This 3-ingredient vegan cashew cream pasta sauce recipe made spicy with capsicum and creamy with cashew sauce is a flavor to devour!
This Creamy Vegan Cashew Pasta Sauce is packed with fresh flavors from cashews, whole black peppercorns, garlic, and capsicum. While any bell pepper can work, I love green capsicum, garlic to make the sauce.
The best thing about this creamy pasta is the wonderful flavor that comes from the use of the fresh sauce and just a handful of ingredients. I am a cheese lover, and I enjoyed this creamy pasta without the cheese.
While one may add the heavy cream, this recipe is a twist to the classic recipe that uses no cream or cheese and is yet utterly indulgent. This delicious addition of capsicum gives it a light green tinge and is very similar to classic cheesy pasta that you won't miss!
Totally customizable with ingredients, this dairy-free, creamy cashew sauce gathers in under 15 minutes.
You may also like Gluten Free Spicy Vegan Tomato Pasta, Vegan Spinach Pasta, Pumpkin Sauce Pasta with Cream Cheese.
Ingredients Overview
- Pasta: I have used spaghetti from Delmonte Wheat Pasta (Whole grain pasta). You may use any shape or brand that you like.
- Cashews: I love using cashew sauce for pasta. It gives your pasta, the perfect creamy texture without any cheese. To make it non-vegan, you may add any cheese like Parmesan cheese or cheddar. Use a Vegan Parmesan.
- Capsicum: Capsicum (or Green Bell pepper) adds a crunchy and mildly spicy flavor. I have used raw capsicum. You may use roasted peppers as well. They blend well with cashew sauce.
- Garlic: Any pasta dish is incomplete without garlic's buttery taste and aroma. While you may add onion powder or garlic powder, I recommend using fresh garlic cloves for the best taste.
- Olive Oil: Pasta and olive oil taste amazing together. You may use any other vegetable oil or vegan butter.
- Italian Seasonings: I love the addition of dried oregano and chili flakes.
How To Make Cashew Cream Pasta Sauce
Step 1 Prep Pasta and Sauce
Soak raw cashews in warm water for 20 minutes. If they have not softened up, soak a bit longer. In the meanwhile, prep veggies and boil the pasta in a large container.
Step 2 Pasta is Boiled
Boil spaghetti till it softens up. Drain the extra water from boiled pasta using a colander.
Step 3 Make Cashew Paste
Blend garlic, cashews, black pepper and capsicum in blender. Use water or milk to make a smooth paste.
Step 4 Cook Cashew Sauce
Take a heavy-bottomed pan / Kadai and add olive oil to it. Add the above sauce. Mix well and cook for 2-3 min. Add salt and seasonings (oregano, red chili flakes, black pepper). Keep mixing so that sauce doesn't stick to the bottom of pan.
If its too thick, you may add little pasta water to adjust. Add the boiled pasta and mix really well.
Step 5 Serve It
The delicious capsicum no-cheese vegan pasta is ready. It took hardly 10 minutes of cooking. Enjoy with garlic bread and gravy of your choice!
Expert Tips
- Always boil pasta on a simmer flame and switch off once almost done or pasta will become soggy.
- Immediately after boiling, transfer it to a colander. Wash it once to remove an extra starch layer. Add few drops of oil so that it doesn't stick together.
- While heating the cashew cream sauce, make sure to slow the flame and use heavy utensil or else it might get burnt and you won't like the burnt up taste. The cashew sauce will gradually thicken up so you don't have to overcook it.
Recipe FAQs
Cashews when soaked and blended to make a paste can be added to gravy dishes, soups or stews for natural thickening. This cashew pasta sauce uses cashew paste to make a creamy sauce that is vegan and is not high in calories.
What does cashew cream sauce taste like?
Cashew cream tastes different from cashews. It has buttery smooth flavor and is not dominating the dish.
Why is my cashew sauce grainy?
The cashews when not soaked for long or are not grounded with a high speed blender make a grainy sauce. Make sure to soak cashews for long (at least 1 hr) and don't add any water while grinding.
Stories From Kitchen
Do you believe pasta shape matters?
More than 85% of my insta followers agreed upon that it matters!
My experience of pasta cooking also suggests the same. The wave of joy spreads in-home at the very mention of Pasta. It is food for the mind. Sometimes I don't cook for the blog. This is true for this recipe as well. I had no plans to post it but when it came out really well, I had no reason to hide it from you either.
My daughter loves to help me take shots. The first attempt was totally great for taste and mood.
You may also like:
More Vegan Recipes:
- Best Tomato Rice Soup- Quick & Simple
- Easy Potato Onion Soup Recipe
- Easy Coconut Red Lentil Soup Recipe
Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a comment below and let me know what sides you served it with! If you loved it, feel free to share this post with your friends who love simple Indian cooking.
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Easy Cashew Pasta Sauce
Equipment
- Colander
- Blender
- Heavy-bottomed Pan
Ingredients
- 3 cups Del Monte Spaghetti Pasta (cooked) You may choose any shape, raw weighs 600 gms
- 1 cup cashews around 85 gms
- 2 medium green capsicum
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 10 pieces whole black pepper
- 2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon red chilli flakes
- 5 cup water boiling pasta
Instructions
- Soak raw cashews in warm water for 20 minutes. If they have not softened up, soak a bit longer. In the meanwhile, boil the pasta in a large container. It takes about 10 min to boil it.
- Drain the extra water from boiled pasta using colander and check cashews for softness.
- Blend garlic, cashews and capsicum in blender. Use water to make a smooth paste.
- Take a heavy-bottomed pan / Kadai and add olive oil to it. Add the above sauce. Mix well and cook for 2-3 min. Add salt and seasonings (oregano, red chili flakes, black pepper). Keep mixing so that sauce doesn't stick to the bottom of pan. If its too thick, you may add little water or milk to adjust. Add the boiled pasta and mix really well.
- The delicious cashew pasta sauce is ready. It took hardly 10 minutes to cook. Enjoy with garlic bread and gravy of your choice!
Video
Notes
Recipe Notes
- Always boil pasta on a simmer flame and switch off once almost done or pasta will become soggy.
- Immediately after boiling, transfer it to a colander. Wash it once to remove an extra starch layer. Add few drops of oil so that it doesn't stick together.
- While heating the cashew cream sauce, make sure to slow the flame and use heavy utensil or else it might get burnt and you won't like the burnt up taste. The cashew sauce will gradually thicken up so you don't have to overcook it.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1 bowl | |
| Servings: 4 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 206 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 14g | 18% |
| Saturated Fat 3.9g | 19% |
| Cholesterol 0mg | 0% |
| Sodium 426mg | 19% |
| Total Carbohydrate 18.5g | 7% |
| Dietary Fiber 2.9g | 10% |
| Total Sugars 8.1g | |
| Protein 4.7g | |
| Vitamin D 0mcg | 0% |
| Calcium 37mg | 3% |
| Iron 2mg | 10% |
| Potassium 210mg | 4% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
Anonymous says
Just tried this recipe! Superb. Couldn't believe it was so cheesy without cheesy! Thanks.
Deepti says
Glad to know this! thanks so much for sharing your views. Keep visiting for more healthy recipes.