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Sundried tomato cashew pasta that tastes gourmet but takes minutes to make. My favorite kinds of recipes are ones that taste more complicated than they are – this sundried tomato cashew pasta is perfect for a busy night, for your family or even for hosting. Everyone loves a creamy pasta sauce, and you can make this one right in your blender. Easy steps and easy cleanup, it can’t get better!
Sundried Tomato Cashew Pasta Ingredients
Pasta: You can use any kind of pasta you like for this recipe. To keep the recipe gluten-free, of course you’ll need to use a gluten-free pasta. My favorites are Jovial brown rice penne , Banza rigatoni and Taste Republic cauliflower linguine. Cook the pasta in salted water to make it extra tasty.
Cashews: Cashews are the key to making this recipe creamy without any dairy or dairy-free cheese substitutes. I often use cashews to mimic a creamy cheese-like texture, and it works perfectly for this recipe. I recommend soaking the cashews over night in a jar for easy blending. If you only have time to soak them for a few hours, boil the water first.
Sundried Tomatoes: Sundried tomatoes are of course essential to this recipe. I recommend getting sundried tomatoes in a jar with oil from the grocery store, as that is what I use for this recipe. I also think the tomatoes soaked in oil add extra good flavor. You can find them at most grocery stores.
Tomato Paste: Just one tablespoon of tomato paste goes a long way in the sauce for this recipe. Tomato paste is extremely concentrated and adds more of the tomato-y flavor to the sauce. If you don’t keep tomato paste on hand, you can definitely omit it, but I recommend using it for that extra flavor.
Garlic: The sauce also calls for two garlic cloves. I personally think everything gets better with a little garlic. No need to minced the cloves, just throw them in the blender and you’re all set. You can substitute the fresh garlic for one tablespoon of garlic powder if needed.
Almond Milk: The main liquid component of the sundried tomato sauce is almond milk. You’ll want to use a plain unsweetened almond milk without any flavors for best results. Any other kind of unsweetened nut milk will work as well, like cashew milk or help milk. If you don’t have a preference or allergy, regular milk will work too.
Spices: The spices you’ll need for the sauce are very simple, just salt, black pepper and Italian seasoning. I add salt and black pepper to pretty much every recipe I make but I really do believe it makes everything better! The Italian seasoning can be subbed for dried or fresh basil.
Nutritional Yeast: If you’ve never used nutritional yeast before, it is commonly used to replace a cheesy taste in dairy-free recipes. Not to mention, there are multiple health benefits of nutritional yeast including the fact that it is a complete protein. Adding just a tablespoon to this sauce will drastically change the taste for the better.
How To Make Sundried Tomato Cashew Pasta
Step One: Begin by cooking the pasta according to the instructions on the box and reserving one cup of pasta water before draining. Set the pasta aside in a large bowl or back in the pot.
Step Two: Add the soaked cashews, sundried tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, almond milk, spices and nutritional yeast to a blender.
Step Three: Blend everything on high speed until smooth, or until the mixture is unable to blend further. Slowly begin incorporating the reserved pasta water until the sauce is smooth and blending easily. You may only need about half of the water depending on how thin you’d like the sauce.
Step Four: When the sauce is at your desired consistency, pour the sauce over the cooked pasta and mix until all of the pasta is completely covered. Serve immediately for best results.
Step Five: If you don’t use all of the sauce, store in a jar in the refrigerator for up to five days and reheat in the microwave.
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SUNDRIED TOMATO CASHEW PASTA
4
servings10
minutes10
minutesGluten Free, Dairy Free, Paleo, Vegan
Ingredients
8oz pasta of choice + 1 cup reserved pasta water
3/4 cup cashews, soaked at least 3 hours or overnight
3/4 cup sundried tomatoes in olive oil
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 cloves garlic
1 + 1/4 cups unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
Directions
- Begin by cooking the pasta according to the instructions on the box and reserving one cup of pasta water before draining. Set the pasta aside in a large bowl or back in the pot.
- Add the soaked cashews, sundried tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, almond milk, spices and nutritional yeast to a blender.
- Blend everything on high speed until smooth, or until the mixture is unable to blend further. Slowly begin incorporating the reserved pasta water until the sauce is smooth and blending easily. You may only need about half of the water depending on how thin you’d like the sauce.
- When the sauce is at your desired consistency, pour the sauce over the cooked pasta and mix until all of the pasta is completely covered. Serve immediately for best results.
- If you don’t use all of the sauce, store in a jar in the refrigerator for up to five days and reheat in the microwave.
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