Mains Recipe

Cashew Cream Sun-dried Tomato Pasta  

by itsallgoodvegan
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Did you know you can make a creamy dairy free sauce  from cashews and sunflower seeds? This creamy dairy-free pasta is super easy to make, only requires minimal ingredients, and can be whipped up in 15 minutes. Pair this pasta with you choice of plant protein for a complete meal.

TIPS WHEN MAKING THIS CREAMY PASTA SAUCE

  • The first thing you will want to do is soak your cashews and sunflower seeds in water for at least 4-5 hours. This will make sure your cheese sauce is super creamy. If you can do it a little longer that is great. 
  • If you do not have both cashews and sunflower seeds you can use either or. You don’t have to use both.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients to a high powered blender and blend until creamy and smooth. If you see little pieces of cashews in your sauce, blend it longer until the sauce is super creamy. 
  • Do you like your sauce to have a little spice? If so, you can add a little cayenne pepper when adding the seasoning. 
  • After you are done cooking the pasta, immediately take it off the stove. Keeping the pasta with the sauce on the stove will cause it to burn and get too thick.
  • As the sauce cools it will harden and look dry. To thin your sauce add milk and mix until your desired consistency. 

Substitutions 

I wanted to share some recipe ingredients that you can swap out in case you do not have the ones I listed in your pantry.

Pasta- Any type of pasta, if you are gluten-free use GF noodles. 

Red Onion- White or Yellow Onion 

Veggies- Your Choice of Sauteed Veggies 

Avocado Oil-Olive Oil 

Cayenne Pepper – Crushed Red Pepper 

Garlic Powder- Minced Garlic Cloves

Unsalted Cashews- Unsalted Sunflower Seeds

Toppings

I love topping my pasta with garnishes. I topped this pasta with crushed red pepper but fresh basil would be amazing as well. 

Here are some other great garnishes to add to your pasta :

Fresh Herbs

Dried Herbs

Cayenne Pepper

Crushed Red Pepper 

HOW TO REHEAT THIS PASTA FOR LEFTOVERS

I like to reheat this pasta on the stove or microwave. Once you put the pasta in the refrigerator you will notice that the pasta sauce will thicken once it cools. To thin the sauce I recommend adding a little bit of milk to your pasta bowl before reheating it. The amount of milk you add will depend on how much pasta you have leftover. 

This Cashew Cream Sun-dried Tomato Pasta is: 

Rich

Creamy

Flavorful

Easy to Make

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. I can’t wait to see how you like it!

Cashew Cream Sun-dried Tomato Pasta

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

This creamy dairy-free pasta is super easy to make, only requires minimal ingredients, and can be whipped up in 15 minutes.


Cashew & Sunflower Seed Cream Sauce

  • 1 ½ cups cashews, soaked
  • ½ cup sunflower seeds, soaked
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 cup pasta water, add more to thin
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp chili powder
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper, add more for a spicier sauce

Pasta

  • 16 ounces of pasta, cooked according to the back of the package, if you are gluten-free use gluten-free pasta
  • ½ large onion, cut into small pieces
  • ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, cut into small pieces, and rehydrated if dried
  • 2 cups fresh spinach

Directions

  1. Fill a medium pot with water and bring to a boil. Add all of the sauce ingredients to a high powered blender and blend until smooth and creamy. If needed, add more water to thin.
  2. Heat a pan on medium heat. Add the oil and onion. Saute the onion until soft. Combine the sun-dried tomato and spinach and saute for 2-3 minutes until the spinach is slightly wilted.
  3. Add the pasta to the pan and pour the creamy sauce and toss.
  4. Take the pasta off the heat and divide pasta into bowls. Taste and add additional seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic powder). Garnish with crushed red pepper and basil.
  5. Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3 days. As the pasta cools the sauce will thicken. See my notes for more details.


Make it Your Own

  • Love your food extra spicy? Sprinkle crushed red pepper on top of your pasta.
  • Make sure to take the pasta immediately off the heat. The sauce will start to thicken and harden if left on the heat.
  • As the sauce cools it thickens. To thin your sauce add additional milk. I also recommend thinning your sauce if you are eating it for leftovers.

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