Are you eating dairy-free and worried that creamy pasta is off the table? Think again! This vegan pasta is made with a creamy cashew-based sauce that’s thickened until rich and velvety with a secret ingredient. It’s a quick and easy vegan pasta, perfect for weeknight dinners.
This vegan pasta is cooked in one skillet—no need to bring out an extra pot to cook the pasta separately. It’s the perfect way to get dinner on the table with minimal mess. It uses just one skillet to cook the pasta and the sauce, and your blender (or immersion blender) to create an irresistibly creamy sauce that the whole family will love. In fact, I suspect no one will guess it’s vegan.
The Milk Matters
Choose an unsweetened, plain non-dairy milk for this recipe. If you use anything sweetened, like a milk alternative labeled as “original,” the sauce will taste slightly sweet—you wouldn’t want that. I prefer plain unsweetened almond milk, but if you want an extra creamy sauce, use coconut milk or vegan half and half.
You Say Potato, I Say Thickener!
Potatoes are the secret ingredient to create a thick and creamy sauce. The starch in the potato acts as a thickener, absorbing excess liquid in the sauce. Yukon potatoes have a thin skin, meaning you can even keep the skin on.
Délice Maison / Micah Siva
Cashews Are a Vegan’s Best Friend
Cashews are a common ingredient in creamy vegan dishes like ice cream, cheesecake, and pasta sauces. Unlike roasted cashews, raw cashews are like milk in flavor and color, making them perfect for mimicking the creaminess of milk. Be sure to purchase cashews that are unsalted. Oftentimes, recipes require soaking cashews overnight to soften, but I prefer to boil them in a plant-based milk to soften them in just 10 minutes!
The Secret Sauce for Cheesy Flavor
This vegan dish uses two special ingredients—nutritional yeast and miso—for a punch of cheesy umami flavor without dairy cheese. Nutritional yeast can be found in the health food aisle of most grocery stores, and is great sprinkled on popcorn, eggs, or even broccoli! Miso paste can be found in the refrigerated section of most grocery stores. I like using white miso for its sweet, milky flavor.
Two Fun Twists
Love mac and cheese? Add a chopped carrot when boiling the cashews for an orange “cheese” sauce that looks like cheddar!
Add some veggies, like frozen peas, steamed broccoli, or cauliflower to the pasta.
Délice Maison / Micah Siva
More Vegan Dinners
