Creamy Red Pepper Pasta with Calabrian Chili Beef

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.

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.

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.

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.

Side note: You can use this same sauce combination to make other dishes like my Calabrian chicken gnocchi, which combines Calabrian chili ground chicken with gnocchi and a blended cottage cheese spicy vodka sauce.

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 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.

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