Have you ever been very tipsy on your back patio in full pajamas when your neighbor suddenly appears with a bag of the most beautiful homegrown cherry tomatoes as a gift??
Because I have. It was last Thursday actually.
So the next day, once the wine and embarrassment wore off, I put those little beauties into the most beautiful pasta dish and I had to share! Zach’s official review was essentially, “This is really good. It would be even better with shrimp.”
And you know what? He’s probably not wrong! But I wanted to keep this version meatless so here we are.
What You’ll Need
Cherry tomatoes: And plenty of them. After testing this the first time, I wanted even more tomato in every bite. Fresh garden tomatoes are wonderful if you’re lucky enough to have them, but grocery-store cherry or grape tomatoes work perfectly.
Butter: We’re letting the tomatoes cook down in butter rather than simply tossing them into finished pasta. It gives the sauce a richer flavor and helps create those beautiful browned bits in the pan. You can also add a splash of olive oil if you’re feelin’ nasty.
Garlic: Add this after the tomatoes have had time to cook. Garlic doesn’t need nearly as much time and adding it later keeps it from scorching while we’re browning everything else.
White beans: Cannellini or Great Northern beans work beautifully. They add protein, fiber, and enough substance to make this feel like dinner.
Cottage cheese: This makes the sauce a little creamier and adds some extra protein. Not a cottage cheese person? Leave it out. The buttery tomatoes create plenty of sauce on their own. Low-fat cottage cheese will melt and get sort of stringy like mozzarella, fat-free will never fully melt but will still blend seamlessly into the pasta when it’s all mixed.
Pasta: We love angel hair pasta here but you can really use any pasta shape you’d like! A great swap would also be a Protein Pasta or Gluten Free if that’s your thing.
Fresh basil: This is not the moment for dried basil if you can help it. Fresh basil added at the end makes the whole dish taste like summer.
Lemon: The first test needed just a little acidity at the end, and lemon was exactly what it was missing.
Cook the Pasta Separately — Trust Me
During an early test of this recipe, I decided to cook the angel hair directly in the sauce because everyone else was doing it and I felt peer-pressured to make this a one pot meal. And now I know that you can’t DO that with angel hair pasta because it turns to a gummy mess.
We still ate it, but begrudgingly.
Learn from my cooking disasters. Cook your pasta separately in generously salted water until just shy of al dente. Save some pasta water before draining it, then finish the noodles in the tomato sauce with a splash of that starchy water as needed.
For all of the Carnivores Out There, Yes You Can Add Meat!
In fact, Zach would like me to formally recommend the shrimp. His tweak to the recipe was actually to skip the beans and add chicken or shrimp. Well, this is a bean recipe lover, so the beans stay!
For shrimp, season peeled and deveined shrimp and quickly sauté them separately, then add them to the finished pasta just before serving.
For chicken, sliced grilled chicken or bite-sized pieces of sautéed chicken breast would both work. Either one turns this into an even higher-protein dinner while letting the tomato-basil sauce remain the star.
Can I Leave Out the Cottage Cheese?
Of course, I’m not a monster! Not everyone loves cottage cheese or feels the need to add it to every dish. I’m right there with ya. It’s not my favorite ingredient, I just had no other protein sources on hand when I made this recipe and I realized it was actually pretty damn good.
If you were me and I were you and cottage cheese is a no, just add a little more Parmesan and call it a day!
Make It Gluten-Free
Though I am no longer a strict gluten-free gal, I do have a special place in my heart for anyone who is. I remember the struggle!
You can ABSOLUTELY swap in your favorite gluten-free pasta and cook it separately according to the package directions. My sister-in-law loves Barilla Gluten Free Rotini, and rotini would actually be fantastic here because all those little spirals give the buttery tomato sauce somewhere to go.
Just remember that gluten-free pasta can vary quite a bit in cooking time and texture, so let the package—not me—tell you when it’s ready.
What Even Is a Serving Size, Anyway?
