Vegan Pasta Primavera with Creamy Garlic Cashew Sauce
Delicious vegan pasta primavera packed with tender vegetables and tossed in a creamy garlic cashew sauce. This easy vegan pasta primavera recipe has wonderful flavors and plenty of protein and healthy fats for a comforting plant-based meal the whole family will love!
Servings 4 servings
Calories 571cal
Ingredients
- 12 ounces penne or bowtie pasta (or sub any kind of pasta you’d like, including gluten free)
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 medium red onion, sliced
- 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 1 medium red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
- 2 cups small broccoli florets
- 1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 medium zucchini, cut into matchsticks (or sliced and quartered)
- 1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- For the sauce:
- ¾ cup raw cashews
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic (or sub 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- Freshly ground black pepper
- For serving:
- Red pepper flakes
- Extra salt and black pepper, if desired
- Garlic costini/garlic bread
Instructions
- First make your sauce: soak the cashews in 2 cups of warm water for at least 2 hours; otherwise I've found that you can easily speed up the process by adding the raw cashews to a pot with water and placing over high heat. Bring water to a boil, then immediately turn off the heat; let the cashews sit for about 30 minutes in the hot water, then drain.
- Once the cashews have finished soaking you'll be ready to make the sauce: add drained cashews, ½ cup fresh filtered water, fresh lemon juice, garlic, salt, onion powder and black pepper to a blender. Blend on high until sauce comes together. If you want a bit of a thinner sauce, add 1-2 tablespoons more water. Set aside until ready to use.
- Next, cook your pasta until al dente, according to the directions on the package. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water.
- While your pasta boils, cook your vegetables: Add olive oil to a large pot and place over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, red bell pepper and broccoli; saute for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Next add in the zucchini and cook for 2 to 4 minutes, or until all the veggies are tender, but still have a little crisp to them. Finally stir in the tomatoes, italian seasoning and salt and pepper, and cook for 2 minutes more.
- Add the cooked pasta to the pot with the vegetables and cashew sauce to the pot with the veggies and stir to combine. Add a splash or two of the reserved pasta water to thin out the sauce as needed to make it creamy to your liking. Serve with red pepper flakes, if desired. I love enjoying this with a side of garlic bread or with garlic crostini!
Notes
Feel free to mix and match your veggies based on what you have available. Mushrooms, corn or asparagus would be perfect to mix and match!
See the full post for even more ways to customize this vegan pasta primavera.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving (based on 4) | Calories: 571cal | Carbohydrates: 86.5g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 19.1g | Saturated Fat: 2.5g | Fiber: 10.6g | Sugar: 9.9g