Creamy white bean basil spinach artichoke pasta: A rich, creamy vegan white bean and basil pasta sauce served over pasta with spinach or kale, artichokes, and sun-dried tomatoes. The perfect balance of decadent and healthy, this white bean sauce has a smaller amount of cashews than most vegan cream sauces, making it lighter, and higher in protein.
Happy Monday!! Hope everyone had a nice weekend. I did not turn on my computer once yesterday, and it was blissful. I love everything about this blogging thing except for all of the time that I inevitably have to spend in front of a screen. I have decided that I need to be more mindful of this, and make sure that I am intentional about taking time out of every week to get away from technology and simply breathe. Yesterday was so lovely; we celebrated my dad’s birthday and Father’s Day at once, ate lots of yummy food, including this carrot cake, and spent pretty much the entire day outside.
And here we are at the beginning of a new week! I have finally decided on a posting schedule for this week. Today, you’re getting this creamy white bean basil spinach artichoke pasta; tomorrow, I’ll be sharing egg, halloumi, avocado, and berry salad with lemon basil mustard dressing; Wednesday will be healthy banana doughnuts with caramel glaze (!!), Thursday will be Greek quinoa salad-stuffed avocados; and finally, on Friday, I’ll be sharing my all-time favourite chocolate overnight oats with peanut butter banana soft serve.
creamy white bean spinach artichoke pasta: the details
All right, now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about this creamy white bean spinach artichoke pasta, shall we? I created the white bean basil sauce for a vegan lasagna recipe that I’ll likely be posting next week, but a few days ago, I was given an abundance of spinach and kale in my Ottawa Farm Fresh CSA basket. Immediately, I thought about how much I love the combination of spinach, artichokes, and white beans. And since I haven’t posted a pasta recipe in awhile, the idea of using the creamy white bean basil sauce from my lasagna recipe, on pasta, popped into my head.
ingredients you’ll need
For the white bean basil cream sauce, you’ll need non-dairy milk, white beans, cashews, basil, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast.
For the vegetables, you’ll need canned/jarred artichoke hearts, extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic, salt, oregano, pepper, spinach or kale, and oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes.
You’ll also need a pound of pasta (I used spaghetti), which you’ll cook, reserving 1 ½ cups of the cooking water. Reserving the cooking water is absolutely key, as adding it back into the pasta along with the sauce prevents the pasta from absorbing too much of the sauce and keeps things nice and creamy!
For serving, you might wish to add some vegan parmesan or feta or pecorino if you eat dairy. Olives never hurt anyone, either! And I highly recommend garnishing with some chili flakes or hot sauce to really make the flavours pop.
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the method
Make the white bean basil cream sauce: Place the non-dairy milk, white beans, cashews, basil, garlic, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice in an upright blender. Blend on high until totally smooth, adding more milk as needed until a creamy, pourable sauce consistency is reached. I used almost 2 cups of almond milk. If not using immediately, pour into an airtight jar until ready to use. About five minutes before serving, place the sauce in a medium saucepan and warm it up over medium-low heat.
Cook the vegetables: Drain the artichokes and slice them into halves or quarters. Set aside. Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 5-8 minutes. Add the oregano, pepper, and another pinch of salt, followed by the spinach or kale. Cook just until bright green and wilted; do not overcook. Finally, mix in the chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
Cook the pasta until al dente, according to the directions on the package. Drain and reserve 1 ½ cups of the cooking water. You’ll be adding some or all of this water back into the pasta soon.
Finally, put it all together: Pour the white bean basil cream over the pasta. Add 1 cup of the reserved cooking water and stir. Either mix in the spinach and artichokes, or serve up individual portions first and top with the spinach and artichokes. Garnish with vegan parmesan, feta, or pecorino. Eat!
A few final thoughts
Can this be made ahead? Yes, the sauce can be made a day or two in advance. Store in an airtight jar/container in the fridge until ready to use.
Leftovers reheat beautifully in the oven. Place in a casserole dish and add ½ cup of water. Reheat at 350 F for 10 minutes, or until heated through.
more pasta recipes
- Asparagus Tahini Caesar Pasta Salad (Vegan)
- Creamy Goat Cheese Lemon Pasta with Green Peas, Artichokes and Leeks
- Lentil Mushroom Pasta Bake with Sweet Potato Cheese Sauce (Vegan)
Lastly, I hope that you love this creamy white bean spinach artichoke pasta! If you make it, let me know how you enjoyed it by leaving a comment and rating below the post. And if you share a photo to Instagram, tag it @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen. I love seeing what you’ve made.
Have a great start to your week, and enjoy!
Creamy White Bean Basil Spinach Artichoke Pasta
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Creamy white bean basil spinach artichoke pasta: A rich, creamy vegan white bean and basil pasta sauce served over pasta with spinach or kale, artichokes, and sun-dried tomatoes. The perfect balance of decadent and healthy, this white bean sauce has a smaller amount of cashews than most vegan cream sauces, making it lighter, and higher in protein.
Ingredients
White Bean Basil Cream Sauce
- 1 ½–2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 3 cups cooked navy beans (or 2 14-oz cans, drained and rinsed)
- ½ cup raw cashews, soaked in boiling hot water for at least 1 hour and drained
- 1 cup fresh basil
- 2 medium garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Vegetables
- 1 (285 gram) jar artichoke hearts in brine, drained
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
- Pinch of sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
- 5 cups chopped spinach or kale
- ⅓ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped (drained before measuring)
Pasta
- 1 pound (454 grams) uncooked pasta of choice- I used spaghetti
- Reserve 1 ½ cups pasta cooking water
For garnish
- Chopped fresh herbs
- Vegan Parmesan or crumbled feta or grated pecorino
- Olives
- Red pepper flakes or hot sauce
Instructions
- Make the white bean basil cream sauce: Place the non-dairy milk, white beans, cashews, basil, garlic, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice in an upright blender. Blend on high until totally smooth, adding more milk as needed until a creamy, pourable sauce consistency is reached. I used almost 2 cups of almond milk. If not using immediately, pour into an airtight jar until ready to use. Five minutes before serving, pour the sauce into a medium saucepan and warm over medium-low heat.
- Cook the vegetables: Drain the artichokes and slice them into halves or quarters. Set aside. Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 5-8 minutes. Add the oregano, pepper, and another pinch of salt, followed by the spinach or kale. Cook just until bright green and wilted; do not overcook. Finally, mix in the chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
- Cook the pasta until al dente, according to the directions on the package. Drain and reserve 1 ½ cups of the cooking water. You’ll be adding some or all of this water back into the pasta soon.
- Finally, put it all together: Pour the white bean basil cream over the pasta. Add 1 cup of the reserved cooking water and stir. Either mix in the spinach and artichokes, or serve up individual portions first and top with the spinach and artichokes. Garnish with vegan parmesan, feta, or pecorino. Eat!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Thank you to Ottawa Farm Fresh, an organic farm in Gloucester, Ontario, for providing many the vegetables I am using in my recipes this summer!
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