Creamy Vegan Four Ingredient Pasta Sauce
Creamy vegan cashew pasta sauce – all the deliciousness of a creamy, cheesy pasta sauce with none of the guilt!
Welcome to the Lockdown Chow Down.
Join me (almost) daily as we reconnect with one of life’s most simple pleasures, food!
I will always love you marinara, but it’s time for me to see other pasta sauces. It’s not you, it’s me.
My pasta sauces are perfect for when you simply can’t be bothered to hang around waiting on a marinara sauce to slow simmer itself into deliciousness.
Usually I find pasta lovers fall into two camps, the tomato basers and the cream saucers.
Today we will look at my two star players in these categories. Cream sauces require having cream on hand, and thus can be a bit impractical so I am going to show you an epic cashew cream sauce, that just so happens to be vegan. My tomato sauce is a winner in that it requires the most basic of ingredients: good olive oil, garlic and cherry tomatoes. If I’m cooking tomato pasta I am going with this jammy, gooey, tomatoey sauce over marinara any day.
Quick, vegan, delicious
I can’t tell you how many times these quick sauces have saved me, getting home late and tired from work. From start to table they come together in 30 minutes flat. I throw the ingredients on after a long day, pull off a super speedy shower, shouting instructions to my husband to “stir this” and “watch that”. I emerge squeaky clean, enrobed in my favourite fluffy gown, to pull the team over the home stretch. These pastas would be very at home at a casual dinner party, but I enjoy them best after a long day, horizontal on the couch watching Friends, with a glass of wine in hand.
Each of these dishes contain 4 simple ingredients (excluding salt and pepper), with the option to customise the final dish to your preferences.
Customising
Simply add fried sliced mushrooms to the finished sauce for an epic and healthier vegan take on an Alfredo. You can also add sliced kale, or spinach or any roasted veggies into this sauce that take your fancy. In my pimped version I added some leftover roasted butternut and chopped toasted pecans.
If you try this recipe, let us know how it goes! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag your photo #theculinarycartel and #lockdownchowdown on Instagram so we can see what you come up with. To view our recipe video on Instagram click here. Happy cooking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this gluten-free?
This dish is gluten free! Enjoy with your favourite gluten-free pasta!
Creamy Vegan 4 Ingredient Pasta Sauce
- Total Time: 30 Minutes
- Yield: 4 Servings
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Creamy vegan cashew pasta sauce – all the deliciousness of a creamy, cheesy pasta sauce with none of the guilt!
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
Instructions
- Boil a kettle and cover the raw cashews in lots of boiling water. Set them aside for 25 minutes, or until soft.
- Place a pan on medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook gently for 20 minutes until the onions have softened and turned a light caramel colour. Once cooked set aside until needed.
- While the onions cook, finish preparing any ingredients you wish to add to your cream sauce (like sauteed mushrooms or roasted nuts) and cook your pasta.
- When cooking the pasta be sure to save 2 cups of the cooking water to finish the sauce.
- Drain the cashews, and add them to a blender with the onion mixture, nutmeg and 1 cup of pasta cooking water. Blend the mixture, adding more water as needed, until you are left with a nice, smooth sauce with the texture of double cream/bechamel sauce. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
- Toss the sauce through your drained pasta, adding a little more cooking water if needed. Add in any optional cooked veggies, or nuts, and serve immediately while nice and warm.
- Category: Sauces
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 210.65kcal
- Sugar: 2.78g
- Sodium: 6.78mg
- Fat: 16.05g
- Saturated Fat: 3.25g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12.06g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 14.17g
- Fiber: 1.55g
- Protein: 5.63g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
