Weeknight Pasta - Ready in 20 Minutes!

today I'm making three easy vegan pastas perfect for a weeknight dinner as they all come together in the same time it takes to boil some pasta we're going to be doing a classic vodka pasta as well as an alfredo and a spinach spaghetti and all three of these pastas have a creamy element for that you have a few options the first is a good old cashew cream which just means covering half a cup of cashews in hot water for about 10 minutes and then we're going to blend them up with half a cup of unsweetened plant milk the other option is to get about a half to 34 cup of silk tofu and if you go that route you just add it to the blender to get it nice and smooth and I personally love both options the cashews are a bit richer but honestly side by side you can hardly tell the difference tofu might win since it's cheaper and easier but if you have a soy allergy then cashews win so whatever works for you will work all right first let's do what might be my surprise favorite the spinach spaghetti so get your pot going to a boil and this sauce should be done by the time the spaghetti is cooked if not sooner I also made a version using this squiggly spaghetti AK a fusili CTO both pastas work great I honestly think any pasta shape will work with this sauce no matter which one you use just salt your water and add the pasta to the water once it's boiling and cook according to the instructions and for the spinach sauce first we're going to wash about 5 oz of spinach that's about as much as you get in a typical bundle or bag at the store I didn't include the stems in my test because I assumed they'd make the sauce grainy or bitter but let me know if I'm wrong about that after that we simply add everything to a blender and no need to make the cashew cream separately for this one so Ingo the cashews followed by a/2 cup of unsweetened plant milk and then 2 tbsp of olive oil 3 to four cloves of garlic 1/4 cup or 4 G of fresh basil and a heaping thir cup or 10 G of fresh Italian parsley and you can obviously add more or less to your taste then 1 tbspoon of nutritional yeast one heaping teaspoon of miso paste I'm using light yellow 1 teaspoon of calabrian chilies for a little heat and then 1 to 2 tbsp of of lemon juice I usually go for at least two but start with one and adjust to your taste next add in some of the spinach and blend it up and then simply add more of the spinach as it gets Blended taste for salt and black pepper and adjust as needed and give it a final Blend and once it's tasting good we're going to add it to a pan to heat it through now normally I'd use a non-stick pan because admittedly I've been intimidated by stainless steel but I've been really digging these stainless steel pans by today's sponsor maid in after testing out these recipes using the stainless steel set it's clear my apprehension was not warranted these are super easy to work with and a breeze to clean and I can see why so many people including the folks working in kitchens at three Michelin star restaurants use made in pans the heat retention and control is unparalleled with these pans thanks to the premium five ply stainless steel material and I honestly feel much more at ease cooking with these than I have with any other stainless steel pans they are all great but the saier might be my favorite as it's not only ideal for making sauces but it's perfect for boiling small batches of pasta rice or veggies and and you all know I only work with Brands I dig and I've been using madein products for years and I'm super stoked to have this stainless steel set in my collection now so if you've been curious about stainless steel or want to upgrade your current set check out the link in my description to save some money on your order and thank you Maiden for sponsoring this video now once our spinach sauce is heated through you're going to notice that it's kind of thick and that's okay we're going to thin it out with some of the pasta water and if your pasta isn't done cooking right at this point just keep the sauce warm on low and once the pasta is cooked to your liking add it to the pan with the sauce and add as much pasta water as you like not only is this going to loosen the sauce up it's going to make it creamier and emulsified taste and adjust for seasoning finish it off with some vegan parmesan or more calabrian chilies red pepper flakes whatever you like and honestly this one is so zip zapping good and delicious and the reason I think I might like it slightly more than the Alfredo and vodka sauce is because it's just as flavorful but a bit lighter plus it had a bunch of spinach in it so we are getting the benefits of that and if you have leftovers the good news is this stuff passes the goblin test which if you don't know means I can eat the leftovers cold straight from the fridge like a goblin but honestly I think this is my favorite way to eat spinach and this pasta is in my top 10 favorite pastas for sure now let's do another one of my new favorites the Vodka pasta and traditionally this is made with pen but you can totally use ratoni or fucili any small rich or curly pasta should work