You will absolutely love this easy-to-make, yet super tasty Creamy Pasta with mushrooms, spinach and grilled tomatoes regardless if you’re a vegan or not. This creamy mushroom and spinach pasta dish gets a special taste when the grilled garlic balsamic tomatoes are added to the recipe.
Pasta dinner is always something special and we’re always carefully preparing for this special time gathering around the table. There are various different pasta recipes, however, you will hardly find a healthier recipe than my Creamy Pasta Mushrooms, Spinach & Tomatoes, and cashew sauce.
People may often take healthier for less tasty. Also, there’s a misconception that if it’s healthy and tasty – then it is hard to cook and requires big financial spends. That’s not true, whichever the case. Follow my recipe and find out that this 30-minute recipe will make your pasta time even more special.
Ingredients for the Creamy Pasta
Most ingredients were already mentioned earlier – or at least, the most important ones. This creamy vegan pasta is made with common ingredients, not too expensive and most of them are easily found in most grocery stores or already in your kitchen.
The creamy pasta with mushroom, spinach and cherry tomatoes recipe include:
- 15 oz mushrooms
- 10 oz cherry tomatoes
- 10 oz egg Fettucine (dry weight)
- 1 handful fresh basil leaves
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1 yellow onion, medium to large, chopped
- 1 teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)
- 2 tsp of soy sauce
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 1/4 cup cashews – soaked
- 2 cups of vegetable broth (or pasta water)
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp cornstarch or all-purpose flour
- 1 pinch of freshly ground pepper
- 2 tsp balsamic reduction or balsamic vinegar
How to Cook the Pasta
Start by cooking the pasta in boiling water with a bit of salt. Follow the instructions on the label then drain. It is very important not to rinse! In order to prevent the fettuccine from sticking is very important to add a tablespoon of olive oil and mix it with a bit of freshly ground pepper. By adding the basil leaves, it would offer the extra flavor to your special pasta.
IMPORTANT! Do not forget to cover the pasta in order to avoid it cooling down. Nobody loves a cold pasta.
What pasta to use?
In this recipe, I have used the regular fettuccine, however, you are free to use egg-free pasta any kind of pasta at your preference. The egg-free fettuccine may give a taste that a regular pasta won’t, nonetheless, some people may still love other types of pasta and I understand it very well and encourage you to explore and discover your own taste and style.
How to cook the Mushroom?
In order to cook the creamy mushroom and spinach pasta with cashew sauce, you should follow some steps. First off, I start by frying the chopped onion in some olive oil to avoid sticking, Also, to give it an extra flavor I add with some minced added garlic. Keep the temperature low. In the meantime, slice the mushrooms and add them to the sauteed onion and garlic. Keep frying everything, or better said- sautéing it, for approximately 10 minutes.
Best is to use a non-stick pan because that usually requires only one tablespoon of oil for receiving the best results, maybe even less. However, if you don’t have one around, you may need about 2-3 tablespoons.
How to make the Cashew sauce with basil and parsley?
In the time, when the garlic, the onion, and the mushrooms are sautéing, I proceeded to blend the soaked cashews alongside with the cornstarch, vegetable broth (or pasta water), one handful parsley and basil (optional), 2 garlic cloves add a pinch of sea salt.
In case you don’t love it – or even worse, have allergies to nuts, you may change it to some oat, soy or coconut cream.
The added cornstarch is helpful at making the consistency a bit thicker, yet, in case you don’t love it, or simply don’t have it at hand, then simply skip it.
As in terms of salt, then, as usual, add as much as you want depending on your own taste. Nonetheless, it is important to know that your vegetable broth or pasta water is already salty. To avoid the too salty taste, I recommend testing the sauce right after adding only a small amount, then add more if needed.
Helpful Tip: When you’re soaking the cashews ahead time, it gives a much creamier and smoother consistency to the sauce, also they blend easier. In case you forgot to soak them for at least 1 hour before starting to cook, then you could soak them quickly for 5-10 minutes in boiling water.
As soon as the sauce is well blended then add it to the frypan, also add there some soy sauce as well as the baby spinach and mix it all well. Also, add a bit more broth or pasta water to the pan and let it all slowly simmer for one more minute.
How to cook the Grilled Balsamic Tomatoes
As I have previously mentioned, the grilled balsamic tomatoes offer the special taste of your amazing creamy pasta. Mainly these are the secret ingredient that offers the creamy pasta recipe the unforgettable taste. You need to bring out their flavor and you can do it by properly cooking the cherry tomatoes even for a little bit. For the perfect flavorful taste, mix it with some balsamic reduction or vinegar as well as some garlic. It is best to use a grill pan for this, it gives specific frying, thus a special taste.
Start by adding the cherry tomatoes and a bit of olive oil to the grill pan mentioned earlier and cook it for approximately 2 minutes or so at medium heat. After this, add the balsamic sauce (or the vinegar, depending on what you love more) as well as the minced garlic but reduce the heat a little bit and leave it for 2 more minutes. Add it to your pasta and enjoy your perfect pasta evening.
As as you can see, all these steps are extremely easy and fast to perform in the kitchen. Mix all ingredients together and you get the best vegan mushroom creamy pasta!
Versatile Pasta with Mushrooms, Spinach & Tomatoes
Equipment
- grill pan
Ingredients
- 15 oz mushrooms
- 10 oz cherry tomatoes
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 10 oz fettuccini dry weight
- 1 handful fresh basil
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 1/4 cup soaked cashew
- 2 cups vegetable broth (or pasta water)
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 pinch ground pepper
- 2 tbsp balsamic sauce
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Instructions
- In a large boiling pan, cook pasta by the package instructions. Set aside when done with lid on
- Meantime, peel the onion and 3 garlic cloves and chop them
- Take a frying pan, add a few drops of olive oil and put chopped garlic and onion to sautee
- Slice the mushrooms and add to the pan. Sautee for 10 minutes stirring occasionally
- In a food processor blend the soaked cashews, 2 garlic cloves, one handful parsley, one handful basil, 1 tsp cornstarch and 1 cup of pasta water or vegetable broth
- Add the fresh sauce to the pan with mushrooms, add another cup of pasta water and let simmer for about 1-2 minutes
- Use a grill pan to heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sautee a few garlic cloves, the cherry tomatoes, sliced in halves. Add the baby spinach in about 2 minutes
- Add pasta to the sauce, pour over the grill composure and gently mix
