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Bowlful of creamy mushroom spinach pasta with a blue and white striped napkin and a glass of wine.

Quick and Creamy Vegan Mushroom Pasta

Prep Time: 12 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Tracy Halasz

Ingredients

Pasta

  • 4 servings pasta (whole grain, gf)

Mushroom Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons vegan butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup cooking onion, diced
  • 1 pound mushrooms, slice or rough chop
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2-4 tablespoons wine/veggie broth (to deglaze)
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce (or tamari)
  • 1-2 teaspoons dry thyme and/or oregano leaves
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt (more to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper, coarse ground
  • 2 teaspoons porcini mushroom powder (optional)
  • ¾ cup vegetable broth
  • 2 cups spinach, cut into ribbons

Cashew Cream

  • cup raw cashew nuts, unsalted
  • 1 cup hot water, boiled
  • ½ teaspoon salt (more to taste)

Garnish

  • fresh parsley, basil or thyme leaves
  • 1 teaspoon red chili flakes (optional)
  • vegan parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions

Start the Pasta Water

  • Cook the pasta as per package directions. Reserve one cup of salty pasta water before draining.

Prepare the Vegetables

  • Dice the onion and mince the garlic.
    Slice or rough chop the mushrooms.
    Slice the spinach into ribbons. (If baby spinach, can leave whole.)

Dairy Free Mushroom Sauce

  • Add butter and oil to a large non-stick saute pan style pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Stir in the onions, mushrooms, and garlic. Cook until the mushrooms have released their water and the onions are golden and fragrant (~7-10 minutes).
  • Add a splash or two of vegetable broth/white wine to deglaze the pan and get up all the brown bits.
  • Add the soy sauce, dry thyme/oregano, S&P and sauté for another 2 minutes. If you are using the porcini mushroom powder (optional), add it now.

Cashew Cream Sauce

  • While the mushrooms are cooking, make the cashew cream sauce.
  • In the cup of a high-speed blender (such as Vitamix), add the raw cashews, boiling water, and salt then blend until smooth and creamy. The mixture will be the consistency of heavy cream.

Putting It All Together

  • Pour the cashew sauce and veggie broth into the mushroom mixture, add the spinach. Let the sauce bubble up on medium-high then reduce the heat to a simmer.
  • Fold in the cooked, drained pasta. Add the reserved pasta water as needed to thin the sauce consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary
  • Garnish with chopped parsley/basil or fresh thyme leaves, a generous sprinkle of black pepper, parmesan cheese (if using), and hot pepper flakes. Enjoy!

Notes

Pasta: Short cut pasta like penne or rotini work well as they catch the sauce and bits of mushrooms, garlic and spinach, but long pasta like linguine and fettuccine are excellent as well. Use regular, whole grain or gluten free pasta.
Building Flavor: One of the ways to build flavor when cooking with vegetables is to take the time to brown your veggies which transforms both the flavor and texture bringing out a ton of flavor (aka: Maillard Reaction). Deglazing the pan to dissolve the cooked food particles (brown bits) stuck to the bottom of the pan incorporates all that flavor back into the sauce. Well worth extra few minutes of cooking time!
Use 2-4 tablespoons wine or broth to deglaze the pan while the veggies are cooking.
Porcini Mushroom Powder: Optional ingredient for extra mushroom flavor.
Vegan Parmesan Cheese: Add a sprinkle or two of vegan parmesan cheese before serving (optional).
Vegetable Broth: Use store bought or homemade. I like Better than Bouillon broth.
Storage: The mushroom pasta sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or a saucepan on the stove. You may need a splash of water or broth to correct the sauce consistency when reheating.
Extra Serving of Vegetables: Add any veggie scraps like cauliflower and broccoli stems to the sauce! Cut into small pieces and add at the same time as the onions and mushrooms.