Cheesy Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower – pasta with cauliflower, kale, Parmesan, ricotta, and lemon zest! Light and fresh – perfect for meatless Monday!
This is the first of two meatless recipes this week. Things are getting weird.
So how was your weekend? Hopefully fabulous! I stupidly scheduled a vet appointment for Clementine at 7:15 yesterday morning. It’s never a good idea to make an appointment that early on a Sunday. Good news though, we only have this week and then it’s SPRING BREAK. And then the kids may or may not go back to school after that. Still waiting for papers to be signed so we know which day we can get the heck out of here.
Yesterday I also officially started cleaning out the house. It’s amazing how much stuff you accumulate over the years. I found one of those cell phones with the pull out keyboard in our junk drawer – like, how old is that?! Why do we still have it?!
I spent a good portion of the day just filling bags with stuff to either throw away or donate. I’m starting to panic because it just seems like so. much. stuff. and it’s stuff that we’ve just shoved into closets or drawers because we don’t even use it. I need it all out of here!
Aaaaand I started listening to The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up while I cleaned. Mostly because I’ve heard that the author talks about your socks needing a vacation. My socks and I are pretty excited to hear all about that.
Ingredients
- small head of cauliflower
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pound small pasta – you can use any small pasta shape, such as farfalle, orecchiette, penne, etc
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 cups baby kale
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 lemon
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup ricotta
- 1 cup Parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil
- On baking sheet, toss cauliflower with 2 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle with salt
- Roast cauliflower until soft, 15 – 20 minutes, stirring once or twice
- Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil
- Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente, about 10 minutes depending on the shape of pasta you are using
- While pasta is cooking, warm 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat
- Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds
- Add kale and cook, stirring, until wilted, 1 – 2 minutes
- Reduce heat and add cream, lemon zest and juice, crushed red pepper flakes, and salt
- Cook, stirring, until mixture is bubbling, about 2 minutes
- Drain pasta once al dente, reserving ½ cup cooking water
- Stir pasta into skillet to coat with sauce
- Stir in cauliflower, ricotta, and Parmesan
- If pasta seems too dry, stir in reserved cooking water 1 tbsp at a time until it reaches a creamy consistency
How Long Is It Good For?
This cheesy pasta will be good for about 5 days in the fridge. Make sure to store it in an airtight container (these glass ones are my absolute favorite!) to keep it fresh for as long as possible.
If it seems dry when you reheat it, add a splash of heavy cream or broth to loosen it up a little bit.
More Cauliflower Recipes
- Roasted Garlic and Cauliflower Pizza
- Dirty Cauliflower Rice
- Loaded Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
- Korean Beef Cauliflower Rice Bowls
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Cheesy Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower
Cheesy Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower - pasta with cauliflower, kale, Parmesan, ricotta, and lemon zest! Light and fresh - perfect for meatless Monday!
Ingredients
- Salt
- 1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound penne
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups baby kale
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- 1 cup ricotta
- ¼ cup finely grated Parmesan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Line a baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil.
- On baking sheet, toss cauliflower with 2 Tbsp. oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast until cauliflower is soft, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring once or twice while cooking.
- Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
- Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente, about 10 minutes depending on the shape of pasta you are using.
- While pasta is cooking, warm remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add kale and cook, stirring, until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and add cream, lemon zest and juice, ¼ tsp. salt and red pepper flakes, if desired. Cook, stirring, until mixture is just bubbling, about 2 minutes.
- Drain pasta, reserving ½ cup cooking water. Stir pasta into skillet to coat with sauce. Stir in cauliflower, ricotta and Parmesan.
- If mixture seems dry, stir in reserved cooking water 1 Tbsp. at a time to reach desired consistency.
- Season with salt and serve.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 426Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 251mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 4gSugar: 4gProtein: 14g
Kate @ Veggie Desserts says
This sounds amazing. Unwinding with magazines is such a lovely treat. Then making this sort of comfort food? Perfection!