well with this sauce and this is usually made with heavy cream but again the cashew cream or silk and tofu is going to do a great job instead get yourself Ed water boiling and in the meantime the only other prep we need to do is to dice up one shallot and mince up four garlic cloves I'm going to use a sauser pan over medium heat and add in 3 tbspoon of olive oil get that shimmerin and then add in the shallot and the garlic a heaping teaspoon of calabrian chilies again for some fruity heat stir that around for a minute and then add in 2 tblspoon of nutritional yeast for some cheesiness next we'll add in a whole 4.5 oz tube of tomato paste yep the whole thing we're going to stir that around and toast that for about about 4 minutes or so making sure we don't burn the tomato paste or the garlic reduce the heat to medium low if it feels like it's getting blasted after that it's time to add in the titular ingredient the vodka and we're going to do a third cup worth and look a lot of folks have explained why vodka makes this dish taste good basically it boils down to science that said you can totally leave it out and the dish will still be delicious the Vodka does add a nice boost of flavor to the tomatoes and the garlic in my experience but if you don't do alcohol you can totally make this dish without it as well so we just need to cook that down until the Vodka reduces about 3 to 4 minutes and next we're going to add in one 14 o can of tomatoes whole or crushed it doesn't matter to me I do think the Italians on Instagram might cry over crushed tomatoes so I'm using whole tomatoes that I'll crush up with my spatula I'll cook those over medium heat for about 4 minutes and then we're going to add in the cashew cream or silk and tofu if using silk and tofu I recommend blending it up until smooth first stir that around and cook it for 2 minutes taste and adjust for season seasoning I'm going to add in some black and red pepper and now you can totally keep the sauce chunky like this or you can do like I do and blend it up until smooth and luxurious after blending the sauce is going to be probably kind of thick as well but again we can add in some pasta water like before which is what I'll do after I add in my cooked pen and Everyone likes their pasta at different levels of sauciness so here's what this recipe looks like with a pound of pen and here's what it looks like with only 10 oz honestly I like both but feel free to make yours as Saucy as you like and we can serve this up with some added vegan parmesan basil or parsley and if you've never had this it's like a leveled up marinara it's creamier and the Vodka adds another layer of intense flavor as well I can definitely see why it's been so popular over the past few years speaking of popular Alfredo is one of the most well-known pastas here in the US and we are making it in the same style this is not authentic Italian at all of course I mean it's vegan so it's not even authentic Olive Garden style but it is super rich and delicious and I'd say lighter than its Dairy counterpart for the pasta we are going with the traditional fetuccini and we're going to be using a bunch of vegan parmesan so you can either use your favorite store bought or homemade recipe for vegan parm or you can simply use some nutritional yeast instead either is going to work and while our fetuccini Cooks I'm going to add in three tablespoons of vegan butter to a pan over medium heat let that melt and then stir in three cloves of minced garlic stir that around and toast the garlic for a minute or so and then we're going to add in the cashew cream and we're going to stir in one cup of vegan parmesan or a/4 cup of nutritional yeast at that point I realized the sauce was way too thick because I forgot to pour in an additional 3/4 cup of plant milk along with the cashu cream so that's what I'm doing now after mixing that in I'm going to add in 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning once the pasta is cooked we're going to add that in toss it around of course until it's all nice and coated in that rich and creamy sauce add a squeeze of lemon taste and adjust for seasoning of course feel free to add in any pasta water as well if needed serve with some more vegan parmesan or parsley do it up as you do heck you can even whip up some of my tofu chicken and make chicken alfredo either way this dish put Olive Garden to shame and I got to say eating pasta this whole week was a delight so I hope you all make one or all of these and if you do let me know how it goes to make my tofu grill chicken recipe check out this video right here and until then I'll see you all next time

Channel: Thee Burger Dude

Views: 28,105

Keywords: vegan, vegan recipes, copycat recipe, vegan junk food, comfort food, vegan comfort food, how to go vegan, plant based, vegan lifestyle, beginner's guide to veganism, veganism for beginners, vegans, animal rights, vegan food, easy vegan recipes, best vegan recipes, vegan meals, veganism, vegan diet, vegan recipe, vegan mac and cheese, vegan cooking

Id: 3cyljURoJj8

Length: 8min 20sec (500 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 24 2024