Vegan Creamy Cajun Pasta…A One Pot Meal
Creamy sauces have gotten a bad rep. But not this bad boy! Based off of my vegan alfredo sauce, this creamy cajun pasta is loaded with veggies and tossed with oodles of cajun spices and lemon zest. Prepare to be blown away…creamy has never tasted this healthy or this good!
Hi my name is Mila and I love pasta. Any pasta. With oodles of noodles and marinara sauce. Coated with delicate infused olive oils and tons of garlic and black pepper. And lately…I have been known to steal some of my munchkin’s plain buttered noodles with heaps of good Parmesan on it. I am not ashamed. Not even a bit.
I was worried at one point. Because naturally pasta is evil right? Pasta makes you far right? I was afraid…I was very afraid.
But then amid my crazy worries about becoming obese and forever controlled by pasta…I met an Italian chef at one of my jobs. A REAL ITALIAN. Not the Jersey variety. But the one who was born and raised in Italy. Who lived there for 27 years of his life. Who still goes back several times a year and STILL considers it his home. The one who appreciates the simplicity of a good olive oil, a simple pasta and plenty of garlic. He was relatively thin, as was his wife, as were his kids.
I walked into the kitchen during the end of a crazy lunch rush and could only hear the swirling sounds of the dishwasher and the loud humming of the exhaust fan. I noticed he was hunched over one of the many stainless steal tables reading his specials menu for the evening and a small plate of orechheti (ear shaped pasta) broccoli and plenty of garlic and chili flakes in front of him.
“Mass!” I yelled to him. His name was Massimo… but we all called him Mass. He instantly spewed some sort of profanity in Italian at me because I had the scared the living Maria out of him and then invited me over for a bowl of pasta.
I stared at the pasta bowl practically salivating and grabbed a bite. Salty, chewy and garlicky. Perfection.
“Alright Mass, spill it. How the hell do you Italians eat so much damn pasta and still stay so thin. This isn’t normal you know,” I finally said to him.
Mass let out a huge roar of laughter and shook his head at me, followed by some Italian words my ears were not yet trained to understand.
“Bella, [that means pretty girl in Italian] in Italy we enjoy pasta for lunch, in a few once portions, followed by a good salad and a nice espresso. The pasta is enjoyed and not devoured. It’s a lifestyle, bella. We eat in the kitchen not in front of the tv. Our pasta rarely has cream in it. See this pasta, it has everything good in it. Garlic, red pepper flakes, olive oil, broccoli and yes some pasta. But Mila, I do not eat like this every day and I do not eat 1 pound of pasta in a sitting.”
I looked at him…and for the first time I understood. Pasta was NOT the enemy. The sauces were. Mass continued to explain that in America, EVERY sauce was finished off with butter. It was a foreign concept to him, because his sauces were served with olive oils and extra virgin at that.
Mass was right of course. America was KING of creating ridiculously creamy sauces that wear the hat “Italian” but in reality seldom are. Italians aren’t known for creamy sauce. Ask a REAL Italian (again not the Jersey variety) what an Alfredo is and they will say..”it’s my brother’s name.”
In Italy, Alfredo is a name not a sauce.
So BASICALLY Italians aren’t fat (well except majority of the cast of Sopranos, RIP Tony) because:
- They eat locally.
- They eat smaller portions.
- They actually take time to eat the food and celebrate instead of slamming down two doughnuts and milk loaded coffee with loads of sugar.
- They are the proud owners of the Mediterranean diet. One of the best diets known to man. Grains, fresh, seasonal veggies and fruits, beans and legumes, pasta, fish and the occasional meat and poultry. Yup I can totally do that.
So fast forward 7 years later and Mass’s words still echo in my brain. My pasta is frequently (not always) combined with veggies or delicious marinara and tons of garlic and red chili flakes. And most recently it is combined with my vegan and very dairy free alfredo sauce. And while I understand the irony of talking about “faux” alfredo sauces and then calling my sauce an alfredo sauce…I am imperfect…and so I chose to title it a dairy free alfredo sauce.
Late last week, I set out to create a pasta dish for myself full garlic, heat and veggies. I was fighting a nasty cold/flu and needed to get rid of it by stuffing myself with pasta, veggies and garlic power…because FYI, viruses are terrified of garlic.
