You may remember, way back on June 12th of 2014, I started a stupid, difficult, overwhelming, wonderfully, brilliant challenge. I decided that in 1 year I would post 100 recipes featuring 100 new ingredients. The 1/100/100 challenge. So here I stand and say sit and type, I have officially written 50 vegan recipes featuring 50 different ingredients, and now I have 50 more to go.
Well that's very good news, right!? The bad news is I only have exactly 100 days left. Heart attack! Where did the last 265 days of precious cooking time go? Moving twice, my job, and dreading going out into the well below freezing temperatures might have something to do with it. But alas, never fear! I promise you 50 more vegan recipes that you can brag about cook for all your friends who think vegan food is gross.
Let's celebrate with a big glass of wine and a giant bowl of Creamy Vegan Sun-dried Tomato Pasta. Omnomnom.
Wait, there is no wine in the house, damn you freezing rain for keeping me away from the wine store! Ehem, on to the recipe.
If you like creamy, and if you like pasta, you will like this dish. And if you don't like those things, then you are wrong.
The creaminess comes from a homemade cashew cream, (seriously cashews, what can't you do!?), toss that with lots of sautéed garlic, chewy and salty sun-dried tomatoes, a big handful of fresh basil, and hot pasta, then say hello to a scrumptious bowl of yum.
All you're going to do is soak or boil cashews until they are tender, then blend with water until you reach a creamy smooth sauce.
Slice basil, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes.
Sauté the garlic with sun-dried tomatoes until golden and delectable.
Stir in cream, water, tomato paste, and basil, then toss with hot pasta. Easy, peasy, yes pleasey.
Vegan Creamy Sun-dried Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
- 450 grams pasta (any shape) (gluten-free if preferred)
For the cashew cream:
- ½ cup raw cashews
- ½ cup water
For the sun-dried tomato sauce:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic, sliced
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes (drained if in oil), sliced
- 1 cup water
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ cup fresh basil, chopped
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook your pasta according to the package directions.
- To make the cashew cream: Boil the cashews in water for abou 10 minutes until tender and drain. Add the boiled cashews and ½ cup fresh water to a blender and blend until completely smooth, stopping to scrape the sides as needed.
- To make the sun-dried tomato sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium. When hot, add the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and sauté, for 1 - 2 minutes until the garlic is just starting to turn golden.
- Reduce heat and stir in the cashew cream, 1 cup of water, tomato paste, and basil. Once hot and bubbling, remove from heat, it will only take a minute or two. Add the hot pasta into the pan with the sauce, and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Featured ingredient: Sun-dried tomatoes.
Bon Appetegan!
Sam.
Dana says
I know this is an older recipe, but I just have to say how good this is. I have made it like once a week for months. I use Banza spaghetti to make it gluten free. IT IS JUST SO GOOD!! Thank you!
Joe says
Hi Sam! Gotta say that is was really really good. The only change I made was to sub fresh spinach for the basil. Next time I think I’ll resuscitate my dried shiitake mushrooms and add them in. Mmm!
Alex says
Hey! Newbie vegan here - I can't wait to make this later in the week. I picked up all the ingredients today but I'm wondering whether the cashews I've got are good or not. They are advertised as just "Cashew Kernels" and it doesn't say that they've been roasted.. should I assume they are raw, or do you typically need to buy cashew specifically advertised as raw?
Thanks!!
Eryn says
My brother moved in with me and my husband this year, and we find ourselves cooking more and more plant-based dishes since he’s vegan. I had half a jar of sun dried tomatoes leftover from a spinach orzo salad we made, and this recipe was the perfect solution to my weeknight meal conundrum. It’s so lovely and simple! I cooked a minced shallot down in oil before adding the tomatoes and garlic (I used the oil from the tomatoes), and subbed dry basil for fresh since it’s what I had on hand. I added some lemon juice to the cashew cream for brightness and topped the dish with fresh spinach. I also used pasta water for my cashew cream and for the final cup at the end. Amazing! Will definitely make again. Thanks for your recipes and your cheer!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed!!
Hang says
I usually don’t comment, but this dish I had too. This was so comforting and heavenly! I ate this 3 times in 2 days. I added sautéed mushrooms and spinach. DELISH!! thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! Well, thank you so much for commenting, Hang! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much 🙂
Tara @ Plantae Nutrition says
I added 1 can of navy beans (1.5 cups cooked) and a little extra water to the cream sauce for protein, and it as delightful! Thanks for a great recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed it, Tara 🙂
Karen says
Made this last night...it was a smash hit! Thanks for the boiling vs. soaking idea - really made the cream creamier. Can't wait to make this again.
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!! So happy you loved it, Karen 🙂
Jennifer says
Dang, this recipe is amazing! It tastes so rich and decadent! We had it for Valentine’s dinner served over cauliflower gnocchi from Trader Joe’s. We also added diced Field Roast Italian sausage.
Sam Turnbull says
That sounds amazing! So happy you loved it 🙂
Michelle says
ANOTHER winner Sam!!!! I added some spinach since it's winter and I didn't have any fresh basil and it was DELICIOUS! Will definitely be making this again. You are a genius!
Sam Turnbull says
YAY!!! Delighted you are enjoying so many recipes, Michelle 🙂
CJ says
I’m so glad I made your recipe; my husband and I both loved it! Within the reviews, I read that someone had forgotten to reserve one cup of the pasta water; to ensure I wouldn’t miss this step, I placed my one cup measuring cup inside the colander. My husband and I recently began following a whole-food plant-based lifestyle. Since then, I’ve been searching for healthy delicious recipes with ingredients that we normally have on hand; this recipe fit the bill on this football Sunday. My husband voted to include your recipe into our rotation. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!!! Thrilled you and your husband enjoyed it so much 🙂
kerry says
Pre-vegan, one of my fav dishes was pasta in Cardinale sauce - this is an awesome sub! Can't stop eating it. Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! So happy you enjoyed it, kerry!
Carolyn says
This turned out amazing! This is the third time I've tried using cashews as a cream base but this is the first time I really felt satisfied with the results. I think the boiling step is what made the difference - way more effective than soaking, in my experience. Thanks for the great recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
That's wonderful! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Carolyn 🙂
KareninStLouis says
Made this tonight for the first time and thought it was great. I used zoodles instead of pasta, and also added some spinach. It was just fantastic. What a wonderful change of pace, and how great to have a creamy sauce. On top of all that, I learned the cashew boiling trick!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much! Thank you for the comment 🙂
Jennifer says
We had this today and it was a big hit. We will definitely make this one many times again in the future. We used smoked sun dried tomatoes since that is what we had and that worked really well with this recipe. 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Oh awesome those sound delicious!! Thrilled you enjoyed the recipe so much 🙂
Penny says
This is one of my favorite recipes now--I've made it multiple times since I tried it for the first time last month. Thanks!!
Sam Turnbull says
That's awesome! Thrilled you enjoy it so much, Penny 🙂
Jenna says
This was amazing!!! My boyfriend loved it and he is picky when it comes to vegan dishes! I doubled the recipe and it was delicious!
Sam Turnbull says
That's awesome! Thrilled you both loved it so much, Jenna 🙂
julie says
I blended it in a blender, all of it because I know my husband wouldn't like pieces of tomatoes. It was AMAZING and we all loved it. It reminds me of a rosee sauce 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! So happy you enjoyed it! I do have a vegan rose sauce in my cookbook too if that interests you 🙂
thea says
can you use sundried tomatoe in oil instead of dry?
Sam Turnbull says
For sure!