This Sun Dried Tomato Pasta is creamy, smooth, and delicious. Made with these sweet-tart tomatoes, garlic, and cashews, this pasta dish is full of flavor and surprisingly easy to make.
Sun Dried Tomato Pasta is such a tasty and filling dish. It's made with some intensely flavored ingredients as well creamy elements that make this vegan sauce so scrumptious. The cashews and coconut milk give great texture to the pasta sauce. And the sun dried tomatoes, which are a potent version of this fruit, have a strong sweetness as well as tart flavor. These ingredients all come together to make a really yummy meal.
This dish is also rather easy. Taking the time to soak and blend the sauce basics, you can have this Sun Dried Tomato Pasta plated and on your table in about half an hour. It's simple and delicious, and your family is going to love it. Let's look more closely at the flavorful ingredients you'll be working with.
Video Tutorial
Main Ingredients
- Pasta. Use any pasta you like. I used penne.
- Sun Dried Tomatoes. Use store-bought or make them yourself.
- Cashews. Raw cashews are needed here.
- Garlic. Adds lots of flavor.
- Nutritional yeast. This adds a nice cheesy flavor. But you can skip it, if you want.
- Coconut Milk. Or use unsweetened oat milk creamer or just oat milk.
- Spices. Salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
How to Make Sun Dried Tomato Pasta
1. Place the sun dried tomatoes, cashews, and a garlic clove into a smoothie cup, along with about 2 cups of boiling water, and soak for 15 minutes.
2. In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and start cooking the pasta, according to the package instructions. (It's best to add the pasta to the boiling water right before you start blending the sauce).
3. When the sauce ingredients have soaked, drain the liquid, and add 1 cup of clean water to it. Then add in the coconut milk, nutritional yeast, and spices. Process everything until very smooth.
4. Pour the sauce into a skillet and cook on low heat, just until heated through.
5. Add the drained pasta to the sauce and stir well. Use some reserved pasta water to thin the sauce, if necessary.
Tips for the best Sun Dried Tomato Pasta
- Timing is everything. Time the sauce and pasta just right to serve this dish at its best. Add the pasta to the boiling water right before you start blending the sauce, so the sauce will warm as the pasta cooks.
- Don't rinse the pasta. Despite the familiar advice to rinse your pasta, in this case, only drain it once it's cooked. The starch on the outside of the pasta will help the sauce adhere to it better.
- Reserve some pasta water. It may not be necessary, but hold onto some of the pasta water to thin the sauce if it's too thick. The water will be hot, flavored, and starchy, mixing well with the sun dried tomato sauce.
Add-ins and Substitutions
- Use different milk. You can use any milk you like, from coconut milk to oat milk, or even almond milk. Just go with unsweetened.
- Try this dish with more spice. If you like your pasta with a kick, add in some more red pepper flakes, include some chipotles in the sauce, or add a dash of cayenne pepper.
- Add some vegetables. This Sun Dried Tomato Pasta would be delicious with some vegetables in it, like Simple Roasted Broccoli., mushrooms, red peppers, or anything you like.
- Add some protein. If you like your pasta with some "meat," add in some soy sausage or your favorite vegan protein to make the dish even more filling.
How to Store and Reheat
You can store any leftover Sun Dried Tomato Pasta in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days. To reheat it, just place it back on the stovetop and warm through, adding some more coconut milk if the sauce has gotten too thick in the fridge.
What to Serve this with
Sun Dried Tomato Pasta is, of course, delicious on its own. But you can also enjoy it with a salad on the side, like this Napa Cabbage Salad with Corn, or with a soup, such as Easy Lemon Lentil Soup. Serve a veggie dish with it, like some Vegan Stuffed Peppers or Cauliflower Steaks with Chermoula Sauce. Or for a protein-packed grain, try this Mushroom Couscous alongside the pasta.
This Sun Dried Tomato Pasta is absolutely delicious and sure to become a family favorite. Easy, flavorful, and versatile, it's just what you've been craving.
More tasty pasta recipes:
Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
- 16 oz. penne, or other pasta
- 2 oz. sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 oz. cashews
- 1 large garlic clove, peeled
- 1 cup clean water
- ½ cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1 tbsp. nutritional yeast
- ¼ tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- ⅛ tsp. red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Place the sun dried tomatoes, cashews, and a garlic clove into a smoothie cup, along with about 2 cups of boiling water, and soak for 15 minutes.
- In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and start cooking the pasta, according to the package instructions. (It's best to add the pasta to the boiling water right before you start blending the sauce).
- When the sauce ingredients have soaked, drain the liquid, and add 1 cup of clean water to it. Then add in the coconut milk, nutritional yeast, and spices. Process everything until very smooth.
- Pour the sauce into a skillet and cook on low heat, just until heated through.
- Add the drained pasta to the sauce and stir well. Use some reserved pasta water to thin the sauce, if necessary.
Notes
Tips for the best Sun Dried Tomato Pasta
- Timing is everything. Time the sauce and pasta just right to serve this dish at its best. Add the pasta to the boiling water right before you start blending the sauce, so the sauce will warm as the pasta cooks.
- Don't rinse the pasta. Despite the familiar advice to rinse your pasta, in this case, only drain it once it's cooked. The starch on the outside of the pasta will help the sauce adhere to it better.
- Reserve some pasta water. It may not be necessary, but hold onto some of the pasta water to thin the sauce if it's too thick. The water will be hot, flavored, and starchy, mixing well with the sun dried tomato sauce.
This was a pretty good recipe. I really liked the weight measurements for ingredients. I made some changes to suit my preferences:
1) I used sun dried tomatoes packed in seasoned oil and didn't want to wash away those flavors, so I didn't discard the soaking water. I used it to blend the sauce.
2) I didn't want to open a can of coconut milk and use less than half of it, so I subbed it with unsweetened soy milk.
3) I added some sauteed veggies - browned, sliced mushrooms and pan fried broccoli, both season with salt, chile flakes and minced garlic.
YUM! Thank you for the rating!
This was pretty good! I wasn't sure why the recipe said to discard soaking water. I had sundried tomatoes in oil, and I didn't want to wash away that flavor, so I used the soaking water to blend. I sauteed some mushrooms and broccoli with garlic and added that to the pasta and sauce. Some peas would be good too. I expected to have to add some vinegar or lemon, but didn't need it. Hoping it keeps well in insulated lunch containers for kids tomorrow.
Thank you so much for the feedback, Niv!