Creamy Vegan Spinach Pasta

Bowl of Vegan Spinach Pasta with a fork and spoon.

4.92 from 12 votes

This vegan spinach pasta is made with a rich and creamy dairy-free sauce with hints of garlic and basil. It's deliciously comforting and so easy to make!

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Soak Time4

Total Time4 25

Course: Entree

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 533kcal

Author: Alissa

Ingredients

12 ounces dried fettuccine pasta (or dried pasta of choice)
1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4 to 8 hours and drained
1 cup water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1 ½ teaspoons salt, or to taste (Note 1)
½ cup fresh basil leaves, packed
10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed
Black pepper, to taste

For Serving

Vegan Parmesan cheese
Red pepper flakes

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook it according to the package directions. Drain the pasta into a colander but reserve 1 cup of the cooking water. (Note 2)
While the pasta boils, place the cashews, water, lemon juice, garlic, salt and basil into a blender or the bowl of a food processor fitted with an s-blade. Blend the mixture until smooth.
Squeeze your thawed spinach well to remove any excess water, then add it to the blender or food processor with the cashew mixture. Pulse the machine until the spinach is evenly incorporated into the sauce. The mixture will be thick.
Return the pasta to the pot that you cooked it in and add the sauce. Thin the sauce with reserved pasta cooking water, adding just as much as is needed to reach your desired consistency.
If the pasta has cooled down too much, place the pot over medium heat to warm it up, stirring constantly and adding more water if needed.
Taste-test and season the pasta with additional salt to taste, along with some black pepper.
Divide onto plates and top with vegan Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes.
Serve.

Notes

If you don't like too much salt, start with 1 teaspoon and add more if needed after combining the pasta and sauce.
This will be used to thin the sauce after you add it to the pasta. It works particularly well because it will have some starch dissolved in it. Plain water can be used if you forget to reserve some of the pasta cooking water (it happens!).

Nutrition