Creamy Vegan Tomato Basil Pasta

Comfort food at its best. The cashew cream sauce in this vegan pasta recipe lends a lovely and nutty twist paired with the bright crushed tomatoes. A hearty filling pasta that won’t bog you down. Don’t be shy with the fresh basil–you can never have too much!

We love pasta as it’s a versatile dish that can be adapted to any cuisine or dietary requirements. It can be served as an entrée, appetizer, or side dish. It also fills you up and gives you energy. Here are some considerations when making this pasta dish. Though the name of this recipe is penne, you can also use other shapes like rigatoni if you prefer. Regardless of what pasta shape you use, try to get the kind with ridges on the outside. This helps to hold more of the creamy sauce.

If you’re wondering what is nutritional yeast? It’s a deactivated yeast usually grown on molasses, beets, or sugar cane. It has a cheese-like flavor and a flaky consistency similar to parmesan. It actually is high in protein fiber and B-vitamins. You should be able to find nutritional yeast in your local co-op grocery or health food store in the bulk foods section. Do not try to substitute brewer’s yeast for nutritional yeast. Though similar in many ways, the two are not the same.

You will need two cans of crushed tomatoes for this recipe. If you cannot find crushed tomatoes, you can either use cans of whole peeled tomatoes and cut them into quarters or substitute an equally sized can of tomato puree.