Description
You won’t believe this sun-dried tomato pasta is completely vegan! The decadent, velvety sauce coats the noodles perfectly to create this healthy pasta recipe (yes, pasta can be healthy!). Top this pasta off with fresh basil or parsley for an easy weeknight dinner win!
Ingredients
Scale
Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Sauce
- 1 cup raw, unsalted cashews
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup white onion, diced
- 1/2 cup celery, diced
- 1/2 cup carrots, peeled and diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 heaping cup sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, strained from oil
- 1 tbsp oil from sun dried tomatoes
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
- 1 lb dried pasta, such as fettuccine
- Chopped fresh basil or parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Place cashews in a bowl and fill the bowl with hot water, submerging the cashews. Soak for at least 15 minutes (or overnight), then strain and set aside.
- Heat olive oil on medium heat in a saute pan. Add the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic and stir to combine. Add a generous shake of salt and pepper, plus the red pepper flakes. Cook vegetables for 5-10 minutes, until carrots become tender and soft.
- While the vegetables cook, prepare the pasta according to package instructions in salted water. Reserve about 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water.
- In a blender, combine the cashews, cooked vegetables, sun dried tomatoes, oil, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, 2 cups of water, and salt and pepper to taste. Blend on high until very smooth and creamy, with no chunks remaining.
- Strain the pasta, then add it back to the heated pot. Add 1 1/2 cups of sauce and the pasta water, then stir to mix everything together. Mix until the pasta is evenly coated throughout.
- Serve immediately with lots of fresh parsley and freshly cracked black pepper.
Notes
This recipe makes a lot of sauce. In order for the sauce to blend well and form the proper creamy consistency, you need to add enough ingredients to the blender in the quantities listed. You can use leftover sauce as a spread for sandwiches or whisked into salad dressing. You can also freeze the sauce in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Keywords: vegan, gluten free, creamy sundried tomato pasta