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    Home » Recipes » Pasta & Noodles

    October 10, 2015 121 Comments

    Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Pasta Bake

    20.5K shares
    Jump to Recipe

    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!

    Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Pasta Bake! This is a great dish for an easy weeknight dinner, or potluck. This pasta tastes just like the classic dip, but disguised as dinner. Vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free option, oil-free option. #itdoesnttastelikechicken



    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.

    Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Pasta Bake! This is a great dish for an easy weeknight dinner, or potluck. This pasta tastes just like the classic dip, but disguised as dinner. Vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free option, oil-free option. #itdoesnttastelikechicken

    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.

    Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Pasta Bake! This is a great dish for an easy weeknight dinner, or potluck. This pasta tastes just like the classic dip, but disguised as dinner. Vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free option, oil-free option. #itdoesnttastelikechicken

    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.

    Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Pasta Bake! This is a great dish for an easy weeknight dinner, or potluck. This pasta tastes just like the classic dip, but disguised as dinner. Vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free option, oil-free option. #itdoesnttastelikechicken

    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.

    Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Pasta Bake! This is a great dish for an easy weeknight dinner, or potluck. This pasta tastes just like the classic dip, but disguised as dinner. Vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free option, oil-free option. #itdoesnttastelikechicken

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

    Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Pasta Bake! This is a great dish for an easy weeknight dinner, or potluck. This pasta tastes just like the classic dip, but disguised as dinner. Vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free option, oil-free option. #itdoesnttastelikechicken

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

    Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Pasta Bake! This is a great dish for an easy weeknight dinner, or potluck. This pasta tastes just like the classic dip, but disguised as dinner. Vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free option, oil-free option. #itdoesnttastelikechicken

    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.

    Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Pasta Bake! This is a great dish for an easy weeknight dinner, or potluck. This pasta tastes just like the classic dip, but disguised as dinner. Vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free option, oil-free option. #itdoesnttastelikechicken

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

    Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Pasta Bake! This is a great dish for an easy weeknight dinner, or potluck. This pasta tastes just like the classic dip, but disguised as dinner. Vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free option, oil-free option. #itdoesnttastelikechicken

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

    Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Pasta Bake! This is a great dish for an easy weeknight dinner, or potluck. This pasta tastes just like the classic dip, but disguised as dinner. Vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free option, oil-free option. #itdoesnttastelikechicken

    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.

    Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Pasta Bake! This is a great dish for an easy weeknight dinner, or potluck. This pasta tastes just like the classic dip, but disguised as dinner. Vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free option, oil-free option. #itdoesnttastelikechicken

    Print Recipe
    4.96 from 43 votes

    Vegan Spinach & Artichoke Pasta Bake

    This is a great dish for an easy weeknight dinner, or potluck. This pasta tastes just like the classic dip, but disguised as dinner. 
    Prep Time15 mins
    Cook Time25 mins
    Total Time40 mins
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: American, Canadian, Italian
    ingredient tag: noodles & pasta
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 488kcal
    Author: Sam Turnbull • It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken

    Ingredients

    For the sauce:

    • 1 ½ cups raw cashews
    • ¼ cup lemon juice (about 1 ½ lemons)
    • ¼ cup nutritional yeast
    • 4 cloves garlic
    • 2 cups plant-based milk (such as soy or almond)
    • ½ teaspoon chili powder
    • 1 ½ teaspoons salt (or to taste)

    For the topping:

    • ¾ cup bread crumbs
    • 1 tablespoon melted vegan butter
    • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
    • ¼ teaspoon chili powder

    For the pasta:

    • 4 cups penne or other short pasta (454g)
    • 12 oz marinated artichokes, drained and roughly chopped
    • ½ yellow onion, chopped
    • 11 oz fresh or frozen spinach
    US Customary - Metric
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    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
    • To make the sauce: you can boil or soak the cashews. To boil the cashews: Cover the cashews with water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and boil for about 10 minutes until the cashews are very tender, then drain. To soak the cashews: Put the cashews in a bowl, and cover them with water. Let soak for 3-8 hours until very tender then drain. 
    • Add the cashews along with all of the remaining sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until very smooth and creamy. 
    • To make the topping: mix together all of the topping ingredients.
    • To make the pasta: cook the pasta according to 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 in until it is all wilted, then drain pasta and spinach together.
    • Add the pasta and spinach back into the pot, and add the onion, artichoke, and all of the sauce. Stir to combine. Spread the pasta out into a baking dish. Then evenly shake the breadcrumb mixture overtop. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until hot all the way through, and the breadcrumbs are lightly browned. Serve hot.

