Vegan sun-dried tomato pasta stars a creamy blender sauce made with raw cashews and jarred sun-dried tomatoes. Ready in about 20 minutes, this luxurious dairy-free dish is both easy enough for weeknight dinners and elegant enough for special occasions.
It's a riff on my lemon cashew cream pasta recipe, with the addition of tangy sun-dried tomatoes and garlic. Think of it as a vegan spin on the viral "Marry Me Pasta."
Cook your favorite pasta, like spaghetti or penne. Then use some of the reserved starchy cooking water to blend together a quick sauce made with cashews, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh garlic, and a squeeze of lemon. Toss it with the noodles, garnish with fresh basil, and dinner is ready.
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Yummy! Unique flavor. Fast and easy. Thank you!
- Steve
Ingredients
- Sun-dried tomatoes: Look for the ones in a jar packed in olive oil. If you prefer an oil-free version, you can use the dry ones sold in bags and in bulk bins, but you'll need to soak them in a bowl of water for at least 2 hours to reconstitute them.
- Raw cashews: Also called unroasted, unsalted cashews. If you don't have a high-speed blender like a Vitamix, soak the cashews in a bowl of water to soften for at least 30 minutes.
Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete ingredients, measurements, and instructions.
How to make vegan sun-dried tomato pasta
- Place the cashews, drained sun-dried tomatoes, lemon juice, and garlic in a high-speed blender along with 1 cup of the reserved starchy pasta water.
- Blend until completely smooth, adding a little more pasta water as needed.
- Toss with the hot pasta, garnish with fresh herbs, and serve immediately.
Vegan sun-dried tomato pasta is delicious on its own or topped with homemade tofu meatballs. Serve it with any of your favorite vegetable side dishes or a simple salad drizzled with lemon olive oil vinaigrette.
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Love and Veggies,
Amy
📋 Recipe
Creamy Vegan Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Cashews
Equipment
- high speed blender
Ingredients
- 12-16 ounces pasta, (gluten free, optional. I use Barilla gluten-free spaghetti)
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1 cup reserved pasta water, plus extra, as needed
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, excess oil drained off
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
- salt and pepper, to taste
- fresh basil or parsley, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Dip a glass measuring cup or coffee mug into the water and reserve about 1½ cups. Drain the pasta, return it to the pot, and set aside while you make the sauce.12-16 ounces pasta
- Blend the cashews, 1 cup reserved pasta water, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon juice, garlic, and salt and pepper in a high-speed blender until the sauce is very smooth. Add more reserved pasta water as needed if the sauce is too thick to blend.1 cup raw cashews, 1 cup reserved pasta water, ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, 1 clove garlic, salt and pepper
- Add the sauce to the cooked pasta and toss until well coated, adding a little extra reserved pasta water as needed.
- Serve the pasta immediately topped with fresh basil or parsley, if desired.fresh basil or parsley
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation.
Sarah says
The sauce would not blend because it was too thick. Despite adding a lot of extra water and oat milk, it remained chunky because of the cashews. I was using a vitamix, so it’s not for lack of having a good blender. This recipe should direct you to at least soak the cashews.
I ended up eating plain noodles instead. Total fail.
Amy Katz says
I'm sorry the recipe didn't work for you. If you used at least a cup of hot pasta water and a Vitamix, I'm very surprised you had trouble blending the sauce. Oat milk is not an ingredient in this recipe, so I'm not sure why you used it.
Bhavna says
Any replacement to the cashew, I don't do so well with them.
Amy Katz says
Someone else said they used beans, but I personally haven't tried it without the cashews.
Jamers says
It was delicious and easy to make in my blender! I wanted more protein and less fat so I swapped out to 1/2 pinto beans and 1/2 cashews. Next time I will swap out and use 1 can of pinto beans and 0 cashews. Thank you for the great recipe!
Amy Katz says
That's fantastic, Jamie! I'm so happy you enjoyed the pasta.
Steve says
Yummy! Unique flavor. Fast and easy. Thank you!
Amy says
Thanks Steve!