Lazy Girl Spinach Pasta

Name: Lazy Girl Spinach Pasta
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Ingredients: 300 gm orecchiette pasta; 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid/water; 1 tsp butter; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion (roughly chopped); 3 garlic cloves (crushed); 2 bunches baby spinach (approximately 4 cups); 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp pepper; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1 tbsp fresh parsley; 1/2 cup cottage cheese; Cottage cheese; Parmesan cheese

Creamy spinach sauce made with cottage cheese, tossed in orecchiette pasta. This is the perfect vegetarian meal to make in under 30 mins.

It is lazy girl season. We want fancy but we want it fast. We want nutritious and delicious. Which is what led me to this recipe. The spinach sauce is so simple to make one it is blended, it becomes this creamy green colored pasta sauce that look so pretty. It is packed with cottage cheese making it a well balanced meal with protein, carbs and fiber.

What is a lazy girl recipe?

Lazy girl recipes are those that require minimum effort and maximum pleasure. They are recipes that motivate you to step into the kitchen but don’t make you stay in the kitchen for long. Usually they are recipes that require little cooking time or make ahead situations. They could be savory or sweet and became famous from various tiktok lazy girl recipe videos online.

What ingredients do you need to make this Lazy girl spinach pasta?

Spinach –

I ahem used fresh spinach to make this recipe but you can use frozen as well. If you don’t like spinach you can use swiss chard as well.

Cottage cheese –

This is what adds protein to this recipe and I wouldn’t skip it. If you don’t have cottage cheese you can use greek yogurt or ricotta (however ricotta won’t help with the protein content).

Onion & Garlic –

We need both onion and garlic to make the spinach sauce. It doesn’t need to be cut in any fancy manner as the blender does the work to puree it all.

Butter & Olive oil –

I like the flavor of butter but the olive oil help add a velvet smooth texture to the sauce once blended so don’t skip either.

Lemon juice & Pasta liquid –

A little squeeze of lemon juice goes a long way in the pasta sauce. I also save some the cooking pasta liquid to adjust the consistency of the pasta and sauce once tossed together. If the liquid is too salty then you can use regular water to adjust the consistency.

Seasoning –

Salt and pepper are essential to the pasta. You can add fresh or dried herbs to add more flavor. I have added dried oregano and fresh parsley.

Pasta –

I have used orecchiette pasta. I would recommend pastas such as; penne, fussili, spaghetti, farfale and macaroni.

What equipment do you need to make this Lazy girl spinach pasta?

To make the spinach sauce we need a sauté pan and spatula. To blend the sauce we will need a high speed blender. The pasta should be cooked in a large stock pot. I like tossing the cooked pasta in the same sauté pan.

How to make this Lazy girl spinach pasta?

We start by cooking our pasta as per the package instructions. You shouldn’t over cook the pasta at this moment. Hence if it has to be cooked for 11 minutes cook it for 9 minutes. Once cooked save 1 cup of the pasta cooking water and drain out the rest.

While that is happening, lets make the spinach sauce. In a sauté pan on medium heat add butter, olive oil, onions, garlic and sweat for a couple of minutes. Add the spinach and your seasonings. Stir until the spinach is wilted down. Transfer the spinach mixture to a blender and add the cottage cheese, blend until smooth.

Pour the sauce back into the sauté pan and add the pasta, toss together and check for seasoning. Serve with a little cottage cheese on top and a light sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

How long can you store this Lazy girl spinach pasta?

I would recommend storing this pasta in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You could make the sauce ahead of time and store it in a glass jar in the fridge for 1 week. Spread it over toast, use it as a dip or toss it into salad as you please.

Looking for more pasta recipes?

Spring pasta with asparagus, ham and peas
Pasta limone
Brown butter pumpkin Mac & cheese
Creamy mushroom pasta
Bolognese
Ultimate Mac & cheese

Now that we have covered how to make this Lazy girl spinach pasta, you can have a look at the recipe video on my socials but let’s get to it. Don’t forget to follow along for more fun recipe inspiration.

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to share it with me on instagram so I can see how it turned out. I’d love nothing more than to chat with you on your cooking/baking.