Does anyone else remember days when eating a giant bowl of pasta with cream sauce didn’t give you a second thought? Calories what? Saturated fat who? Well that was me and those were truly glorious days of ignorance being bliss and youth being wasted on the young.
If you, like me now, have given up eating such comfort foods on the reg don’t worry this recipe is for you so you can have your pasta and eat your cream too!
This recipe is vegan, although as I’ve said before I am not vegan. I tried to be and the more I found myself missing/craving certain foods and looking to the food industry for vegan alternatives like butters, cheeses and meats I came to realize that these substitutes just weren’t in line with what I felt was healthy. Mainly because these products rely heavily on vegetable and/or safflower and sunflower oils which are directly linked to our metabolic health along with a host of other diseases. I am NOT a Dr. though so please do your own research as you make decisions about what to eat for your own personal health.
This recipe is so easy and healthy and absolutely delicious there is no reason to not indulge more often. The secret to making this dish super creamy while keeping it vegan is using homemade cashew cream in place of dairy in this recipe. I usually always keep this in my fridge because disclaimer, I love creaminess in all kids of dishes and this recipe is so easy to keep on hand and makes whipping up creamy pasta a cinch.
I am using two other ingredients in this recipe to add nutrition to this dish, the first is peas which is not new in penne alla vodka dishes. Peas are so underrated, but these little green veggies add both fiber and protein to dishes and with such a mild flavor they are great to add to tons of meals. Bonus, they are super easy to find frozen and organic at just about every market under the sun.
The second ingredient I’m using here is fiber gourmet pasta, I love this pasta as the taste is similar to white pasta but it contains a whopping 25 grams of fiber per serving as well as 7 grams of protein. This is such a great pantry staple to have on hand for baked mac and cheese, pesto pasta, linguine with vegan alfredo, etc etc.
You can certainly use whole wheat pasta or any other kind in this recipe and get great results. Cook what you and your family love and feel good about enjoying a comfort food again!
Easy Vegan Penne Alla Vodka
Materials
- 1 lb penne pasta cooked according to package directions
- 1/4 yellow onion finely diced
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup vodka
- 2 cups marinara sauce pureed, use your favorite kind or make homemade
- 2 tsp tomato paste
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup pasta water
- 2 tbsp cashew cream
- 3/4 cup frozen peas organic if possible
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and add diced onion and cook over medium-low heat until softened about 5 mins, then add in garlic and saute until fragrant (don't let it burn) and then slowly add in your vodka and cook until it begins to reduce slightly.
- Add in the pureed marinara, tomato paste and cook about 3 mins to bring flavors together, then add in your cashew cream and pasta water and season to taste with salt and pepper
- Add frozen peas and combine, these will cook in 2-3 mins from frozen in the warm sauce
- Add cooked hot pasta into the sauce pan with vodka sauce and peas and toss to combine, season with chili flakes if desired
