Vegan Creamy Tomato Pasta

by Steph Sunshine at StephSunshine.com

Yield 16 cups / 3 3/4 liters (8-10 servings)

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. penne pasta (or pasta of your choice)
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 10.5 oz. grape tomatoes, halved (or cherry tomatoes)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 8 sun-dried tomatoes (about 3.2 oz or 90 g), chopped into thin strips
  • 2 cups fresh baby spinach (optional)
  • vegan parmesan, fresh basil, red pepper flakes (for serving, optional)

Creamy Cashew-Tomato Sauce

  • 1 cup raw, unsalted cashews, soaked
  • 1 3/4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
  • 1/2 cup pasta cooking water
  • 6 oz. tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup dry cooking wine (or additional vegetable broth)
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • salt, to taste

Instructions

  1. Cook your pasta according to the al dente package instructions. When you’re draining your pasta water, reserve 1/2 cup of water for the sauce. Set the pasta and water aside.
  2. Combine all sauce ingredient except salt in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
  3. Heat your olive oil in a large skillet (at least 7 qt./7 L) over medium heat, then add your onion and cook, stirring regularly until it’s just beginning to brown (about 6 to 8 minutes). If your pan gets dry at any point, you can add water or vegetable broth and deglaze the pan with a wooden spoon. Add in your grape tomatoes and cook until they’re soft and the skins start to turn wrinkly (about 4 to 6 minutes more). Then, add your garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.
  4. Stir in your sun-dried tomatoes and baby spinach (if using), and cook until the baby spinach is wilted.
  5. Add your sauce to the skillet and stir it until it’s warmed through and reduced slightly. If the sauce becomes too thick, you can add water. Add salt to taste.*
  6. Stir your pasta into the sauce and let it warm for a minute, if needed.
  7. Serve your pasta and sauce in bowls, then garnish with vegan parmesan, fresh basil, and red pepper flakes, if desired. Enjoy!

Notes & Hints

When you're adding salt to the sauce, keep in mind that the sun-dried tomatoes may also be quite salty.

To make this recipe nut-free, use a 13.5-oz can of coconut milk instead of cashews and reduce your vegetable broth to 1/2 cup. You may need additional time to thicken the sauce if you use coconut milk.

Soak your cashews in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain them.

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