Vegan Date Night Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce

This vegan pasta with roasted red pepper cashew cream sauce, crispy chickpeas, and roasted cauliflower hits the spot on date night!

I hope you are having a nice week so far. This post almost got postponed until Friday, since I have quite a bit of school work piling up, and The Bachelorette premiered last night. However, what’s a Wednesday without a new date night pasta recipe to try? 

Pasta is always a hit on date night, and this recipe, which features fettuccine tossed with roasted red pepper cashew cream sauce topped with roasted cauliflower and chickpeas, definitely hits the spot- especially at this time of the year! It’s really comforting and flavourful, so it’s perfect for the cooler months. It’s an updated version of this recipe, which had tempeh chorizo on top.

I figured the roasted chickpeas and cauliflower would be a nice change for people avoiding soy. If you and your significant other are not vegetarian or vegan, you can also top the pasta with a little bit of organic chicken or wild salmon for your protein. You’ve got options! This sauce is easy enough to whip up on a weeknight, but special enough to enjoy on a weekend. And as an added bonus, if you can’t swing date night with just the two of you and you have children, this pasta recipe is kid-friendly. As written, it makes four servings, but feel free to halve it if you just want two portions and no leftovers. 

INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED 

• FOR THE ROASTED CAULIFLOWER: One medium head of cauliflower, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
• FOR THE ROASTED CHICKPEAS: Chickpeas, olive oil, salt, and pepper. 
• FOR THE SAUCE: Soaked and drained raw cashews, tomato paste, roasted red pepper, water, salt, pepper, garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, smoked paprika, and chili flakes. 
• Plus fettuccine, linguine, or spaghetti. 

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

1. Roast the cauliflower: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, if desired. Place the cauliflower florets on the baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper; toss to coat. Roast for 30 minutes, or until fork tender and crispy. 
2. Roast the chickpeas: Place the chickpeas in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Transfer to a second baking sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes. 
3. Make the roasted red pepper cashew cream sauce: Place all of the sauce ingredients- the cashews, tomato paste, roasted red pepper, water, salt, pepper, garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, smoked paprika, and chili flakes in a blender. Blend until ultra smooth and creamy. 
4. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain, return to the pot, and add the roasted red pepper cashew cream sauce. (You might not need all of it to begin with, but the pasta soaks up the sauce quite quickly, so add more as you need it.) Stir to coat. Serve the pasta and top with roasted cauliflower and chickpeas. I also like to sprinkle some homemade cashew hemp Parmesan on top, but this is optional! 

MORE DELICIOUS + HEALTHY PASTA RECIPES

• Vegan Eggplant Parmesan Pasta (With Chickpea Flour)
• Cilantro Jalapeno Avocado Pesto Pasta with Corn and Beans
• Vegan Lemon Ricotta Pasta

I hope that you love this vegan date night pasta! If you make it, let me know how you enjoyed it by leaving a comment and rating below. And if you post a photo to Instagram, be sure to tag @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen, too!

Enjoy!

Vegan Date Night Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce

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• Author: Allison
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

This vegan pasta with roasted red pepper cashew cream sauce, crispy chickpeas, and roasted cauliflower hits the spot on date night!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Roasted Cauliflower

• 1 medium head of cauliflower, chopped into bite-sized florets
• 1 tbsp oil (olive, avocado, or melted coconut oil/ghee)
• Generous pinch each fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Roasted Chickpeas

• 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
• 1 tbsp oil (olive, avocado, or melted coconut oil/ghee)
• Generous pinch each fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Roasted Red Pepper Cashew Cream Sauce

• 1 cup raw cashews (soaked and drained- see note)
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 1 cup sliced roasted red pepper (either from a jar or freshly roasted- see note)
• ¾ cup water
• ¾ tsp fine sea salt, or more to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 medium garlic cloves
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ¼–½ teaspoon chili flakes (use the higher amount if you like it spicy)

For Serving

• 400 grams fettuccine, linguine, or spaghetti
• Cashew Hemp Parmesan
• Chopped fresh herbs

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Instructions

1. Roast the cauliflower: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, if desired. Place the cauliflower florets on the baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper; toss to coat. Roast for 30 minutes, or until fork tender and crispy.
2. Roast the chickpeas: Place the chickpeas in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Transfer to a second baking sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes.
3. Make the roasted red pepper cashew cream sauce: Place all of the sauce ingredients- the cashews, tomato paste, roasted red pepper, water, salt, pepper, garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, smoked paprika, and chili flakes- in a blender. Blend until ultra smooth and creamy. If the sauce seems too thick and not pourable, add up to ¼ cup more water.
4. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain, return to the pot, and add the roasted red pepper cashew cream sauce. (You might not need to add all of the sauce to begin with, but the pasta soaks up the sauce quite quickly, so add more as desired.) Stir to coat. Serve the pasta and top with roasted cauliflower and chickpeas. I also like to sprinkle some homemade cashew hemp Parmesan and fresh herbs on top, but this is optional!

Notes

Raw cashews can be soaked in very hot water for an hour or in cold water for 4-8 hours.

If you would like to freshly roast your red peppers, you will need two good-sized peppers to make 1 cup of roasted red peppers. I used Savor Organic brand roasted red peppers, which are widely available across Canada.

 

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Category: Supper, Lunch
• Cuisine: Italian American