This creamy vegan macaroni gets its smooth green sauce from zucchini, peas, spinach, basil, and cashews. Lemon adds freshness, while hazelnuts and vegan feta provide a crunchy, tangy finish. It’s an easy way to enjoy more vegetables with pasta.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup raw cashews
- 12 ounces elbow macaroni or medium shell pasta
- ½ tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 medium zucchini finely chopped
- ¾ cup frozen green peas
- 1½ cups fresh spinach
- ¾ cup fresh basil
- ¾ cup unsweetened soy or almond milk
- 1½ tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon chile flakes optional
- Grated zest and juice of ½ lemon
- ¼ cup unsalted roasted hazelnuts chopped
- 2 ounces vegan feta crumbled (about ⅓ cup)
Instructions
- The night before you plan to serve the macaroni, soak the cashews in plenty of water. The next day, drain them. If the cashews weren’t soaked overnight, simply boil them in water for 10 minutes to soften.
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain and return it to the pot.
- In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for about 3 minutes, or until translucent. Add the zucchini and peas, and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until the zucchini has softened. Transfer the mixture to a blender.
- Add the soaked and drained cashews to the blender along with the spinach, basil, milk, nutritional yeast, garlic, salt, and chile flakes, if using. Blend until smooth.
- Pour the sauce over the cooked pasta and toss to coat. Stir in the lemon juice.
- Serve the pasta topped with lemon zest, chopped hazelnuts, and crumbled feta.