This creamy vegan pasta dish is effortless to make and so quick that it can be done while the gluten-free pasta is cooking. This is the recipe you need for those nights when you need to get dinner on the table within minutes of walking through the door and you have nothing in the fridge! Using only store-cupboard ingredients, pop the pasta on, whizz the sauce ingredients, mix together and serve! A perfect super speedy, balanced plant-based meal that takes about 6 minutes to make.
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Our week starts on a Sunday here in Qatar and for me, it’s one of the busiest afternoons of the week, overseeing homework of one child and driving backwards and forwards delivering the other two to their different ballet classes. I arrive home at supper time, frazzled, needing to make supper quickly before everyone has a hangry meltdown!
This vegan creamy sun-dried tomato pasta has saved my skin on many such Sundays when I get home and remember that I didn’t make it to the supermarket and have no vegetables left in the fridge! Throw the pasta into some boiling water and while it cooks, open a jar of sundried tomatoes, a packet of cashews and bung them in the blender with the other store-cupboard ingredients. Whizz them up and pour over the cooked and drained pasta. Done in about 6 minutes! Now that’s a good recipe to keep up your sleeve for a busy day!
Nutrition
For a very quick store-cupboard meal, this speedy vegan pasta dish is not bad nutritionally. You have your protein and healthy fats from the cashews, carbs from the pasta (bonus points if it's wholegrain), vitamins and fibre from the sun-dried tomatoes and a good dose of vitamin B12 from the nutritional yeast!
Ingredients
- Gluten-free pasta – I really love the Dove’s Farm brown rice pasta as it seems to have the best slightly chewy al dente texture.
- Cashews – these add the creaminess and protein part of this dish. You could swap for macadamias as well (just be sure to chop them up a bit first).
- Sun-dried tomatoes – if you can find them, sun-blush tomatoes would be even nicer!
- Tomato puree – use the best quality you can find.
- Vegetable stock – powdered stock mixed with hot water is fine!
- Nutritional yeast – adds a slight "cheesy" flavour and vitamin B12 (which is often lacking in vegan diets so important to keep a check on).
- Salt and pepper
Please see the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for full list of ingredients and their quantities.
Basic Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.
- Meanwhile, blend the rest of the ingredients together to a sauce consistency.
- Mix the sauce into the pasta and serve.
This is a summary only. Please see the printable recipe card at the bottom of this page for full instructions.
Chef’s Tips
- If you don’t have a high speed blender, soak the cashews for 15 minutes (or longer) in boiling water to give your blender a helping hand.
- See this cashew cream sauce recipe for more tips about making cashew cream and 7 different variations.
Serving suggestions
Serve in a bowl with some basil for garnish. If you wanted to, you could serve some nutty cheese sprinkled on top but I kind of like the simplicity of this smooth creamy pasta dish without any bits. It’s so tasty too that it really doesn’t need any toppings to help it along.
Variations
I’ve kept this recipe short and sweet because it is really my emergency, need-to-put-food-on-the-table-immediately, kind of recipe. However, if you wanted to add more to it, you could thin out the sauce with some more stock, then pour the sauce into the pasta over a low heat, add some baby spinach that could wilt into the sauce as it heats, some more chopped sundried tomatoes, perhaps some sliced black olives too?
Making ahead
For convenience, I have made this a few hours ahead by making the pasta (slightly undercooked) and sauce and then storing them in the fridge in separate containers. Then when you are ready to eat it, re-heat the pasta in a little boiling water for a minute, drain, put back in the pan and add the sauce. Heat gently while stirring, for a minute or two.
Leftovers
Any leftovers can be re-heated in the microwave but you will need to add a touch more water to loosen it up since the pasta will have soaked up the liquid in the sauce.
📖 Recipe 📖
Vegan Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
- 320 g gluten-free pasta
Pasta Sauce
- 135 g cashew nuts
- 80 g sun-blushed tomatoes
- 400 ml vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.320 g gluten-free pasta
- Put all the pasta sauce ingredients into a high speed blender and whizz for a minute or two until completely smooth and creamy.135 g cashew nuts, 80 g sun-blushed tomatoes, 400 ml vegetable stock, 1 tablespoon tomato puree, ¼ cup nutritional yeast, salt and pepper
- Drain the pasta once it’s cooked to your liking, then pour back in the pan with the sauce and stir together over a gentle heat to warm the sauce slightly.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- This sauce will thicken over time and when re-heating, so loosen it up with a little more vegetable stock or water if it starts to get a little too thick.
- If making ahead, keep the sauce and pasta separate until ready to serve then quickly drop the cooked pasta in boiling water to reheat, drain and mix with the sauce over a gentle heat just before serving.
- Serve with basil to garnish (you could also sprinkle a little nutty cheese on top, if you like).
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a ⭐ star rating ⭐ on the recipe card!
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