Savory and comforting Creamy Cajun Pasta with Seasoned Chickpeas. Pasta tossed in a homemade creamy cajun cashew sauce and topped with seasoned baked chickpeas. This bowl of goodness is gluten-free, vegan, and can be whipped up in 30 minutes or less.
With COVID-19 I stocked up on tons of boxes of pasta and canned goods. One of the canned goods being chickpeas, you might notice I have been using them a lot in my recipes. Now that things are slowing down I decided I really need to use up all the food in my pantry so I decided to make this dish. All of the ingredients in this pasta bowl was made using pantry ingredients.
TIPS WHEN MAKING THIS CASHEW SAUCE
- I recommend soaking your cashews for at least 3-4 hours before making your sauce. You can soak them even longer for an extra creamy sauce.
- If you are using a very powerful blender like a vitamix blender you don’t need to soak the cashews as long. I blended the cashews in my vitamix after I soaked them for 2 hours and it still was smooth and creamy.
- All of the spices I added for this cashew cream sauce gives it that cajun flavor. If you already have a jar of cajun spice you can skip adding those seasonings and use 2 tablespoons of cajun spice instead.
- This recipe calls for one cup of unsweetened plant milk. I used oat milk for this sauce but almond, soy, coconut, or cashew will also work. Just make sure to check that it is unsweetened.
- Blend your sauce for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce is smooth and creamy. The amount of time will also depend on how powerful your blender is.
You will notice that the noodles will soak the sauce right up. I LOVE to add a lot of sauce to my noodles. So, if you are like me I would recommend only pouring half of the sauce with the noodles instead of all of it. Then save the additional sauce to drizzle on top of your noodle bowl right before you eat them.
SUBSTITUTIONS
I wanted to share some of the recipe ingredients that you can swap out in case you do not have the ones I listed in your pantry or refrigerator.
Spices for the cashew sauce – 2 tablespoons of cajun spice
Farfalle pasta – Any type of pasta, substitute for gluten-free pasta
Oat milk- Unsweetened soy, cashew, or almond milk
Chickpeas- Garbanzo Beans
For some extra plant protein I made these seasoned chickpeas
Want to add Garnishes?
Below are some of my favorite garnished to add to my noodle bowl.
Fresh Thyme
Fresh Oregano
Chili Powder
Nutritional Yeast
Crushed Red Peppers
This bowl of Creamy Cajun Pasta is:
Creamy
Dairy-free
Family Friendly
Packed with Flavor
Can be made gluten-free
When you make this pasta I would love it if you would snap a photo of your food and share it with me on instagram @itsallgoodvegan.com. I can’t wait to see how you like it!
Creamy Cajun Pasta with Seasoned Chickpeas
Savory and comforting Creamy Cajun Pasta with Seasoned Chickpeas. Pasta tossed in a homemade creamy cajun cashew sauce and topped with seasoned baked chickpeas.
Cajun Cashew Sauce
- 1 ½ cup cashews, soaked for at least 3-4 hours
- 1 cup unsweetened dairy-free milk
- ½ small lemon, seeded and juiced
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ¼ tsp oregano
- ¼ tsp thyme
Seasoned Chickpeas
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp salt (optional)
Pasta
- 1 box of farfalle pasta (I used a 16 ounce box) cooked according to the back of the package. Use gluten-free noodles if you are GF
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190.5 C).
- In a medium bowl combine all the seasoned chickpeas ingredients and toss. Spread the seasoned chickpeas on a large baking pan evenly, avoid stacking. Bake chickpeas for 20 minutes.
- In a high powered blender or food processor combine all of the cajun cashew sauce ingredients together. Blend for 2-3 minutes or until smooth and creamy.
- Toss pasta with the cashew sauce and divide into bowls. Add the seasoned chickpeas to the top of your pasta. Garnish with salt, pepper, and thyme.
- Leftovers will last 2-3 days in the fridge in an airtight container. Garnish your noodles after you reheat them, not before.
Make it Your Own
- The sauce will start to harden and dry up if left out after 30 minutes. I recommend tossing the pasta with the sauce right before you eat it.
- Add vegetables to this pasta bowl.
- Do you like spice? Add 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper to the sauce.
This is my new favorite. I forgot to buy pasta but had a spaghetti squash and the substitute is really good. I also added broccoli florets. I love your recipes.
YAY! Thank you so much for sharing with wiht me Julia. I am so happy you liked it.
Did you use one or 2 cans of chick peas?
One can of chickpeas.
I need to try this
Looks amazing I can’t wait to try this. Can you offer any advice on how you take such amazing photos of your dishes? Thank you!
Thank you Carrie! Lots and lots of practice. I also use natural light, a tripod, and use lightroom to edit my photos. I hope that helps 🙂
When you say one box is that 16 oz?
The sauce makes a decent amount and 16 ounces of pasta will be perfect.
can i use canned lite coconut milk?
yes!