My pasta with creamy vegan rosé sauce is rich, flavorful, and made completely dairy-free with a velvety cashew base. Tossed with tender broccoli and fresh basil, this dish is super satisfying and feels fancy, but is actually really easy to make! This one comes together in under 30 minutes of active cooking time.
I waited tables in an Italian restaurant when I was in college, and the servers got a free meal for every shift. This pasta dish that you see before you was my dish. I ALWAYS got rigatoni with rosé sauce and broccoli. That was a long time ago, and that dish had dairy in it. I got to missing my old favorite dinner recently and wondered if I could create a vegan version that was just as good. The answer turned out to be no. My vegan rosé sauce was even better!
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If you're a fan of my vegan penne alla vodka, you're going to love this one. The sauce is a tad milder and sweeter without the vodka, but every bit as comforting and delicious. The cashew-based sauce also comes together super fast, making this dish perfect for a cozy weeknight dinner or an easy date-night in.
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.
- Raw cashews. These are the base for our creamy sauce. You'll be blending them with water to create cashew cream, which is an excellent substitute for the heavy cream found in traditional rosé sauce.
- Water.
- Rigatoni pasta. I love this dish with rigatoni, but you're welcome to substitute another pasta shape if you'd like.
- Broccoli. Got another veggie in your fridge that needs using up? It'll probably work in this dish. Cauliflower, asparagus, spinach, and kale are all great alternatives.
- Olive oil.
- Shallot.
- Garlic.
- White wine. Use a dry variety like chardonnay or sauvignon blanc, and be sure to check with Barnivore to ensure that the brand you buy is vegan.
- Crushed tomatoes.
- Tomato paste.
- Sugar. Conventional sugar is often bleached using animal bone char. Use organic sugar to keep the recipe vegan. It's processed differently, without animal products.
- Salt.
- Crushed red pepper flakes. These will add a slight kick to the sauce. Feel free to leave them out if you're not into that.
- Fresh basil.
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: Blend your soaked raw cashews with some water. The goal is to get the mixture perfectly smooth. This is your cashew cream.
Step 2: Cook your pasta. Boil it according to the package directions, setting the timer for it to cook until al dente. Add the broccoli during the last 30 seconds — just enough time to blanch it. Save some of the water when you drain the pot.
Step 3: Heat up some olive oil in a pot, then add diced shallot. Cook the shallot for a few minutes to start softening it up.
Step 4: Add minced garlic to the pot, then cook it with the shallot for about a minute, stirring constantly.
Step 5: Stir in the white wine and bring it to a simmer. Let it continue simmering for a few minutes, until most of the liquid dries up.
Step 6: Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, salt, and red pepper flakes, along with the cashew cream. Bring the sauce to a simmer and let it cook for a few minutes, to thicken up.
Step 7: Add the cooked pasta and broccoli to the sauce, then stir it up and cook everything for about a minute. If the sauce seems too thick, use some of the reserved pasta water to thin it.
Step 8: Stir in some chopped fresh basil, and season the pasta with additional salt, if you think it's needed. Feel free to adjust any other seasonings to your liking at this point.
Your vegan rosé sauce pasta is ready to enjoy! It's great with a sprinkle of vegan Parmesan cheese, or on its own.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftovers of this dish will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about three days. To reheat, place it in a microwave-safe bowl and stir in a few splashes of water. Cover the bowl with a wet paper towel, then microwave it in one to two minute increments, stirring in between, until hot.
Variations
- Spicy rosé pasta. Increase the red pepper flakes or add some of Calabrian chili paste for extra kick.
- Add protein. Stir in some sautéed vegan sausage, seitan, or a can of chickpeas or white beans for extra protein.
- Extra veggies. Stir some additional veggies into the pasta when it's almost finished boiling, or stir some roasted or sautéed veggies into the finished dish. Try mushrooms, zucchini, asparagus, or bell peppers.
Frequently Asked Questions
It sure can! Pasta is the only gluten containing ingredient in this recipe, so simply use your favorite gluten-free pasta.
If you'd prefer to cook without wine, simply leave it out. If the sauce tastes like it needs a little something, and add a dash of lemon juice when the dish is finished.
Yep! Instead of adding it the pasta water, simply thaw it out and add it to the sauce at the same time as the pasta.
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Pasta with Vegan Rosé Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4 to 8 hours, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup water
- 10 ounces dried rigatoni pasta, or pasta shape of choice
- 1 small broccoli crown, broken into florets
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium shallot, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 1 (15 ounce/425 gram) can crushed tomatoes
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon organic granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- Pinch crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
- ½ cup chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Place the cashews and water into a blender. Blend until the mixture is milky and smooth. Set it aside for now.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta. Cook the pasta according to the package directions until al dente. 30 seconds before the pasta is done, add the broccoli to the pot. Drain the pasta and broccoli together into a colander when done, reserving about a half cup of the cooking water.
- While the pasta boils, coat the bottom of a large pot with the oil and place it over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the shallot. Cook the shallot for about five minutes, stirring occasionally, until it becomes soft and translucent.
- Add the garlic to the pot, then cook it with the shallot for about one minute, stirring constantly, until it becomes very fragrant.
- Add the wine to the pot, then bring it to a simmer. Let it continue simmering for two to three minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has dried up.
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, sugar, red pepper flakes, and cashew mixture. Bring the sauce to a boil, then lower the heat and let it cook at a low simmer for about eight minutes, until it thickens slightly. Stir the sauce frequently as it cooks, scraping the bottom of the pot with a spoon to prevent the sauce from scorching, which cashew based sauces have a tendency to do.
- Stir in the pasta and broccoli. Cook everything for about one minute, thinning the sauce with some of the reserved pasta water if it seems too thick.
- Remove the pot from heat and stir in the basil. Taste-test the pasta and add more salt if you'd like.
- Divide onto plates and serve.
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Hi Alissa,
My friend has a cashew and nut allergy. Is there something we can recplace the mixture with?
Hi Teresa! Silk and some other companies make vegan heavy cream substitutes. I think one of these products would be your best bet - use about 1 1/4 cups to replace both the cashews and the water they're blended with. Otherwise, I think a good unsweetened vegan coffee creamer like Nutpods might work. The sauce might just need a little extra time to thicken.
Hi! What can I use in place of the white wine?
You can just leave it out if you prefer. Give the dish a taste test when it's finished, and add a little lemon juice if it tastes like something is missing. Enjoy!!