Vegan creamy pasta is purely delicious. We finished a whole pot literally in minutes for dinner. Usually, pastas are full of cheese but this is a no cheese pasta with nutritional yeast flakes. Kids love finger food and something they can eat themselves. Adding veggies to diet is always helpful too as they need their nutrition.
Vegan creamy pasta sauce has no nuts no cream or cheese yet it is super smooth due to sweet potato. Hence, no extra calories. You can always add nuts , basil and cheese if you want to use raw pesto instead of cooking spinach sauce. However, we wanted to make something nut-free for kiddie lunch hours at school. Most schools might have a nut free policy in Australia. Some kids might have an averse reaction due to allergies. Hence, it is always better to avoid nuts in school lunch boxes.
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What is nutritional yeast ?
Nutritional yeast, also called “nooch,” is a popular food product often used in vegan cooking.
This powdered yeast gets its name from the nutrients it contains, including protein and a wide array of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
There are so any vegan dishes you can make & still get your iron too. It grew in my garden so I ended up eating so many dishes as a kid. Whether it was easy palak rice or Sindhi Sai bhaji where we cooked lentils with greens. Spinach soup is awesome on a cold winter night while saag paneer/tofu makes any weeknight special. Two more curries are Undhiyu and Saat bhajiyun which are mixed veg curries of Gujarati and Sindhi cuisine and help you enjoy all winter produce.
Ingredients
For pasta
- Pasta I have used elbow pasta / Orecchiette pasta in this recipe
- water
- Salt
For Pasta sauce
- Olive oil
- Onion diced
- Garlic clove
- Ginger
- Sweet potato
- Tomatoes Chopped
- Red bell pepper
- vegan soup stock optional
- Red paprika
- Nutritional yeast flakes can be replace with a small can of coconut milk(165ml)
- Water for the sauce
- Salt as per taste
See recipe card for quantities.
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Sieve
- Blender
how to make vegan creamy spinach pasta?
- In a sauce pan, boil water and add pasta to it. Cook al dente or as per packet instructions. Strain it using a sieve and keep it aside.
- Heat oil in a pan and add onions and garlic to it with little salt. Cook for 5 mins.
- Add sweet potato to it with little salt
- Cook for 7-8 mins or until they are soft.
- Add tomatoes, bell peppers with little salt, continue to cook until they are soft.
- Now, add water to the pot
- Add paprika to the mix, continue to cook. Turn off the heat once the sweet potatoes have completely cooked.
- Add nutritional yeast flakes and mix them in the pot
- Once the mixture has cooked, move the contents to a blender and blend until smooth
- Add a sieve on top of the pot, filter the pasta sauce, add little water if required.
- Start cooking the pasta sauce ,allow it to come to boil
- Add the cooked pasta, mix slowly, allow for cook for few minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Serve warm
Hint: Over boiling the pasta will make it mushy. Always check the packet instructions.
Substitutions
You may substitute the sweet potato with carrots if you like.
Variations
You can add mushrooms to make vegan mushroom spinach pasta.Many brands come in various shapes & sizes. You can also choose a different type to go with it like fusilli or spaghettis. Use rainbow colored ones for a variation.
Storage
It is always better to eat fresh. However, you can boil pasta and store it separately for 1-2 days. You can also keep the puree separately. Freeze it in refrigerator if you like to cook in advance. Thaw and add freshly boiled pasta to it.
For your final prepared dish,the sauce will get dry with the pasta, hence add 2-3 tablespoon of water while you reheat it on low flame.
Related links
Read our other vegan spinach recipes
Vegan creamy pasta recipe
Equipment
- 2 saucepan
- Sieve
- Blender
Ingredients
For pasta
- 2 cup Pasta I have used elbow pasta / Orecchiette pasta
- 3 cups water boil water first
- 1 teaspoon Salt
For Pasta sauce
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 medium Onion diced
- 1 garlic clove chopped,optional
- 1 teaspoon ginger optional
- 1 cup sweet potato Cubed
- 1 cup Tomatoes Chopped
- ½ cup red bell pepper cubed
- ½ tbsp. vegan soup stock optional
- 1 tablespoon red paprika
- 5 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes can be replace with a small can of coconut milk(165ml)
- 1.5 cup water for the sauce
- Salt as per taste
Instructions
- In a sauce pan, boil water and add pasta to it. Cook al dente or as per packet instructions. Strain it using a sieve and keep it aside.
- Heat oil in a pan and add onions and garlic to it with little salt. Cook for 5 mins.
- Add sweet potato to it and cook for 7-8 mins or until they are soft
- Add tomatoes, bell peppers with little salt, continue to cook until they are soft.
- Add water to the pot
- Add paprika to the mix, continue to cook. Turn off the heat once the sweet potatoes have completely cooked.
- Add nutritional yeast flakes and mix them in the pot
- Once the mixture has cooked, move the contents to a blender and blend until smooth
- Add a sieve on top of the pot, filter the pasta sauce, add little water if required
- Start cooking the pasta sauce ,allow it to come to boil
- Add the cooked pasta, mix slowly, allow for cook for few minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Serve warm
Notes
FAQ
Sweet potato,onions,tomatoes,bell pepper, nutritional yeast flakes
Barilla, De cecco,Garofalo, Colavita, Rummo,365 by Whole Foods Market Pasta are some of the vegan pasta brands. Always check the ingredients before you use as a thumbrule.
Please share your inputs..