    Notes

    * For gluten free use a gluten free pasta such as brown rice pasta (my favourite), and gluten free bread crumbs.
    *For oil free, skip the tablespoons of vegan butter in the topping.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 488kcal
    Did You Make This Recipe?Tag @itdoesnttastelikechicken on Instagram and Hashtag #itdoesnttastelikechicken

    Bon Appetegan!

    Sam.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. RG says

      October 13, 2022 at 4:23 pm

      Is the pasta measurement for cooked or uncooked?

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        October 21, 2022 at 6:29 pm

        Uncooked, the pasta gets cooked in step 5 🙂

        Reply
    2. Bernadette says

      February 15, 2022 at 7:37 am

      Do you think I could substitute boiled and grated potatoes for the pasta? I am trying to decrease the amount of pasta I eat.

      Reply
    3. Eliane says

      November 04, 2020 at 7:48 am

      4 stars
      Thanks Sam!
      One trick I found that made this dish even more simple - especially for washing the dishes afterwards - is to cook the pasta in a big oven-proof pot or dutch oven, and then use the same pot to bake the whole dish, as opposed to putting it in a rectangular dish. But I must admit that I love the colour of the dish in the picture! 😉

      We found that the end result was a bit drier than expected, so maybe I'll bake it covered, next time, and see if it makes it creamier. I'll try broiling at the end to get the nice golden-coloured toppings you mention. And I might cook the spinach and blend it into the sauce so that my 2-year-old doesn't remove all the leaves from his bowl! 🙂

      Thanks for the inspiration!

      Reply
    4. Anna says

      May 18, 2020 at 12:40 am

      5 stars
      Just made this for dinner and it was delicious! Everyone loved it and we will definitely be making this again. I added garlic salt and some onion powder but I’m sure it’d be fine without. Easy/quicker vegan comfort food recipes are hard to come by so I’m super happy this turned out!

      Reply
    5. Sophia says

      April 19, 2020 at 7:06 pm

      5 stars
      Made this tonight for dinner and it was SUPERB!

      I cut the pasta in half.
      Sauteed the onions with zucchini, mushrooms, artichoke, spinach, broccoli, and cauliflower.

      My picky 3 year old even ate it!

      Thank you for this recipe!

      Reply
    6. Srivani says

      April 03, 2020 at 9:24 am

      5 stars
      OMG - this is so tasty. We devoured it, which is unfortunate because... no leftovers! I added some vegan cream cheese to the blender with the sauce items, because my daughter loves the spinach/artichoke/cream cheese dip I make, so this was basically the same with with pasta which she LOVES too. So this recipe was a huge hit with us and my picky 6 year old. Oh, and in true Sam form, super simple too!

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        April 03, 2020 at 1:17 pm

        Thrilled you loved it, Srivani!!! 🙂

        Reply
    7. Laura says

      March 18, 2020 at 1:33 pm

      5 stars
      This recipe was so delicious! It was the first I made vegan cheese and I cannot believe how creamy and luscious it is! Thanks, as always, for a wonderful recipe!

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        March 19, 2020 at 3:12 pm

        You're most welcome, Laura 🙂

        Reply
    8. Shannon says

      January 20, 2020 at 11:25 am

      5 stars
      Hi Sam!!! I have everything to make this but i got frozen chopped spinach. Do i put it in the water with the pasta still? I can't wait to make it! Giving it a 5 star before i even make it because all of your recipes i have made are all 5 star worthy and i know this one will be also!!

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        January 23, 2020 at 1:23 pm

        I would, just for a few seconds to thaw it. Enjoy!

        Reply
      • Karen C says

        February 15, 2020 at 6:55 pm

        5 stars
        This was a perfect meal! I followed recipe as printed but added mushrooms. Just so good. Next time I am adding more spinach since it cooks down. Thank you very much.

        Reply
        • Sam Turnbull says

          February 22, 2020 at 11:47 am

          Glad you enjoyed!

    9. LC says

      January 05, 2020 at 9:55 pm

      5 stars
      This was awesome; the sauce is so flavorful with just a few ingredients. I have enough for lunch for the entire work week. I used spaghetti noodles (broken in half) instead of penne and I also used frozen artichoke hearts and frozen spinach and they worked great here. Off to try some more of your recipes!

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        January 09, 2020 at 2:12 pm

        So happy you enjoyed!

        Reply
    10. Bryan says

      November 26, 2019 at 11:37 am

      5 stars
      Hi, am making this for a potluck and was asked to make it “nightshade free” so...no chili powder. What could I substitute?
      Tough one...I know. I was thinking Dijon and herbs, but I thought I’d ask the pro. Thanks

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        November 30, 2019 at 10:29 am

        Ooph, I love nightshades so that's a tough one, haha! I think you're right, maybe some mustard powder would be good. Enjoy!

        Reply
    11. Sal says

      July 31, 2019 at 12:43 pm

      How would you suggest I prep this for a potluck that is for the next morning?

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        August 01, 2019 at 6:56 pm

        I would just recommend making sure the pasta is quite al dente so that when it's reheated it doesn't get too soft. Enjoy!

        Reply
    12. Lauren says

      July 13, 2019 at 6:19 pm

      Can this be made with macadamia it’s or walnuts instead of cashews? My husband can’t have cashews or almonds. Thanks.

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        July 15, 2019 at 10:42 am

        Macadamia nuts would be great! Enjoy!

        Reply
    13. Ally Rodriguez says

      May 01, 2019 at 1:10 am

      Hi Sam,
      How would I make this with fresh artichoke instead of canned? Looks Amazing!

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        May 01, 2019 at 3:55 pm

        You would have to cook the artichokes first, clean and chop them. Enjoy!

        Reply
    14. Janice says

      February 07, 2019 at 11:29 pm

      5 stars
      I first heard about your blog from Nikki Limo's Youtube channel on her Tasty Tuesday segments. She seems to have success with all your recipes she's tried and they looked really good so thought I check out your blog. Decided to try this pasta dish out as I LOVEEEEEE spinach and aritichoke dip! <3

      Was a lil scared since I've never used nutritional yeast before (which actually a lil hard for me to find in person, but I did find a place that had it. :D), but the end result was fantastic! Made this with 2 friends and they were both a lil skeptical since they weren't sure how good vegan dishes can be. '

      Heck, I'm not vegan myself, but I'm always curious about trying new foods and am always down to try out vegetarian or vegan dishes here and there. We ended up using regular butter instead of vegan butter, since we had that on hand. But, I definitely wanna try out some vegan butter at some point though.

      Definitely a winner and 100% would make it again~!! Glad I found out about this blog and definitely will be trying some of your other recipes as well. If they're anything like this pasta, I'll be pretty impressed! 😀

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        February 08, 2019 at 4:05 pm

        That's so awesome, Janice! So thrilled you decided to check me out, and so very happy you loved the pasta so much. I hope you enjoy many more recipes to come 🙂

        Reply
    15. Kaitlin says

      January 29, 2019 at 1:02 pm

      Hi Sam, I was hoping to be able to make this the night before and just store in the fridge before baking. Any suggestions to make sure the pasta/everything doesn't get mushy? I was going to add the breadcrumbs right before putting it in the oven.

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        February 05, 2019 at 1:07 pm

        Hi Kaitlin, just make sure the pasta is just a wee bit undercooked- a firm al dente. Then you should be good. Enjoy!

        Reply
    16. Edie B says

      December 21, 2018 at 6:39 pm

      This is an easy recipe, but most importantly it is awesome! My family loves this and it’s now in our rotation of favorite go-to vegan meals that everyone in the family enjoys. I have one carnivore left and even she loves it! I highly recommend this recipe. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        January 03, 2019 at 9:54 am

        That's awesome!! So very happy you love the recipe so much 🙂

        Reply
    17. Mychael Robinson says

      November 29, 2018 at 12:00 pm

      5 stars
      Absolutely delicious. I added some zucchini and squash, and actually added some bread in with the sauce mix to get it a little thicker ( I think I had too much liquid in there to start and did not have anything else on hand). Turned out pretty good. Thanks for the recipe!

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        December 02, 2018 at 1:29 pm

        You're most welcome, so happy you enjoyed!

        Reply
    18. Renee says

      November 04, 2018 at 8:22 am

      5 stars
      I made this last Thursday but I added sliced Cremini Mushroom and it is so delicious with or without the mushrooms. Of course I had to sample it before adding the mushrooms hut again either way amazingly delicious. I had enough to make a loaf pan for my cousin who is a finicky vegan...she loved it!

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        November 05, 2018 at 10:30 am

        Awesome! So thrilled you enjoyed it, Renee 🙂

        Reply
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    Sam Turnbull

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    I'm Sam. Bestselling cookbook author and full-time vegan recipe creator! I LOVE vegan food, but it didn't start that way. As someone who comes from a family of hunters, butchers, and chefs I'm the last person I thought would go vegan. Here's My Story →

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