Christine from Cook the Story says
What a great way to relax, and that recipe looks delicious.
Nutmeg Nanny says
Moving is the best excuse for purging. However, I wish I was one of those people who purge every week so their life is always clean and organized. I (much like you) also love magazines. I know people say print is dead but seriously nothing is better than a good food or household magazine. Love the look of this pasta too. I would totally eat it all…while reading a magazine :)
[email protected] says
What is it about spring that calls for cleaning?? I tackled our storage room and you can hardly tell. Next time, I’m planning ahead so that I have a delightfully cheesy pasta like this one as my reward!
Holly N @ Spend With Pennies says
I am a fellow magazine addict.. I have stacks and stacks of them! I need to try this pasta pasta dish, everyone around here loves cauliflower and of course cheesy pasta so this is the perfect marriage!
heather @french press says
so here I was needing a meal for tonight; not only does this one knock my socks off, I have everything already at home – that never happens! cannot wait to try it, and now I feel like I need to clean out my cabinets and drawers
Sharon @ What The Fork Food Blog says
I LOVE roasted cauliflower but I’ve never thought to put it in cheesy pasta! Genius!
Kirsten says
Amanda,
One of the benefits of a PCS is having a reason to tackle all those piles that accumulate since, oh, about 2 months after you’ve settled into the new place. I tend to accumulate magazines because I’m focused on knitting a blanket. It’s only almost 17 yrs that I’ve been knitting this blanket (but not when my kids were wee little and not when it’s hot out and not at all while we lived in Hawaii–you see how it’s taken me so long). I’m determined to finish it before my youngest heads off to college. I’ve got 3 yrs. I may make it.
It’s fun, in a way, trying to use up what’s left in the kitchen. This last move was a first for me–we packed up at one house and unpacked at another less than a week later–so I actually got to move some of the stuff from kitchen to kitchen. Amazing.
Back to pasta–this looks so pretty–lovely job on the photos–and I bet the flavor is wonderful. Light, like the light evenings.
Thanks!
Carla says
You say cheese and pasta, I come running. You can never go wrong with this recipe!
Joy @ Joy Love Food says
This sounds like such a wonderful combination! Can’t go wrong with creamy sauces and cauliflower, yum!
Heather / girlichef says
Mmmmm…cheesy deliciousness! And seriously, roasted cauliflower is the best cauliflower, so this sounds superb! I love to sit down with a good magazine, too (as is referenced by the stray ones laying all over my house….).
Julie | This Gal Cooks says
WHOA! 7:15 is way too early to be up on a Sunday morning! Well, if I had it my way, any morning. But work. Boo.
THIS pasta, OMG. Dat cheese is amazing! and of course, it’s somewhat healthy with the cauliflower and kale, right? ;)
Cyndi - My Kitchen Craze says
This sounds so yummy!! And yay for spring break. We still have two more weeks. I love to read books to unwind. I could do it every day all day. A yay to meatless meals. Love them! :)
Amy @Very Culinary says
So, now that the pool is 95% done…and it’s 80 degrees here. All I want to do is be outside on my lounger all.day.long. I don’t want to cook, or bake, or write, or…WORK. GAH. I want to relax and look at magazines. But I have none. I have no mags! I actually sat outside yesterday and flipped through a doll catalog. HELP. Also? I desperately want this cauliflower. It could be 110 degrees outside, and I’d still want it!
Maggie @ The Love Nerds says
This looks fab!! I am a huge cauliflower fan but my husband isn’t. Really, he only wants corn. But if I toss cauliflower in with pasta and lots of cheese, maybe I can get him to change him mind! Thanks for the idea! :) Pinning, Stumbling and Yumming!
Jocelyn @BruCrew Life says
This week I started doing some spring cleaning and was amazed at the amount of “crap” we have hiding every where! Why do we still have all of this if we aren’t using it? My goodwill is going to be so happy to see my loaded down vehicle coming that’s for sure! And cheesy pasta with roasted cauliflower sounds like the best way to celebrate our purging!! Yum!