Description
A luscious vegan pasta dish featuring ripe tomatoes, silky cashew cream, fresh basil, and your favorite pasta. This 25-minute meal is comfort food that happens to be completely dairy-free and can easily be made gluten-free. Perfect for busy weeknights or end-of-summer tomato abundance!
Ingredients
For the Sauce:
- 2-3 large, ripe tomatoes (or 1 – 15oz can crushed tomatoes)
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced (optional, but I never skip it!)
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1-2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper
For the Pasta:
- 1 pound whole wheat pasta (or gluten-free pasta)
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
- Reserved pasta water for thinning
Optional Garnishes:
- Extra fresh basil
- Additional black pepper
- Red pepper flakes for heat
- Nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan
Instructions
Get your big pot of water going with a generous handful of salt. While that’s heating up, hack up your tomatoes into chunks—doesn’t have to be pretty since they’re getting blended anyway. Toss everything into your blender: tomatoes, cashews, tomato paste, and water. Blend it until it’s completely smooth, no chunks or graininess. You want it looking like velvet.
Pour your olive oil into that big sauté pan and get it hot over medium-high heat. When it’s shimmering, toss in your minced garlic and let it sizzle until it’s golden and your kitchen smells amazing—usually takes about a minute. Watch it though, because garlic goes from perfect to burnt faster than you can sneeze. Once your water’s boiling, dump in your pasta.
Pour that gorgeous blended sauce right into the pan with your garlic. Stir it up, let it come to a simmer, then add your salt. Let this bubble away for about 4-5 minutes, giving it a stir every now and then. The sauce will thicken up a bit and all those flavors will start getting cozy together. Just let it do its thing while your pasta cooks.
When your pasta’s done, scoop out a cup of that pasta water before you drain it—seriously, don’t forget this step. Drain your pasta, then dump it into the pan with the sauce. Add your black pepper and chopped basil, then toss everything together until every piece of pasta is coated. If it looks too thick, add some of that pasta water a splash at a time until it’s perfect. Pile it into bowls and hit it with more basil and pepper.
Notes
- Don’t skip reserving pasta water! It’s the secret to a sauce that clings perfectly to your pasta without being too thick or too thin.
- Season your pasta water generously—it should taste like the sea. This is your only chance to season the pasta itself.
- Watch that garlic! It goes from perfect to burned in seconds. If it burns, start over with fresh garlic.
- Blend the sauce REALLY well—at least 60-90 seconds on high. The smoother your sauce, the more luxurious it feels.
- Make this recipe even when tomatoes aren’t in season by using canned crushed tomatoes or whole canned tomatoes. It’s still delicious!
- Taste and adjust before serving. Need more salt? Add it. Want more garlic? Mince another clove and stir it in raw for a punch.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian