For those of you who are are looking for an occasional plant based pasta dish that is high in protein, I believe I struck GOLD! At least according to my husband. His comment while eating this was “You could bottle this sauce up and call it GOLD”!
There are so many things to love about this creamy pasta recipe:
- It’s dairy free
- rich and luscious
- vegetarian
- but the best thing – the sauce is easy and ready in about 15 minutes
- & flexible since you can use any veggies you like and have on hand
Yesterday we spent the day running around Minneapolis doing errands and visiting my mother-in-law. We picked a very cold and windy day to be out galavanting around and I was actually so glad to bet home and turn on my fire place.
This pasta dish was a perfect way to end the weekend…exceptionally comforting but at the same time, super healthy too!
This “cheesy” pasta dish is not only plant based but high in protein too. Depending on what type of pasta you use, this could give you a whopping 41 grams of protein per serving! Plus it’s very high in calcium which comes from the beans, sesame seeds, and non-dairy milk. Because nutritional yeast contains all the nine essential amino acids, it’s a complete plant protein. And if you use bone broth in place of the water or milk, which I may try next time, you’d add more protein!
If you haven’t tried bean pastas yet, I highly recommend them. They are widely available at most supermarkets now. If you’re a Costco fan, they have an amazing red lentil pasta & black bean pasta. However, go ahead and use any gluten free pasta or whole wheat, but note the protein values do vary. Bean pastas are easy to cook and they taste very similar to other pastas.
And don’t you just love the golden color? It’s from turmeric. Turmeric adds even more nutrition to this dish! I add fresh ground black pepper, not only because I love it, but it also helps activate the turmeric making it more digestable.
I have been trying to get more turmeric in on a daily basis because it’s so excellent for reducing inflammation. Luckily I am not injured right now, but using turmeric consistently is really good for anyone, including us runners.
Make this tonight—you know you want to! I am excited for left-overs!
VEGAN “CHEESY” PROTEIN PASTA
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 jar or can about 13-15 ounces white beans
- 2½ cups bean pasta or other pasta of choice
- 4 tbsp Nutritional yeast
- ½ cup water, nut milk, or bone broth
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- ¼ tsp Turmeric
- 1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- ½ tsp Smoked Paprika
- ½ tsp chopped basil
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 to 2 cups of sautéed veggies of your choice
DIRECTIONS:
- Place everything apart from the pasta and veggies into a blender and whizz until combined.
- Cook the pasta as per instructions and drain. Warm up your vegetables in a large pan.
- Stir in the cheesy bean pasta sauce.
- Serve with smoked paprika and fresh basil and more Nutritional yeast sprinkled on top if desired
- Store leftovers sauce in the fridge and enjoy within three days.
[reminder]What’s your favorite bean pasta? Brand? THANKS![/reminder]
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