I looked through the fridge and gathered up my pre made alfredo sauce onions, garlic, peppers and lemons. I grabbed some red pepper flakes from the pantry and found my eye being drawn to some cajun spice. I was not sure why…perhaps it was my feverish delirium but I felt cajun spice was a necessity in this dish.
It did not take long for the kitchen to smell of savory onions and garlic with smoky notes of cajun spices. My hands wildly took over and without even thinking in 10 minutes I had an incredible deliciously creamy pasta. LOADED with veggies, creaminess and heat!
Here is a neat little trick that makes this go even faster.. IF you use FRESH pasta as I do in the video (WAIT VIDEO?!? Just scroll down to the bottom and check out my video!!!!) … you can cook the pasta ALL IN ONE POT. That’s right…no boiling necessary just add the pasta in with the sauce and about 2 cups of water….and in one minute it is perfection!
How good is this dish you ask? It is good enough that when I gave it to the hubs to take to work for his co-workers they did not believe him that this was a healthy dish made with zero dairy or cheese and secretly loaded with veggies.
Mass…you would be proud.
OH and if you don’t believe me that is ridiculously easy…just watch my VIDEO!!!!! WOHOO
I hosted a Facebook LIVE with my friend Marlena from Love That Spice, a local spice shop by me and we used her Cajun spice. Let me tell you, that is POTENT..in a very good way. It just made me a believer that spices need to come from a reputable source because they are just that much better!
PrintVegan Creamy Cajun Pasta…A One Pot Meal
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Creamy sauces have gotten a bad rep. But not this bad boy! Based off of my vegan alfredo sauce, this creamy cajun pasta is loaded with veggies and tossed with oodles of cajun spices and lemon zest. Prepare to be blown away…creamy has never tasted this healthy or this good!
Ingredients
- 1 batch of my vegan dairy free alfredo sauce
- 1 red onion (sliced)
- 1 red pepper (sliced)
- 1 tsp of red chili flakes (or more if you like things spicy)
- 3 garlic cloves (minced on a microplane)
- 3 tbsp of cajun spice
- 1 cup of white wine
- 4 scallions chopped thinly
- zest of one lemon
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz of dry or fresh pasta (penne, fettucini, spaghetti, orechetti, anything will work)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place a pot of salted water to boil for the pasta.
- In a large skillet or pot, add the olive oil, onions, peppers and red chili flakes. Cook over medium high heat until they start caramelizing nicely. About 7-10 minutes.
- Add in garlic, 1/2 of the chopped scallions and cajun spice. Combine so that everything is evenly mixed.
- At this point if using regular dry pasta go ahead and drop it into your boiling water.
- Add in the white wine and scrape, scrape, scrape the bottom of the pan. This is called deglazing, you want all those golden brown bits to come up and flavor your sauce.
- Allow the wine to reduce by half.
- If using fresh pasta, go ahead and boil it now.
- Add in the vegan dairy free alfredo sauce and lemon zest.
- Add in pasta and about 1 cup of pasta water.*
- Combine everything and give it a quick toss.
- Add remaining scallions as a garnish and serve immediately with more cajun spice and red chili flakes on the side.
Notes
1. I keep this sauce on hand ALL the time in the fridge. It is good for about a week, usually more and I use it all sorts of things! Soups, dips, pasta etc. It is always great to have around!
2. Your pasta water has starch in it from the pasta and it binds your sauce beautifully. It is the best trick that Italian grandmothers know!
3. Here is a neat little trick that makes this go even faster.. IF you use FRESH pasta as I do in the video… you can cook the pasta ALL IN ONE POT. That’s right…no boiling necessary just add the pasta in with the sauce and about 2 cups of water….and in one minute it is perfection!
4. The nutritional information is to be used for information purposes only.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Pasta, Vegan
- Cuisine: Italian American
Yummy!
★★★★★
Thanks Arthur ! It really is!
I loove pasta! And yes, the real deal is when Italian cooks it for you or you eat in Italy 🙂 I was lucky enough to experience both and it’s a dream come true for a pasta lover! 🙂 Never tasted Alfredo sauce – looks like it’s the highest time :)!
I am so jealous!!! I was in Italy as a child but I would love to go as an adult!!! Totally delicious food heaven right?!? You will love this pasta as well! It is creamy without the guilt!
Hooooly moly. This looks incredible! My parents brought me back some cajun spice from the US – must try this!!
