With 9 grams of protein per serving, this Creamy Tomato Basil Vegan Pasta will blow your mind! It’s made with a vegan creamy cashew pasta sauce, roasted veggies, and fresh basil.
This vegan pasta recipe will have you craving meatless Monday every day of the week. Try some of our other plant-based pasta recipes: Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Pasta and Vegan Mac & Cheese.
Mama’s been craving pasta lately like NO OTHER. For some reason, I’ve been a carbo-freak the past few months and I’m not that mad about it…neither is Mark. Like most guys, Mark could eat spaghetti or pizza every night of the week.
Today we’re sharing a delicious vegan pasta recipe that is sure to turn you into a creamy cashew sauce lover (I mean have you tried our cashew cheese sauce!?).
If you’ve never made a vegan creamy cashew pasta sauce, this recipe will surely change your life. It’s one of my favorite ways to get a protein and texture boost in vegan pasta recipes and once you make it, you’ll see why! This recipe is very basic…and I mean BASIC.
What You Need
- Tomatoes
- Yellow Onion
- Garlic
- Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
- Pasta
- Fresh Basil
See what I mean when I say basic? You can get all of these ingredients year-round, making this the perfect dinner recipe to make any time.
Cashew Sauce Party Time
Before you jump into the full recipe, I thought we could chat a little bit about the vegan cashew pasta sauce. Don’t be afraid of this sauce, my friends. It’s actually super simple to make. A few pointers:
Use raw cashews! — I actually haven’t tried roasted cashews, but it makes total sense that raw cashews would work the best because they’re spongier and softer, making it easier to get saucy.
Soak until squishy — soaking is important when making this sauce because it helps break the cashews down.
No time, no problem! — you can always quick boil your cashews instead of letting them sit overnight. This will speed up the soaking process.
High-speed blenders are a dream. — The quality of the blender matters for cashew-based sauces because they really need to get in there and pulverize those nuts. We use and love the Ninja Kitchen food processor and blender duo and highly suggest it!
More Vegan Pasta Recipes
Video
Vegan Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta
With 9 grams of protein per serving, this Creamy Tomato Basil Vegan Pasta will blow your mind! It’s made with a vegan creamy cashew pasta sauce, roasted veggies, and fresh basil. This vegan pasta recipe will have you craving meatless Monday every day of the week.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
- 6 medium tomatoes, quartered
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
- pepper, to taste
- 6–8 servings of pasta (we used Whole Foods Organic Ziti)
- 1 cup soaked cashews*
- Fresh basil, chopped, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF and like a baking sheet with tin foil.
- Place tomatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper onto baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toss, making sure everything is coated. Roast at 400ºF 20 minutes.
- While vegetables are roasting, bring a pot of water to a boil. When water comes to a boil, add pasta to the water. Stir occasionally and remove when pasta is al dente. About 6-8 minutes. Strain pasta and set aside.
- Remove baking sheet from oven, remove skin from tomatoes, and roast for an additional 10 minutes.
- Next, transfer all ingredients on the baking sheet (including juices) into a blender along with soaked cashews and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust salt as needed.
- Toss pasta with sauce and top with fresh basil and cracked pepper.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Place cashews in a large bowl and fully submerge with water. Let sit overnight or for at least 12 hours. Alternatively, boil cashews in water for 5-10 minutes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/8 recipe
- Calories: 333
- Sugar: 6
- Fat: 10
- Carbohydrates: 51
- Fiber: 4
- Protein: 9
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