Recipe for ricotta cheese, garlic, and basil pasta that is vegetarian. a delicious substitution for normal macaroni and cheese!
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 15 mins |
| Total Time: | 25 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
Ingredients
- ¾ pound spaghetti
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once water is boiling, stir in spaghetti and return to a boil. Cook pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, but still firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink, reserving 2 tablespoons of cooking water.
- Stir garlic, ricotta, and basil in a saucepan over medium-low heat until hot, about 4 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper; stir in spaghetti and reserved cooking water. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 275 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 45 g |
| Cholesterol | 14 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 13 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 80 mg |
| Sugars | 2 g |
| Fat | 5 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I love this recipe! It is easy to make, doesn’t t take alot of time, and it pairs well with the baked-lemonpepper cod that I made. ** I substituted the spaghetti with Zucchini noodles. just as delicious and healthier!!!**
This is a terrific base recipe to be doctored almost any way you see fit. I tripled the garlic, added 1/2 small onion, crushed red pepper, Italian sausage and costco power greens (spinach, arugula, et. al.). It was a very cheesy but not heavy sauce that blended the other ingredients well We loved it! Thank you for sharing this; I would have never thought to use ricotta as a sauce base. I will be using this to explore other concoctions soon!
I made it, and this is great! Easy to make and delicious! I used wheat spaghetti and subsititued parsley instead of basil leaves, and crumbled feta cheese instead of grated Parmesan cheese, and it was good. Next time I’ll followed this recipe.
I heeded others advice about it being a bit bland, and sautéed onions, first, then added garlic. Also added Italian seasoning , spinach and some leftover chicken which made it a great one dish meal. I definitely think it would’ve been bland by itself, but it was a good base recipe to toy with, adding different things depending on what’s leftover or what I have on hand.
Very bland! Not a Mac and cheese substitute.
Great Recipe. My 3 year old couldn’t get enough.
Good basic recipe that lends itself well to personal taste. Seemed a bit dry (I may have put in too much Parm), so I added about a quarter cup of the pasta cooking water. Also added some petite peas. Will use again the next time I have ricotta on hand.
Great recipe! Next time I will sautée the garlic first.
My kids loved this; however, I doubled and sautéed the garlic, added 4 tablespoons of the pasta water. It was a total hit!
This was a nice lighter option for a cream sauce pasta. Everyone in my family liked it including my 2 year old. I doubled the garlic and sautéed it slightly in a drizzle of olive oil before adding the basil and ricotta (used 1.5 cups to use the rest of my container up). I added tons of fresh cracked black pepper, and some sea salt as well. I didn’t bother measuring the basil.. But we love it so used 10 large leaves plus 3 for garnish. Garnished with the zest of 2 Lemons, in my opinion this really made the dish. Remember to add salt to your pasta cooking water so the pasta has some flavor.. This will help.
My intention was not to totally revise this recipe but at first glance, it did look rather bland as reported by other reviewers. So I took the advice of one of the reviewers and added a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and gently sautéed the garlic (doubled it), fresh basil (doubled it) and then added the ricotta cheese and liberally salted and peppered it after adding to the pasta. A most wonderful recipe for those that like a milder cheese and not a lot of sauce. 🙂
I had some bacon I was using for another recipe, I just threw in some and it was very good. For those who think this is bland, it does Say salt n pepper to taste, meaning if its bland, add more seasoning! Thank you Rachel817. Keepper!
Wow…my mom used to make this pasta dish only she used elbow macaroni or small tube pasta. Delish. I sauted the garlic in olive oil as I don’t like it raw. Adds more flavour. Brings back childhood memories. This dish is meant to be simple and not overpowering . So if you like your pasta more spicy or kicked up , this is not the recipe for you.I made it for my picky kids and they had seconds.
This recipe looked bland, so I sauteed crushed garlic and italian seasoning in olive oil, added ricotta and parm., and salt/pepper to taste. It was okay, but still lacked something. If I were to make something similar again, I think some bacon, butter, and a whole handful of fresh basil chopped up would do the trick to make it more flavorful.
Leaves a lot to be desired. We found it to be really bland and heavy. I was hoping it to be a nice alternative to red sauce spaghetti but was disappointed. I won’t make this again.
Super bland, but after adding a whole lot of garlic (I fried it in some olive oil first) and fresh basil, it was alright. I put a spoonful of sun-dried tomato pesto over it and served it along side of a super-rich entree, and the light taste complimented the meal well. 2 stars because the recipe leaves much to be desired when prepared as-is.
Sorry But This Didn’t Taste Very Well. It Was Very Bland Tasting. I Had To Put A Lot Of Salt And Parmesan Cheese On It For It To Taste Ok
sorry, but this was lame… and i even doctored it up! i’d add some bacon and some peas next time.
My Italian grandmother used to make this all the time when I was little but she sauteed the ricotta, basil and garlic in olive oil and then poured it over the spaghetti. DELICIOUS!!!
I am so sorry, but I really didn’t like this. Maybe if I had sauted the garlic ahead of time, it would have been better, but it really needs something–maybe some tomato sauce to brighten it up a bit.
Easy peasy. Insipid. I made it to accompany a very boldly seasoned turkey breast, and my guests ended up doctoring it at the table with chile paste.