It’s so good Becca!!! I kept it cheese free but I think a few sprinkles of park would also do the trick 😉
Creamy, cajun, and VEGAN?? You know I love it, girl! Now, if only you could somehow send me this entire batch… 😉 Love this recipe! Also, do ya think we could save the rest of the white wine for… “dinner?” 😉
★★★★★
I COULD send you some…I cannot promise it will still be good though 🙂 Yea we can certainly USE some of that vino huh?
Made this tonight. And made extra alfredo to keep in the fridge because I am itching for some good spinach-artichoke-alfredo pasta as well. We used ancient grain fusilli gluten free pasta which trapped all the lovely sauce in the little corkscrews. Also I added some shrimp during cook down of the wine, took them out, then tossed them back with the pasta and sauce to serve to my son who eats meat (I don’t but I don’t mind the shrimp juices help flavor the sauce even more). My son – Mr. Picky Eater devoured a whole big bowl of this and over a half a pound of shrimp. It really is spectacular. Thank you for the recipe for the alfredo. I used it as a jumping off point for my own creation. In my pasta tonight I added some steamed asparagus, sliced squash, and sliced mushrooms and a lot of Frank’s Red Hot Hot Sauce and Slap Yo Mama seasoning (but not 3 Tbsp because it has a lot of salt in it) for the Cajun spice. Also. Just a little suggestion. I used unsweetened plain almond milk in lieu of the water from the cashews for an extra creamy and a little less sweet alfredo sauce. I have found that the water from soaking them tends to have a sweet taste and the plain almond milk gives it a less sweet taste.
★★★★★
OMG what a lovely comment! Thank you Andrea!!!! And I love the idea about the almond milk!!! YES! That’s a brilliant idea!!! Have a wonderful holiday my dear!!!
Delicious! Thank you so much for coming up with this. BF is willing to eat vegan, but it’s super helpful to have recipes that taste like old comforts.
Awwww thank you for writing this!!! I am so glad! You will find a few classic comfort faves on here that I am betting you will both love!
This looks yummy! I’ve put it on this week’s meal plan. How many servings does the recipe make?
Hi there! I would say it makes 4 as an entree.
This is honestly such a fantastic recipe. I’m making it a second time now (at 10:30 at night)!! It’s the pregnancy cravings! Haha! I just made a less spicy Cajun seasoning mix this time around bc my toddler and husband couldn’t take the spice last time … Oops! More for me! Also I found 1 + 1/2 cup of soaking liquid sort of the sweet spot for me! Thank you so much, lady!
★★★★★
Anna, thanks so much for this fabulous comment! I’m so glad it’s working out
Hi,
I found your recipe out of desperation. My family is doing a Daniels Fast with our church and we are very limited in what we can eat. I had to substitute the butter and wine but this dish was AMAZING. My husband loved it and my parents came over to get to go plates after they saw photos of it. I just want to say thank you! It’s so good that we plan to continue to make it for meatless Monday. Thank you!
Awwww Brittany thank you for this wonderful message!!!! And don’t worry about the butter!!!! It’s all good 😉 butter is always great!!!!
Holy salt!!! Beware of the salt content in your Cajun seasoning. For some reason I looked passed it and only after it was time to eat I realised that salt is the 1st ingredient in the seasoning. Leaving the dish extra salty. However it is a great recipe. We totally ate it up. Next time I will look for a different Cajun seasoning. The rest of it is delicious. Can’t wait to make it again!
★★★★
Yes!!!!! That’s why i love “love that spice” mixes! They are salt free!!!
Don’t know how it slipped my mind to check that beforehand. But like I said the texture, the Alfredo sauce before adding it to the pan was divine. Will definitely be making it again. Thank You for the recipe!
It happens to the best of us right???
I just made this since going Plantbase…I miss Guy Fieri, blacken chicken w/alfredo sauce. And I finally got a Vitamix. Decided to make this including your alfredo sauce. HOLY CRAP this is on point!!!! I did the happy taste dance!! I will take down the heat for family, but this became mama’s comfort food. Thank you for the recipe.
Happy Mama
Liz, NM
★★★★★
So glad you love it! I am no longer plant based but found this recipe is also great for all my dairy free clients.
I love this dish! I make it in different variations every few months. Vegans and meat eaters alike in my home love this!
That makes me soo so happy!!!!