Simple Delicious Vegan Cashew Pesto Penne Pasta

This entirely satisfying, vegan cashew pesto penne pasta is light, amazing to look at and easy on your stomach. Creamy cashew pesto with fresh peppery sauce coats perfectly cooked al dente penne. This simple dish is a feast of colors and is easy to make.

Vegan Cashew Pesto Penne is a light meal. Fresh parsley and cashew add zest to this simple meal.

But Before I start… My New Blog- Delish Buzz:

After long procrastination, I finally have a blog!! And I begin with a simple dish which is colorful and vegan, cashew pesto penne pasta. Also on a very scary note this is my first post!.  Eeeks!  I don’t know where this blogging journey will take me, but I am going to give this a try! 🙂 While the technical aspects of blogging were scary at first, with some help from our “Google mother”, I was able to get this far. I hope this is a journey forward through the wonderful world of foods. Because man! I love my food and I am inspired by great food photography. And let it be known that I love pasta!. Hence cashew pesto penne pasta was born.

Vegan Cashew Pesto Penne Pasta :

This dish came along after my recent late night cravings for something simple, yet delicious. A dish that will make you feel like, you just ate something unique!  You know that slow, steady cravings that creep up late at night? Instead of reaching for chocolates and drooling at YouTube food channels, I opted for cooking up something fast. I was in the mood for flavors and colors. For one thing, I didn’t want to feel like I swallowed a log late at night. May be some colorful, delicious pasta – fancy like pesto and then dream about it all night 🙂 So standing there, late night, staring into my refrigerator, hungry, I reached for peppers for this dish.

Colorful Vegan Cashew Pesto Penne is coming together.

A Bit Different From Traditional Pesto Recipes:

The word pesto always scared me because I consider it to be a fancy addition to my pasta dishes. Hence making it at home was an experiment that I was sure going to be a flop (because of not having expensive ingredient for pestos, pine nuts!)  but it turned out to be really delicious. Unexpected and flavorful.

Fresh parsley with cashew and garlic really creates an aroma rich creamy pesto. This pesto eliminates the need for any additional proteins with this vegan dish. Besides, cashew is a superhero in the world of nutrition, rich in minerals, healthy fats and plant based protein. Fresh parsley (I used the curly leaf type) adds a fresh kick of flavors to this. Even without the addition of any cheeses, this dish is creamy and hearty.

The higher ratio of cashew in this pesto compensates for the lack of cheese. The final pesto is very creamy and I couldn’t stop eating it raw! It was the perfect combo of creaminess and tanginess for me.

Update: After this recipe was posted, I made a detailed post for the pesto. If you would like to know more tips and details, check here.

Delicious creamy vegan pesto.

Vegan Cashew Pesto Penne is bursting with colors.

Colorful and creamy.

Final Touches:

Eating raw peppers is not something I enjoy even in my salads ( roasted peppers on the other hand is to die for!) so I made sure that I added the peppers first, allowing more cooking time.  In the first place, peppers are expensive where I live. But I got this batch of peppers for a steal of a deal. Though I wasn’t sure what I will be using them for , I grabbed them impulsively like I do with any food these days ha-hah! I used two different colors of peppers and green peas here, to make this dish pop with colors. The sight of cooking this up itself was very yummy.

Vegan Cashew Pesto Penne Pasta is easy to make and is very satisfying.

The incredible smell of caramelizing peppers and onions filled the house when I was making this. Finally, adding a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper and some chopped parsley or basil to garnish elevated this pasta to a whole new level. I thoroughly enjoyed this wholesome meal without all the additional calories (not to mention dairy free!)

This creamy protein rich cashew pesto was just what I needed. I hope you enjoy making vegan cashew pesto penne pasta and please leave comments letting me know how, you have liked this simple dish. Happy cooking!

 Notes:

• I also made this same pesto with walnuts. While walnut pesto is also really tasty, cashews really add a creaminess and smoothness and that cannot be beat in this simple dairy free delicious Vegan Cashew Pesto Penne pasta.
• The pesto when it is made, is not very thick but it thickens up FAST with some heat, so make sure to add some water when needed (more details in the recipe.)
• The juice of lemon is optional but I love my pesto a bit tangy.

Simple Delicious Vegan Cashew Pesto Penne Pasta

A simple colorful dish which is easy to prepare. The pesto is fresh and aromatic. The peppery veggie mix combine well with the pesto and create a delicious vegan dish.

Print

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword colorful pasta dish, pesto, vegan, veggie pasta

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 647 kcal

Note: Please hover over "Servings" to adjust serving sizes.

Ingredients

For the pesto:

• 1/2 bunch curly leaf parsley.
• 1/2 cup Raw cashews.
• 1/2 cup Extra virgin olive oil.
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Freshly ground pepper.
• Juice of one whole lemon (optional).

For the pasta:

• 2 cups Dried penne pasta cooked.
• 1 Yellow pepper chopped.
• 1 Red pepper chopped.
• 1/4 cup Chopped onion.
• 2-3 Chopped cloves of garlic.
• 1/2 tsp Salt (or season it to your needs.)
• 1/4 cup Water, if the pesto is too thick.
• 1 tsp Freshly ground pepper
• Chopped parsley or basil for garnishing.
• 4-6 tbsp Pesto

Instructions

For the pesto:

1. Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend it until smooth creamy and bright green. Taste and adjust seasoning.

For the pasta:

1. Cook pasta according to its package instructions. For this dish I cooked penne till it was "al dente" ( for about 9-10mins). Drain and keep it aside.
   

2. Heat two table spoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onions and garlic. After a minute or so, add the chopped peppers. Let the peppers cook until its raw flavor is gone (About five minutes and stir it to avoid uneven cooking).

3. Add a cup of frozen green peas to the peppers and let it cook for 3-4 minutes. Then add cooked penne and pesto to the pan. Season it with freshly ground pepper and sea salt. Stir constantly, so that pesto coat penne and allow the pesto to cook with the delicious veggie mix (It is important to cook the pesto thoroughly so you won't taste the raw garlic.). Add 1/4 cup of water if you think the pesto is too thick at the end and let the sauce reduce to the desired consistency. Enjoy and let me know how you liked the recipe.

Recipe Notes

 Notes:

1. I also made this same pesto with walnuts. While walnut pesto is also really tasty, cashews really add a creaminess and smoothness and that cannot be beat in this simple dairy free delicious Vegan Cashew Pesto Penne.
2. The pesto when it is made, is not very thick but it thickens up FAST with some heat, so make sure to add some water when needed (more details in the recipe.)
3. The juice of lemon is optional but I love my pesto a bit tangy.

Nutrition Facts

Simple Delicious Vegan Cashew Pesto Penne Pasta

Amount Per Serving

Calories 647 Calories from Fat 382

% Daily Value*

Fat 42.4g65%

Saturated Fat 6.5g41%

Cholesterol 4mg1%

Sodium 450mg20%

Potassium 750mg21%

Carbohydrates 56.5g19%

Fiber 8.3g35%

Sugar 6.6g7%

Protein 17.2g34%

Calcium 1840mg184%

Iron 1.4mg8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Save