This Creamy Vegan Tomato Sauce Pasta is super comforting, satisfying yet healthy, and really easy to make!
This Creamy Vegan Tomato Sauce Pasta was inspired by one of my favourite pasta sauces - tomato and mascarpone. I love how the mascarpone perfectly balances out the acidity of the tomatoes, making the sauce a little sweeter and milder, as well as adding a luxuriously creamy texture.
I've previously made creamy pasta sauces using unsweetened almond milk and cornflour, but didn't think that would really work when it came to replicating the mascarpone.
So, I turned to my new best friends, blended cashews, and guess what, they didn't let me down!
They add to this tomato sauce in the same way that mascarpone would, adding a mild creaminess and sweetness that mellows out the sharpness of the tomatoes.
But what's actually better about using blended cashews as opposed to mascarpone is that they're much healthier, they make the sauce super rich without being too heavy or cloying, add lots of protein, and they're more dietary requirement-friendly!
This sauce is really easy to put together too - just fry off some onions, garlic, carrots and celery in a pan, add tinned tomatoes and cashews (no need to soak them as they'll get beautifully soft cooking away in that steamy hot sauce) along with some herbs and seasonings, then blend until smooth!
This sauce is amazing because you can leisurely make a huge batch of it and freeze into individual portions - your busy weeknight self will thank you for it later, as all you need to do is boil some pasta and you'll have dinner on the table in no time! Leftover sauce is also great on pizza.
For more creamy vegan pasta recipes, check out my:
- Creamy Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta
- Creamy Pesto Pasta
- Creamy Sundried Pesto Pasta
- Creamy Miso Pasta Sauce
- Creamy Pumpkin Chestnut Pasta
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Helpful tools to make this Creamy Vegan Tomato Sauce Pasta:
food processor
blender
hand-held stick blender
measuring jug
Creamy Vegan Tomato Sauce Pasta (GF)
Ingredients
- 200 g (7oz) pasta (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
For the sauce:
- 2 tablespoons oil (olive, rapeseed or vegetable)
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 celery stick, diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- 230 ml (1 cup) tinned tomatoes
- 1 vegetable stock cube (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 40 g (¼ cup) cashew nuts
- Salt + pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- Cayenne chilli pepper, to taste (optional)
To serve:
- Fresh basil or parsley
- Nutritional yeast
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to instructions on packet
For the sauce:
- Heat up oil in a saucepan
- Once hot, add onion, garlic, celery and carrot
- Fry for around 15 minutes until soft
- Add the paprika, tinned tomatoes, cashews, stock cube, oregano, salt + pepper and nutritional yeast (and chilli if using)
- Bring to the boil then turn down heat and simmer for around 20 minutes
- Turn off heat and use a food processor or blender (or hand-held blender) to whizz until smooth. Add more water if it's too thick, taste and adjust seasonings if necessary
- Once the pasta has cooked, drain it and mix in the sauce
To serve:
- Serve onto plates and scatter over fresh basil or parsley, and extra nutritional yeast
- Leftover sauce keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days and freezes well too
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Anca
It looks delicious. I usually add coconut milk to my vegan pasta dishes, I tried it with cashews too and I loved it.
Rhian Williams
Yes I love cashews so much! Coconut milk sounds like a good idea too though, will have to try that out. Thanks Anca!
Lola
Made this for dinner tonight and it's heavenly - so thick and creamy!
Rhian Williams
Thank you!