage cheese (I love it!) and while it may sound a little strange, it is absolutely fantastic.
This Creamy Summer Pasta Salad Recipe Is:
- High Protein
- Tangy
- Vibrant
- Loaded with Flavor
- Colorful
- Vegetarian, and gluten free by using GF pasta
A Great Make-Ahead High Protein Pasta Salad for Entertaining
This cottage cheese pasta salad recipe is fantastic to make ahead of time for a party, potluck, or gathering. Making this recipe in advance allows you to skip any cooking or prep on the day-of. This is a great recipe to entertain with, or bring to an event. A crowd-pleaser recipe that cottage cheese lovers will want to dig in to! I got the idea for this recipe after making a pasta salad with cheddar… and realizing that there is another type of cheese that would also be great to add. Adding a scoop of cottage cheese is a great way to add more protein to your bowl, while you are also adding flavor.
Whats In This Creamy High Protein Cheese Pasta Salad?
- Gluten Free Rotini Pasta: I used this rotini for a fun twist, but you can use any pasta of your choice. And if you’re gluten free or cooking for someone who may be, this great GF rotini can be found here.
- Cucumber
- Tomatoes
- Bell Pepper: If you don’t have fresh peppers, these sweet roasted red peppers are a great substitute! I love adding them to breakfast bakes, sandwiches or wraps, and soups.
- Spinach
- Dill
- Actually GOOD Bottled Lemon Juice: Use fresh lemons if you have it, or this really great bottled lemon that you can keep in your pantry if you don’t have fresh lemons. This organic lemon is great for dressings, dips, and even cocktails – and it tastes fresh, which is great to have around if you don’t use lemon juice everyday but still want to keep some around.
- Gluten Free Italian Dressing: There are times when I love making my own salad dressings… and then there are times I skip the hassle and use Ken’s Italian Dressing instead! It has all of the flavor of making your own, and is a huge time saver. This dressing is also gluten free, which is great to bring to a potluck in case anyone at the party is sensitive to gluten.
- Oregano: a spice I always put in my pasta salads! This dried oregano has a bright and earthy flavor, and goes so well with the fresh crunchy vegetables.
- Pink Himalayan Sea Salt: I like to use a pink Himalayan Sea Salt in my kitchen, which has more natural minerals than plain processed table salt. It’s fairly inexpensive, so I’d recommend this salt if you’re looking for an easy way to level up your spice pantry.
- Tellicherry Peppercorns: Like the salt, it’s amazing the flavor difference you can get with really good tellicherry black pepper. Amazon has a generic brand tellicherry peppercorn which is the same price is buying pre-ground, and has a million times more flavor… so I use these really great tellicherry peppercorns, which I would definitely recommend.
- Cottage Cheese – you can use whatever type you normally buy to eat: fat free, low fat, of 4%. My favorite cottage cheese ever is Cabot brand which is a great Vermont based company they sell in most of our grocery stores here in New England.
How Do I Make this Cottage Pasta Salad?
- Boil a large pot of salted water, and cook pasta according to package. Drain and rinse noodles under cold water to stop them cooking. Set aside.
- Dice the cucumber and tomatoes, slice the peppers into fine bite-sized ribbons, chop the spinach, and add all veggies to a bowl. Add the pasta, and dressing – toss to coat. Squeeze the lemon juice over the salad and toss once more. Add a pinch of oregano, and season with Salt and Pepper if needed! Stir in the cottage cheese and enjoy!!
- For leftovers – I like to take a quart sized mason jar, fill half with pasta salad, and half with fresh spinach and enjoy for a quick and easy lunch!
Eat Seasonal with This Summer Pasta Salad with Cottage Cheese
This summer cheese pasta salad is a great way to get in some seasonal fresh produce! Summer time means fresh garden tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers. Combine all these amazing fresh ingredients into this healthy and delicious summer bbq pasta salad. And add in some fresh chopped herbs for a little extra freshness and taste of summer!
Other Popular Summer Side Dishes For BBQ season!
Pantry 3 Bean Salad (Vegan, Gluten Free, No Cook Sides)
Summer White Bean & Veggie Salad (Vegan, Gluten Free)
Instant Pot Vegetarian Cowboy Beans Recipe (Vegan, Gluten Free)
Get the Same Ingredients I Use in My Cottage Cheese Side Salad:
As always, if you make this vegetarian and gluten free healthy cottage cheese pasta salad be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe, and tag me @theherbeevore on Instagram so I can feature you. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
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Cottage Cheese Pasta Salad (Vegetarian, GF)
Ingredients
- 1 12 ounce box rotini pasta Gluten Free
- 1 cucumber seeded and diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes diced
- 1 bell pepper
- 1/2 cup fresh spinach
- 1/4 fresh dill chopped
- 1 lemon juiced
- 2/3 cup Italian dressing
- Pinch of Oregano
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- Himalayan Sea Salt and Pepper to Taste
Instructions
- Boil a large pot of salted water, and cook pasta according to package. Drain and rinse noodles under cold water to stop them cooking. Set aside.
- Dice the cucumber and tomatoes, slice the peppers into fine bite-sized ribbons, chop the spinach, and add all veggies to a bowl. Add the pasta, and dressing - toss to coat. Squeeze the lemon juice over the salad and toss once more. Add a pinch of oregano, and season with Salt and Pepper if needed! Stir in the cottage cheese and enjoy!!
- For leftovers - I like to take a quart sized mason jar, fill half with pasta salad, and half with fresh spinach and enjoy for a quick and easy lunch!
Nutrition
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I may earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting the brands that support The Herbeevore and our beehives!