Pasta? To verify. Fried tomatoes? To verify. Creamy vegan cashew sauce? Be sure to CHECK! This recipe is so simple, yet it packs both flavor and creaminess. Make the cream sauce ahead of time and dinner will be ready in no time.
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One of my food weaknesses is pasta with cream sauce. The richness of the sauce always feels like a satisfying dinner, and I’ve yet to come across a vegetable that doesn’t pair well with a creamy sauce.
What is cashew cream sauce?
The soft texture of cashews blends into the creamiest of sauces, to the point where I don’t even miss the cream. The sauce is similar in texture to alfredo and is made by simply soaking raw cashews in a little water. Add the fresh herbs, and this sauce is up there as a favorite of mine.
Best of all, this is a great year-round sauce to use with any pasta recipe. Prepare this recipe with roasted butternut squash in the fall or with roasted asparagus in the spring. Still tasty.
More Vegan Weekday Meals!
- BBQ Pulled Jackfruit Tacos
- Black rice bowls with tofu and vegetables
- Not your grandma’s mushroom barley soup
- Slow cooker chickpea curry with sweet potatoes and peppers
- Pressure cooker Saag Tofu
Pasta with roasted tomatoes and creamy herb cashew sauce
Note that if you’re making the cashew sauce from scratch for this recipe, you’ll need to allow about 4 hours for the cashews to soak before pureeing them into the sauce.
ingredients
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8 ounces spaghetti or fettuccine
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3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
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4 cups cherry tomatoes
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1 Recipe Cashew Cream Sauce (about 1 cup)
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3 tablespoons chopped basil
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1 tablespoon chopped chives
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1 small clove of garlic
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1/4 teaspoon sea salt
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1/4 teaspoon black pepper
method
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Cook pasta:
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, reduce to a simmer and cook until pasta is al dente. Drain noodles and set aside.
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Cook tomatoes:
In the same saucepan you cooked the pasta in, add 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes and cook until hot and bursting easily when squeezed, 6 to 8 minutes.
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Make the sauce:
In a blender, blend the cashew cream with the chopped basil, chives, garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix until smooth.
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Assemble noodles:
Add the sauce to the tomatoes and pasta in the pan. Heat over low heat until pasta sauce is hot. Add the noodles to the sauce and mix together. Serve with an additional sprinkling of basil if desired.
