Smooth and creamy red pepper pappardelle topped with ground beef that’s been caramelized with Calabrian chili peppers, balsamic vinegar, and honey. Take a look at the pasta below and tell me if it looks like your typical high protein meal.

red pepper pasta in a Dutch oven topped with crispy ground beef and fresh parsley

Each BIG 12-ounce serving has 32g protein with only 7g fat and 465 calories. It’s a pasta dish, so there are plenty of carbs, making this an awesome recovery day or post workout meal.

Ingredients and Substitutes

As you’ll see in the photo below, you can get everything you need to make this pasta at Trader Joe’s. But it’s far from a TJ’s-exclusive. Every ingredient should be readily available at any grocery store.

Trader Joe's pappardelle, roasted red peppers, parmesan, low fat cottage cheese, Italian bomba sauce, ground beef, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and honey

I’ve slowly become a blended cottage cheese believer, and it makes a return for the red pepper pasta sauce here. Low fat cottage cheese is blended with parmesan cheese and fire roasted red peppers plus a bit of brine. This creates a smooth and creamy pasta sauce that’s packed with protein.

Want more high protein cottage cheese sauce ideas? Check out my viral gochujang noodles or chicken enchiladas.

The recipe calls for pappardelle, but any egg-based wide pasta like tagliatelle or fettuccine should also work well. I recently made a ground chicken alfredo with a blended cottage cheese alfredo sauce and rigatoni. That might be a decent substitute for a different style of pasta.

cooked pasta in a Dutch oven, crispy ground beef in a nonstick pan, and blended cottage cheese and red pepper pasta sauce in a blender cup

The crispy beef is made by browning extra lean ground beef then adding a sauce that gets caramelized. You’ll need Calabrian chili peppers, balsamic vinegar, honey, garlic, salt, and water. I used Trader Joe’s Italian Bomba pepper sauce, but any Calabrian chili peppers work. TJ’s Bomba sauce adds dried basil, if you want to add a pinch to a substitute.

Tips for Making CRISPY Ground Beef

Make sure your pan is hot before adding the beef. Break the beef into 3-4 chunks and press firmly into the pan. Don’t flip or break the beef apart until a crust forms on one side. Then once the sauce is in the pan, don’t touch the beef until the sauce is actually caramelizing/browning around the edges.

I like using a nonstick pan so I can let the beef ride at both stages without much concern over sticking or burning. If you’re using stainless steel or cast iron, just use extra water as needed to deglaze the pan as needed.

serving red pepper pasta out of a Dutch oven with tongs

Serving Tips, Nutrition Facts, and Storing Leftovers

My recipe calls for adding half the crispy beef to the pasta to mix in and reserving the other half for serving on top almost as a garnish. I’ve found this keeps the beef crispier and improves the aesthetics of the dish. You eat with your eyes first, after all.

To calculate the serving sizes and nutrition facts, I weighed the entire dish with both halves of the beef. So take that into account when serving if you need precise macros.

a bowl of creamy cottage cheese and ground beef pasta

I stored leftovers in airtight containers and microwaved to reheat. I can report back that it reheats as well as any leftover pasta. If you’re a fan of reheated pasta, you can feel confident in taking this for your high protein lunch at the office.

The comments section at the bottom of this post is open and awaiting any questions you have about the recipe or anything else. Otherwise, you can print or save the full recipe card below and get your shopping list together. I hope you enjoy the pasta! – Mason

Creamy Red Pepper Pasta

Calabrian chili beef crumbles over pappardelle with a blended roasted red pepper and cottage cheese pasta sauce.

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 25

Total Time: 40

Servings: Servings

Calories: 465kcal

Author: Mason Woodruff

Ingredients

1 pound Pappardelle
1 cup (226g) Low Fat Cottage Cheese
2 (220g) Roasted Red Peppers
2 Tablespoons (28g) Brine from Roasted Red Peppers
½ cup (56g) Parmesan
2 handfuls Parsley finely chopped

For the Beef

1 pound Ground Beef 96/4
3 Tablespoons (44g) Chopped Calabrian Chili Peppers I used Trader Joe's Italian Bomba Pepper Sauce
2 Tablespoons (30g) Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tablespoons (42g) Honey
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
4 Frozen Crushed Garlic Cubes or 4 cloves fresh garlic
¼ cup Water

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.
Blend the cottage cheese, roasted red peppers and brine, and parmesan together until smooth. Set aside.
Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat with cooking spray or a teaspoon of olive oil. Once hot, add the ground beef and brown one side for 2-3 minutes until a crust forms on one side. Break the beef apart with a spatula and fully cook.
While the beef cooks, mix together the Calabrian peppers, vinegar, honey, garlic, salt, and water. Add the sauce to the cooked beef, stir everything together, and cook untouched for 3-4 minutes until the sauce begins to caramelize on the bottom. The beef should be crispy and no liquid should remain.
Start the pasta once you add the sauce to the beef. Cook the pasta for 6 minutes or just shy of al dente. Reserve about 1 cup of pasta water and drain the rest. Turn off the heat and add the cooked pasta back to the pot along with the blended red pepper sauce and about half the beef. Use the reserved pasta water as needed to bring everything together. (I used about ½ cup.)
Plate the pasta and garnish with the remaining beef and chopped parsley. Add extra freshly grated parmesan, if desired.

Nutrition