If you have a family of 5 or 6, this recipe isn’t going to be enough to feed everyone and I just want to be clear on that. I feed two people, myself and Zach, but if I make too much food it goes to waste. I like to engineer recipes to last us day 1 plus maybe lunch for us on the next day. Many more days than that and he’s coming home with Chipotle and I’m throwing away PRICELESS food.
Please feel free to double this recipe if you have a lot of eaters. This gives us about 3 huge portions or 4 smaller portions and I may or may not serve it with another protein like grilled chicken or shrimp!
Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta with White Beans
Fresh cherry tomatoes cooked in butter and garlic until saucy, then tossed with creamy cannellini beans, cottage cheese, Parmesan, fresh basil, and angel hair pasta. An easy meatless dinner with over 20 grams of protein per serving.
Ingredients
- 6 oz dry angel hair pasta, can substitute gluten free or protein pasta here!
- 14 oz cherry tomatoes
- 3 tbsp salted butter
- 1 tsp roasted garlic powder
- ½ tsp kosher salt, plus more for pasta water
- Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- 4 cloves garlic, finely grated or minced
- 1 (15.5 oz) can cannellini beans, rinsed and well drained
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup low-fat cottage cheese
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Start the tomato sauce. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the cherry tomatoes and season with the roasted garlic powder, kosher salt, and freshly cracked black pepper.
- Cook the tomatoes for about 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they soften and begin to burst. Allow some of the tomato juices to cook down and browned bits to develop on the bottom of the skillet.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil, but don't add the angel hair quite yet. It cooks very quickly, so you'll want the sauce nearly finished before cooking the pasta.
- Reduce the skillet heat to low. Add the fresh garlic and cook for 30–60 seconds, stirring frequently, until fragrant.
- Add the drained cannellini beans and ¼ cup water. Gently stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Cook for about 1–2 minutes, just until the beans are warmed through. Don't simmer them for too long or they'll begin to break down. Add the chopped fresh basil.
- Stir in the low-fat cottage cheese over low heat until it melts into the tomatoes and creates a light, creamy sauce.
- Now cook the angel hair. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook just until al dente according to the package directions. Do not overcook it. Before draining, reserve about ½ cup pasta water in case you need it.
- Drain the angel hair and immediately transfer it to the skillet. Don't allow the drained pasta to sit—the thin noodles can quickly become sticky and dry.
- Add 1/4 cup of the Parmesan and gently toss until the Parmesan melts and the pasta is evenly coated in the tomato sauce. Add reserved pasta water a tablespoon at a time only if needed to loosen the sauce.
- Taste and adjust with additional kosher salt and cracked black pepper if necessary.
- Serve immediately with additional fresh basil and the remaining Parmesan.
Notes
Serving size: This recipe makes 3 generous main-dish servings. Six ounces of angel hair is the sweet spot for the amount of tomatoes and beans in the sauce. If you're feeding four hungry adults, I recommend doubling the recipe rather than simply adding more pasta.
Don't overcook the angel hair: This was the big discovery during testing. Angel hair cooks incredibly quickly. Cook it only until al dente and transfer it directly from the colander into the waiting sauce.
Don't increase the pasta without increasing the sauce: Six ounces may not look like much dry pasta, but combined with the beans and 14 ounces of tomatoes, it's plenty for three large servings. If you want to use substantially more pasta, double the remaining ingredients as well so you don't lose the saucy tomato-to-pasta ratio.
Don't overcook the beans: They're already cooked. The ¼ cup water lets them gently warm through and helps release the flavorful browned bits from the pan without requiring a long simmer.
Cottage cheese: Low-fat cottage cheese gave the final version a noticeably creamier, richer result than fat-free. You can omit it if desired, but the finished sauce will be less creamy.
Add chicken or shrimp: Cook either separately and fold it into the pasta at the end for additional protein.
Gluten-free: Substitute your favorite gluten-free pasta. Your sister-in-law's Barilla GF rotini would work particularly well here because the spirals can catch the tomatoes, beans, and sauce.
Nutrition Information
Yield 3 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 517Total Fat 26gSaturated Fat 15gUnsaturated Fat 12gCholesterol 73mgSodium 1394mgCarbohydrates 46gFiber 7gSugar 5gProtein 27g
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