Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Pasta Bake

I'm super excited to announce this post is sponsored by World Kitchen, who I love for their gorgeous colourful bakeware. I collect both vintage and brand new dishes all the time! (No really, you should see my ridiculous collection). I have been compensated monetarily and with product. Woot woot!

Why hello there gorgeous, creamy, melt in your mouth, baked dish of deliciousness. Why yes, I do wish I was eating you right now... which would be for breakfast... which might be odd, but I am still so into the idea. Cold pasta fans anyone?

This dish is comfort food heaven! It's like creaminess and comfort got together and had a baby and they named it Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Pasta Bake. No, not the cutest baby name I have ever heard of, but it will have to do. We can call it "Baked Love" for short.

Can we take a moment to appreciate the beauty of these CorningWare dishes? I LOVE the bright fun colours of these pans, they are just so totally me. I mean the turquoise one... I can't even, I just think it's the cutest.

These days it seems like most of the things I own are turquoise: I'm sitting at a turquoise desk, next to my turquoise cabinet, eating cereal out of a turquoise bowl  (not so secretly dreaming of eating Baked Love straight out of this turquoise CorningWare pan). So when I received this package of colourful dishes in the mail I was jumping for joy at the gorgeousness. You'll probably see these dishes show up in a lot of posts from now on. If you're in a shopping type mood, you can get the set shown above here, or choose from a huge range of other colours, shapes, sizes, and styles.

Back to Baked Love.

This is a great dish for an easy weeknight dinner, but it would also be ridiculously perfect for a big party! A crowd pleaser if I ever saw one. I'm not just talking about a crowd of vegans, (where is this crowd of vegans? I want to come!) I am talking about EVERYONE. The cashews make it so sinfully creamy, an entire extra large box of spinach is crammed in there (Popeye would be proud), paired with marinated artichokes. We all know those two are a super great match. This pasta tastes just like the classic dip, but it's all disguised as dinner.

What's that dull rumble? That's the sound of thousands of vegans running to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients for Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Pasta Bake.

Let's get cooking! First you need to either soak or boil your cashews until they are very tender. Then add them to a blender with all of the sauce ingredients and blend until very smooth and creamy. Set aside.

Melt the vegan butter and mix it up along with all the bread crumb toppings. Now set that aside too.

Drain the artichokes and roughly chop leaving them still leave them fairly chunky. Chop the onion. You guess it, set those aside.

Boil your pasta according to the package directions. In the last 30 seconds of cooking time, add all of the spinach to the boiling water along with the pasta.

Stir the spinach into the water until it is all wilted, then drain pasta and spinach together.

Add the pasta and spinach back into the pot, and now add the onion, artichoke, and all of the sauce. Stir to combine.

Spread the pasta out into a 9x 12 3 qt. baking dish. Then evenly shake the breadcrumb mixture overtop. Bake at 350F (180C) for 25 minutes until hot all the way through and the breadcrumb toppings have lightly browned. Feast away my friends, feast away.

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Vegan Spinach Artichoke Pasta Bake

This Vegan Spinach Artichoke Pasta Bake tastes just like the classic dip, but turned into dinner. It’s ultra creamy, packed with spinach and artichokes, and finished with either buttery golden breadcrumbs or melty vegan cheese. Perfect for an easy weeknight meal, potluck, or cozy family dinner.

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 30 minutes mins

Total: 45 minutes mins

Servings: 6 - 8

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Ingredients

 

½1x2x

• ▢ 14 oz short pasta, (penne, ziti, rotini, or bow ties)

For the Sauce:

• ▢ 1 ½ cups raw cashews, (softened if needed, see step 3)
• ▢ 2 cups unsweetened plant-based milk, (such as oat or soy)
• ▢ ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• ▢ ¼ cup lemon juice
• ▢ 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon black pepper

For the Vegetables:

• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• ▢ 10 oz fresh spinach, (or frozen, thawed and squeezed dry)
• ▢ 12 oz marinated artichokes, (about 2 cups), drained and roughly chopped

For the Topping (choose one):

• ▢ Breadcrumb topping: ½ cup breadcrumbs + 2 tablespoons melted vegan butter
• ▢ Cheesy topping: ½ to 1 cup vegan mozzarella, grated

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

 

• Preheat and prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33 cm) baking dish.
• Cook the pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.

  Tip: Reserve ½ cup of pasta water in case you need it later.
• Soften the cashews (optional): If you have a high-powered blender, you can skip this step. Otherwise, add the cashews to a small pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes until very tender. Drain and rinse well before using in the sauce. (Softening the cashews helps them blend smoothly into a creamy sauce.)
• Blend the sauce: Add the cashews, plant-based milk, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper to a blender. Blend until completely smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape the sides as needed.
• Cook the vegetables: In a large skillet or pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlci and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, until softened. Reduce heat to low, add the spinach, cover, and cook until wilted (about 2 to 3 minutes), stirring as needed.
• Combine: Remove from heat. Add the artichokes, cooked pasta, and all of the cashew sauce. Stir until everything is evenly coated. If it looks too thick, stir in a splash of reserved pasta water or a bit more plant milk until it’s nice and saucy.
• Transfer: Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and spread evenly.
• Top and bake (choose one):

  Cheesy topping: Sprinkle with vegan mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes, then uncover and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, until melty and lightly golden.

  Breadcrumb topping: Toss breadcrumbs with melted vegan butter, sprinkle over top, and bake uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, until bubbly and golden.

Notes

Storage: Allow to cool then cover and store in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Oil-free option: Skip the olive oil and sauté the onion/garlic with a splash of water or broth instead. For the topping, skip the vegan butter and either use plain breadcrumbs (still works, just less rich), or top with my Melty Stretchy Gooey Mozzarella.

Substitute for cashews: Cashews are my favorite because they’re mild and ultra creamy, but you can also use macadamia nuts, blanched almonds, or raw sunflower seeds. Boil for about 15 minutes to soften then drain and rinse well before blending (regardless of blender strength).

Nutrition

Serving: 1 serving with breadcrumb topping (recipe makes 8 servings) | Calories: 482kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 603mg | Potassium: 629mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 3982IU | Vitamin C: 28mg | Calcium: 166mg | Iron: 4mg

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Author: Sam Turnbull

Cuisine: American, Italian

Course: Main Course, Pasta

Bon Appetegan!

Sam.