Vegan Creamy Sausage Pasta

Credit to Anne for finding this one!

Recipe
8 oz pasta

6 oz spinach

14 oz vegan sausage - sliced or crumbled

2 garlic cloves

1/2 vegan cream cheese

1/4 c pesto (see below)

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/4 c veggie broth

1/4 vegan parmesan cheese

• Start cooking the pasta. 
• In the meantime, start cooking the sausage in a little oil over medium high. When it's close to done, add the sausage and wilt. Set aside.
• Add a little more oil to the pan and sizzle the garlic. Add the cream cheese and veggie broth, and stir until melted. Then add the pesto and nutritional yeast.
• Combine everything and serve!

Pesto

2 c basil leaves

3 tbsp pine nuts (or walnuts)

3 cloves garlic

2 tbsp lemon juice

3-4 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/4 tsp salt

2-3 tbsp olive oil

3-6+ tbsp water

Blend the dry ingredients into a paste, then add the olive oil a little at a time, then the water to get to the right consistency.

Notes

I was a little skeptical, since this favorite recipe of mine is pretty simple, good, and easy to veganize, while this takes extra steps for pesto and stuff. But I was happy to be proved wrong! The extra effort is well worth it whether for a casual night in or serious carb loading before a 25 (or 50) K...

Avocado Pesto Pasta

Found another recipe looking to use up some nearly-over-ripe avocados for an easy, hearty dinner...

Recipe

12 oz pasta
1 large avocado
1 c fresh basil
1/3 c walnuts
1 small lemon, juiced
1/2 c olive oil
1 tbsp chopped garlic
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
salt & pepper
optional topping: cherry tomatoes, halved

Cook the pasta.  In the meantime, blend or process everything else together into a creamy sauce.  Mix in with cherry tomatoes and serve!

Notes

Another really easy one - basically just takes you as long as it does to make a pot of pasta.  One thing - we usually get aggressive with garlic, but since it's not cooked, you can be a little lighter on that ingredient here ;)

Pasta Autunno

Pasta Autunno

INGREDIENTS:

Pasta *substitute gluten free pasta if need be
Bacon (½ pack cooked crisply and crumbled)
Sweet potatoes (2 small, cubed)
Small head of cauliflower
Brussels sprouts (½ - ¾ lb, cut in halves)
garlic cloves (whole)
pesto (from a jar or homemade in a food processor with greens, lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper etc)Halloumi *substitute tofu to make vegan

DIRECTIONS:

*This is basically an excellent odds-and-ends or using-leftovers pasta. You can mix and match based on what you have on hand in the fridge.

1.) Cut sweet potato into small cubes, halve brussels sprouts, chop cauliflower into small pieces, and skin at least 4 cloves of garlic

2.) Toss in olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast on a baking sheet until golden brown and soft.

3.) While the veggies roast, cut the halloumi into cubes (I prefer 1/2 inch). Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and cook the halloumi until you get some good color on those lil babies. *It will need to sit a lot initially! Be patient before you toss it around.

4.) Make pasta of your choice. *Spirals are best, though

5.) Toss all ingredients together and add some pesto sauce of your choosing.