Pasta that is creamy, packed with hidden vegetables, and completely plant based??? Oh, and DONE in less than 25 minutes??? Count me in. Cause I don't know about you but with trying to check off all of the boxes (especially with New Year's Goals) one can lose one's sanity.
A new goal of mine and Jake's is to fit in as many plants as possible per day. In other words AMPAP (As Many Plants as Possible). So going forward, I am going to try to develop more recipes that include lots of plants in a way that isn't always a boring salad!
Al Dente Whole Grain pasta is coated in a light and fresh barely-creamy sauce flecked with crushed red pepper flakes, the golden delicious touch of the sun-dried tomato oil and "sausage" crumbles.
I have been searching for a plant based protein that wasn't tofu or tempeh (which I am learning to use and actually like!) Who knew??? So when Big Mountain reached out to me and sent me their products to try and develop a recipe that was worthy of a holiday meal I was stoked!
Their ingredient list in the Lion's Mane Mushroom Crumbles is the cleanest I have seen!
"Water, Pea Protein, Carrots, Coconut Oil, Mushrooms, Tomato paste (Fresh tomatoes, citric acid), Lions Mane Mushrooms, Yellow Split Peas, Sunflower oil, Seasoning (Natural flavour, onion, tomato, garlic, spice and spice extracts, and onion powder), Organic Hemp seeds, Shiitake Mushrooms, Sunflower seeds, Sea Salt." - From their site.
Let's get into the details of this creamy but light pasta dish.
The sauce is made in a food processor (because I am all about dumping all ingredients and letting the appliance do it's thing)
Saucy Things:
- Fresh Basil
- Fresh Parsley
- Walnuts
- Oil from the sun dried tomato jar (don't ever dump the oil out from this jar! It's liquid gold!)
- Juice and zest from ½ a lemon
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Also if you can't do nuts substitute for sunflower seeds! Both create a stickiness that adhere nicely to the pasta! Basically creating a less-herby pesto.
Now let's get to the kale and sun dried tomatoes. Trust me it's not the boring kale you are thinking of. It gets a toss in sauteed garlic that has been infused with a little of that sun dried tomato oil I was mentioning earlier. YUM. Plus add some of those crumbles??? SO GOOD.
End of this story a creamy herby pasta tossed with garlicky kale, tangy sun dried tomatoes, and sausage crumbles. Giving you all the veggies, whole grains, and protein you need!
Plant-based or not, you have options! But pinky swear you will try this recipe as is first???
Want more of my favorite vegetarian cozy recipes?
Brussel Sprouts and Pomegranate Salad
Queso Mac N Cheese Bake [Dairy Free]
Instant Pot Cauliflower Gnocchi Mac N Cheese [GLUTEN FREE]
Where can you check out Big Mountain Foods?
Check them out on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!
Print
Creamy Sun Dried Tomato and Kale Pasta with Sausage Crumbles
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Al Dente Whole Grain pasta is coated in a light and fresh barely-creamy sauce flecked with crushed red pepper flakes, the golden delicious touch of the sun-dried tomato oil and "sausage" crumbles.
PLANT BASED|VEGETARIAN|DAIRY FREE
Ingredients
SAUCE
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
- ¼ cup fresh parsely
- ¼ cup fresh basil
- 2 tbs sun dried tomato oil
- Juice and zest of half a lemon
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
Pasta
- 2 tbs sun dried tomato oil
- 2-3 cups of chopped kale
- 6 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 package of vegetarian crumbles (or ½lb ground meat of choice - just ensure it's cooked all the way!"
- 1 jar of sun dried tomatoes, reserve 4 tbs of the oil for this recipe
- ½ cup of white wine or pasta water
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Pulse all sauce ingredients until mostly smooth (we're not looking for soup here!)
- Cook and drain pasta per package instructions.
- Saute sun dried tomato oil and garlic (1-2 minutes) and add the crumbles. Stir in the sun dried tomatoes and kale. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until kale is wilted.
- Add wine and let it sizzle out a bit or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Stir in pasta and sauce
- Top with Parmesan (omit if non-dairy), fresh basil, and crushed red pepper flakes!
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 15 Minutes
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Vicki says
Creamy and delicious!