Comforting and healthy, this creamy mushroom pasta hits the spot. Cauliflower and cashews blend together to make a rich and thick cream sauce that's light, dairy-free, flour-free and oil-free. The curly gigli pasta, sliced mushroom and asparagus hold onto the alfredo-style sauce, in this delicious Italian-inspired plant-based dinner.
Prep Time5 minutesmins
Cook Time45 minutesmins
Total Time50 minutesmins
Course: Pasta
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: vegan creamy mushroom and asparagus gigli pasta
Add cauliflower to medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil.
1 whole head of cauliflower
Add cashews and garlic and gently boil until the cauliflower is fork tender.
½ cup raw cashews, 2-3 cloves garlic
Drain cauliflower, cashews and garlic. Transfer to blender, along with salt, pepper and almond milk. Blend until completely smooth and thick.
1 teaspoon sea salt, ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, 1 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk
Make the pasta
Meanwhile, for the pasta, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook gigli pasta according to package instructions.
16 ounces gigli pasta
Sauté the asparagus and mushrooms
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms to pan and season lightly with salt and pepper. Sauté 2-3 minutes until lightly browned.
8 ounces button mushrooms
Add asparagus to pan with 2 tablespoons of water and sauté for 2-3 minutes, stirring so it cooks evenly. Turn off heat.
1 bunch asparagus
Assemble the finished pasta
Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining pasta. Drain pasta and add to skillet with vegetables. (If your skillet is not big enough to accommodate all the ingredients, then use the pasta pot to combine everything together)
Turn burner on low heat. Pour enough of the white sauce into the pasta and veggies to coat everything. You may or may not have some leftover. Add ¼ cup reserved pasta water, if needed. Stir and then taste it. Adjust salt and pepper, to taste. Turn off heat. Serve hot.