This Vegan Carbonara Pasta is velvety and creamy! A great alternative to a creamy pasta sauce that is dairy free and vegan!
April showers are happening here in Michigan and all I've been wanting lately is hearty comfort food. Insert vegan carbonara pasta.
I am excited to share with you this vegan carbonara pasta. Who doesn't love a creamy pasta dish that isn't loaded with saturated fat and cholesterol?
Can I get an amen?!
Flavor & ingredients
Step out of your comfort zone if you've never tried a vegan dish before or if you aren't familiar with these ingredients. You won't be disappointed. I will tell you why you must have them as a pantry staple!
Liquid smoke:
- If you aren't familiar with liquid smoke, you can find it at most grocery stores. I used this brand and bought it in a mesquite flavor. You can also click on my shop page to see more.
- The liquid smoke provides a smokey-bacon like taste without the meat- helping to make this a vegan recipe.
Nutritional yeast:
- Nutritional yeast provides a cheese-like flavor to the dish and helps to thicken the sauce.
- It is loaded with B12, which is an essential B vitamin that is found in meat and dairy ( also this will make your urine yellow). B12 is a water-soluble vitamin so your body will naturally flush out whatever it doesn't need.
- Provides a whopping 5g of fiber for 2 tablespoons and ~8 g of protein ( depending on the brand). Impressive!
Ingredients in Vegan Carbonara Cashew Cream:
- This provides that creamy velvety texture we all love in a carbonara sauce. Over eighty percent of the fat content in cashews are the monounsaturated heart healthy fats.
Banza Pasta:
- Chickpea-based pasta that provides ~14 grams of protein per serving
- I love Banza pasta compared to the competitor. They are DETROIT BASED - shout out! Other recipes that use banza are my high protein vegan pasta bake.
- The flavor and texture is comparable to regular pasta! Most other gluten free pastas I've tried have a residue that doesn't break down well with heat.
If you want to get fancy and have truffle salt- highly recommend throwing it on at the end!
If you didn't notice, most of my recipes have a nutritional label at the bottom of my post, if you click on 'nutrition' you should be able to see the nutritional facts per serving.
Curl up with this bowl of dairy free pasta vegan carbonara and your taste buds (and stomach) will be satisfied!
Vegan Carbonara Pasta
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 people 1x
Description
Vegan carbonara pasta that is packed with protein and velvety cashew cream in one bite!
Ingredients
- 8 oz Banza pasta
- ¾ cup pasta water, reserved
- ¾ cup plain cashews, soaked
- ½ cup water
- 1 tbsp oil (I used avocado, extra virgin would be fine as well)
- 1 shallot, minced
- 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup fresh spinach (if using frozen use ½ cup)
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (or ~ ½ lemon, juiced)
- 1 tsp liquid smoke (( I used mesquite))
- sprinkle of cracked pepper (optional)
- sprinkle of truffle salt (optional but recommended)
Instructions
- Place cashews in a bowl and let them soak overnight. Alternatively, you can pour boiling water over them in the bowl and let them rest for 30 minutes.
- Prepare boiling water for pasta. Cook until al dente or 2 minutes less than recommended cooking time.
- While the pasta is cooking, mince shallot and place in a wide saucepan over medium heat with oil. Place mushrooms in saucepan and sauté. Place spinach in saucepan, turn heat down to low and place lid to allow the spinach to wilt.
- Drain the water from the cashews and place in a blender with ¼ cup water. Process until smooth like a cream.
- Drain the pasta, reserving ½ cup of liquid.
- Pour the cashew cream over over the vegetables in the saucepan. Add in the reserved water and nutritional yeast, leave heat on low and stir to combine. The sauce should thicken, stir for approximately 1-2 minutes.
- Next add the vegetable broth, lemon juice and liquid smoke. Once incorporated, add in pasta.
- If the sauce is too thick, add 1 tablespoon of almond milk or more vegetable broth as needed.
- Garnish with truffle salt or cracked black pepper and enjoy!
Notes
I used Banza pasta in this recipe, you can use another pasta alternative, just keep in mind it will change the nutritional info for this recipe.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Saute
- Cuisine: Gluten Free, Vegan
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