This vegan dill pasta is served with peas and asparagus, and smothered in a heavenly, rich and creamy sauce that you'd never guess was dairy-free. This easy dinner is incredibly comforting and loaded with flavor!
Dill is one of my favorite flavors for pairing with spring veggies. I love it in dishes like my white bean asparagus soup, garlic and dill mashed potatoes, and garlic and dill cauliflower steaks. Today's creamy vegan dill pasta recipe, while totally suitable for any time of year, is especially perfect for spring. It's creamy, comforting, and features peas and asparagus — two of my favorite vegetables to cook with during this time of year.
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This pasta is incredibly flavorful and really easy. You'll need to soak your cashews (although I do have a tip below if you forget — see the FAQ section!), but aside from that, it takes just minutes to make. I think this will be one of your new favorite weeknight dinners, not just for spring, but pretty much all year round!
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Farfalle pasta. Feel free to substitute another dried pasta shape.
- Raw cashews. These are the base for our creamy, dairy-free dill sauce. Make sure they're raw. Roasted cashews will throw the flavor of the whole dish off.
- Vegetable broth. This adds flavor to the sauce, but water can be substituted in a pinch.
- Vegan yogurt. You can use soy yogurt, almond yogurt, coconut yogurt, oat yogurt ... it really doesn't matter! Just make sure it's unflavored and unsweetened.
- Lemon juice. Definitely use freshly squeeze juice — not bottled.
- Salt & pepper.
- Fresh dill. This needs to be fresh. Dried dill won't cut it.
- Olive oil.
- Asparagus.
- Frozen peas.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Start boiling your pasta water, then add your pasta and cook it until it's al dente, which means just a bit undercooked. Save some pasta water before you drain the pasta.
Step 2: Make the sauce. First blend together your raw cashews, broth, yogurt, lemon juice, and salt. Once the mixture is smooth and milky, add fresh dill and blend again.
Step 3: Heat the olive oil in a skillet, then add chopped asparagus spears. Cook the asparagus for just a few minutes, until they become bright green and slightly tender.
Tip: Make sure to trim the woody ends from your asparagus. They're no fun to bite into! Need help figuring out where to cut? See my guide on how to trim asparagus.
Step 4: Add minced garlic to the skillet, and cook it very briefly. Stir the garlic the whole time to prevent it from burning.
Step 5: Add the cooked pasta to the skillet, along with the cashew sauce. Cook everything briefly, adding some of the pasta cooking water if the sauce gets too thick.
Step 6: Stir in the peas, then remove the skillet from heat. Season your pasta with some additional salt, if you think it's needed, and black pepper. It's ready to serve!
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover creamy dill pasta will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about three days. To reheat it, place it in a large microwave-safe container and add a splash of water. Cover the dish with a wet paper towel and microwave the pasta in one minute increments until hot, stirring in between.
Variations
- Switch up the veggies. Replace the asparagus with broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, or cherry tomatoes, keeping in mind that you might need to adjust the cook time in step 3. Replace the frozen peas with frozen corn or edamame.
- Cheesy dill pasta. Add a couple tablespoons of nutritional yeast to the sauce for some cheesy flavor.
- Add protein. Add some baked tofu, such as my lemon herb baked tofu, tempeh, a meat substitute like vegan sausage or chicken, or a can of chickpeas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Just use your favorite gluten-free pasta.
Yes, but I only recommend it if you have a high-powered blender. Otherwise, the sauce might not get smooth enough. Boil the cashews in water for twenty minutes to soften them up before blending. And in the future, keep a stash of soaked raw cashews in the freezer for when you need them! You can freeze them right in their soaking water.
You can! Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days, or in the freezer for up to three months.
More Creamy Vegan Pasta Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Creamy Vegan Dill Pasta with Peas & Asparagus
Ingredients
- 12 ounces dried farfalle pasta, or pasta shape of choice
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4 to 8 hours, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- ½ cup unflavored and unsweetened vegan yogurt
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
- ½ cup chopped fresh dill
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ pound fresh asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
- Black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then add the pasta. Boil the pasta until al dente, then drain it into a colander, reserving about a half cup of the pasta cooking water. You can proceed to the next step while your water heats up and while your pasta cooks.
- Place the cashews, broth, yogurt, lemon juice, and 1 ½ teaspoons of salt into a blender. Blend the ingredients to a smooth liquid. Add the dill and briefly blend again, just until the dill is finely chopped. Set this aside.
- Coat the bottom of a large skillet with the olive oil and place it over medium heat. Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the asparagus. Cook the asparagus for about three minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pieces are bright green and tender-crisp.
- Push the asparagus to the side and add the garlic to the skillet. Sauté the garlic while stirring constantly until it becomes very fragrant, about one minute.
- Add the cooked pasta to the skillet (Note 1), then add the cashew mixture. Cook the pasta in the sauce for one to two minutes, until everything is very hot. Thin the sauce with the reserved pasta water if it gets too thick.
- Stir in the peas, then remove the skillet from heat. Season the pasta with additional salt and black pepper to taste.
- Serve.
Notes
- If your pasta isn't done cooking yet, simply remove the skillet from heat. Stir the garlic and asparagus until the skillet cools down a bit. Once the pasta is finished you can place the skillet back over medium heat and resume cooking.
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I've never cooked with lemon and cashews before. It was wonderful.