Easy Vegan Light & Creamy Penne Rosa Pasta
One of my favorite chain restaurants ever (found mostly in the Midwest) is Noodles and Company. They have pasta and noodle dishes from different cuisines that are SO yummy. And one of my favorites that I’ve basically eaten whenever I can get to a Noodles for the past decade is their Penne Rosa with Parmesan Crusted Chicken with feta cheese. Just thinking about it, I’m hungry.
I’ve made the (not vegan) dish at home many times because we moved to Southern California where the closest Noodles was 2 hours away (minimum). It’s a super easy, flavorful, creamy and spicy pasta that I love for nights in with a glass of wine.
I decided to switch it up and try doing a vegan version of the dish while my in-laws who are plant-based were in town as part of our Rohwer Vegan Weekend with Imperfect Foods.
I added in zucchini for a little more depth to the dish since we wouldn’t have chicken, and I’d recommend adding nutritional yeast as a sort of “parmesan” topping.
Just a note - I made my version with oat milk because I’m wildly allergic to cashews. But, I’d recommend using cashew milk over oat milk if you’re able. Oat milk is a great nut-free option to get some of the creaminess in there, but cashew milk really is the best for the thick sauce from what I’ve read on other vegan blog sites.
Easy Vegan Light & Creamy Penne Rosa Pasta
Ingredients
- penne pasta
- 2 zucchini
- 8 oz of portobello mushrooms
- 4-6 roma tomatoes
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup of diced yellow onion (your preference for more or less onoin in the dish)
- 2 teaspoons of minced garlic
- 1 handful of spinach
- 1/2 cup of oat milk or cashew milk
- olive oil
- crushed red pepper
- nutritional yeast for a "parmesan" topping
Directions
1 - Prep Your Veggies
Chop and dice all your veggies except the spinach so they're ready to add one after the other into a pan.
2 - Sauté
Heat olive oil in a pan and add the onion and minced garlic. Simmer for about one minute.
Add mushrooms and zucchini to the mixture and cook for another minute before adding the diced tomatoes.
Add the tomato paste and pasta sauce, cover and let simmer.
3 - Cook Your Noodles
Boil water and cook your noodles according to the instructions on the box.
4 - Finish Your Sauce
Add your handful of spinach and stir together. Add your oat milk or cashew milk for creaminess. Season with crushed red pepper depending on your preferred spice level.
As part of Rohwer Vegan Weekend, I tried doing Imperfect Foods and got a huge box of veggies delivered right to my front door. Get $10 off your first order and join me in the fight to minimize food waste!