Creamy Cashew Pasta with Tomatoes and Kale

5 from 7 votes
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If you’ve never tried creamy cashew pasta sauce, this is your recipe! Soften your cashews and then blend them with olive oil, water, garlic, and salt to create a simple vegan pasta sauce!

Looking to mix up your pasta dish? Make this delicious Creamy Vegan Pasta with Sautéed Kale, and Tomatoes.
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Pasta lovers – we’re excited for you to try our creamy cashew pasta – a vegan take on a creamy pasta. This recipe is similar to our creamy tomato vegan pasta and vegan pasta bake in that they all use cashews for the base of the sauce. The key is to makings sure your cashews are soft before blending into a luscious sauce.

Feel free to use any noodle your heart desires. My family loves fusilli, but you can also use a stringy spaghetti.

What You Need for this Cashew Pasta Recipe

  • Raw cashews: We used plain, unsalted cashews for this recipe. 
  • Kale: We used kale and tomatoes as the vegetables in the recipe, but feel free to mix things up and use your favorite vegetables. 
  • Cherry tomatoes: These juicy and sweet little guys were the perfect complement to this dish.
  • Fresh basil: We added fresh basil to the sauce for a bit of color and flavor.
  • Pasta: feel free to use any kind of pasta you like. We used fusilli, but have also made this recipe with spaghetti noodles.
  • Food processor: We used the food processor to make our delicious creamy vegan cashew sauce, but you can also use a high-speed blender like a Vitamix.

How to quickly soften cashews

The easiest way we’ve found to quickly soften cashews is to soak them in boiling water. We typically like to let them soak for at least 4 hours, but overnight is best!

Looking to mix up your pasta dish? Make this delicious Creamy Vegan Pasta with Sautéed Kale, and Tomatoes.

Variations and Substitutions

  • Protein: If you are looking to add more protein to this recipe, add some cooked chicken or a can of garbanzo beans to the pan white, sautéing the kale and tomatoes.
  • Pasta: feel free to use any type of pasta you like! Some great options are chickpea pasta, red lentil pasta, penne pasta, or even long pasta!
  • Cherry tomatoes: We love using fresh tomatoes, but sun-dried tomatoes or red peppers would be super good in this recipe!
  • Kale: Spinach or green beans would be super tasty in this dish!

Tips

  • The key to a delicious creamy cashew pasta sauce is to be sure you soak the cashews long enough and blend them until completely smooth. 
  • If you don’t have a food processor, use a blender!
  • Save a little extra pasta water to add back into the sauce to make it smoother. 
  • Want to add a little kick? Add some red pepper flakes on top!
Looking to mix up your pasta dish? Make this delicious Creamy Vegan Pasta with Sautéed Kale, and Tomatoes.

Storage + Freezer Directions

Store leftover vegan pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can also freeze for up to 2 months! Since it doesn’t have any dairy, this dish freezes really well!

Looking to mix up your pasta dish? Make this delicious Creamy Vegan Pasta with Sautéed Kale, and Tomatoes.

How do I reheat this vegan pasta recipe?

Place a small pot on the stove on medium heat. Add your leftover pasta and reheat until warm! 

Serving Suggestions

This pasta would pair perfectly with a side of crusty bread and Easy Vegan Pesto and a dash of Vegan Parmesan Cheese on top. We also love eating it with a simple green salad.

5 from 7 votes

Creamy Cashew Pasta with Tomatoes and Kale

We love this creamy cashew pasta – a take on vegan pasta made with softened cashews, water, olive oil, garlic, and salt.
Prep: 1 day
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 1 day 30 minutes
Servings: 4
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Plus, enjoy weekly doses of recipe inspiration!
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Ingredients 

Cashew Pasta Sauce

  • 1 cup raw cashews soaked*
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 cup fresh basil

Pasta

  • 2 cups kale deboned, packed
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 8 oz. pasta any kind

Instructions 

  • First, soften the cashews. Boil 4 cups of water. Then, pour the hot water over the cashews and let them soak for at least 4 hours or overnight (this is what I did!). Strain water before use.
  • Place all of the ingredients for the sauce into a high-speed food processor or blender and blend on high for 2-3 minutes, stopping to scrape the sides every so often. If your sauce is too thick, add more water a tablespoon at a time. Set aside.
    A vegan pasta dish topped with a medley of fresh greens and herbs, prepared using a food processor.
  • Cook the pasta according to the package. Strain pasta and set aside.
  • Sautée veggies by heating 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan over medium/high heat. Add in kale and cherry tomatoes and sautée for a few minutes or until kale is at desired texture. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Add pasta into veggies and then add the sauce (note: you may have some leftover depending on how saucy you like your pasta!).

Tips & Notes

  • The key to a delicious creamy cashew pasta sauce is to be sure you soak the cashews long enough and blend them until completely smooth. 
  • If you don’t have a food processor, use a blender!
  • Save a little extra pasta water to add back into the sauce to make it smoother. 
  • Want to add a little kick? Add some red pepper flakes on top!

    Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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    About Lee Funke

    Lee is the founder of Fit Foodie Finds and based in Minneapolis, MN. She started this website in 2010 as a way to share her love for real food and wellness. The internet has changed so much since then and so has Fit Foodie Finds. Today we're a female-run recipe website publishing hundreds of tried and true recipes developed and tested by our team.

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    Sonya
    Sonya
    August 29, 2020 3:03 pm
    Recipe Rating :
         

    5 stars
    Love love love this recipe

    Carmen
    April 14, 2020 12:04 pm

    Csn you please let me know how I can reduced the sodium amount? Thank you

    liz
    liz
    February 24, 2020 9:54 am

    I know this is an older recipe but I wanted to comment that when I input the ingredients into LifeSum I get drastically different numbers for protein using the same ingredients. I’m not sure how you got to 29g of Protein because I’m getting 12.9? Could I be mistaken or should the protein content be lower? My fat is also much higher at 30g where yours is 7 – have these been flipped? Thanks for the recipe I am excited to try!

    Kiley
    Kiley
    February 2, 2019 9:06 pm
    Recipe Rating :
         

    5 stars
    Okay, I am officially OBSESSED with this recipe. I made it for the first time tonight and I’m so impressed! It was quick, took maybe 20 minutes. It was easy. SO EASY. And it was utterly delicious!!! I didn’t have enough basil because some of mine went bad before I could use it but it did not matter. I will definitely be making this one again and again!

    Sharon
    Sharon
    November 3, 2018 8:46 am
    Recipe Rating :
         

    5 stars
    My go to recipe. Even my non vegan friends and family love this.

    Ashley
    Ashley
    May 7, 2018 4:44 am

    I’m preparing the dish for myself and seems I can’t finish the sauce at a time. I’m thinking of keeping it in a glass jar and store it in fridge. Would it be safe to consume within a week?

    Michaela
    Michaela
    March 25, 2018 6:58 pm

    This was amazing!!!! My four-year-old cheese loving daughter totally bought it, and I devoured it. My husband was asking for a little more “kick” so red pepper flakes for him. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, as a new vegan I really needed this!!!!!

    Cheryl
    Cheryl
    March 7, 2018 8:39 pm
    Recipe Rating :
         

    5 stars
    Definitely a do over in this house, could not stop eating it
    Cheryl

    Gabrielle Rackner
    January 23, 2018 11:17 pm

    Can you use almonds instead of cashews (nut allergy)?