Creamy dairy free taco pasta recipe- secretly healthy with lots of hidden veggies! I love to make this recipe when I’m craving something hearty and comforting but still want to eat healthy! This dish has lots of hidden veggies chopped up in it and I like to use lentil pasta instead of white pasta to add extra protein to the dish! Instead of beef I use minced mushrooms and TVP in this recipe. To make it creamy without any dairy I use blended up cashews in the sauce! You can adjust the salt/ spice level in this recipe to make it how you like!
This recipe was featured in my last meal prep video which you can check out here
INGREDIENTS
- 12 oz pasta I like to use lentil pasta because its high in protein
- 1 large carrot diced (for the nacho cheese sauce)
- 1 onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 8 oz mushrooms minced
- 1/2 cup tvp soaked in veggie broth for 10 mins
- 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste (I make most of my recipes low sodium so feel free to add more if you think it needs it!)
For the nacho cheese sauce
- 1 cup raw cashews soaked for 30 mins and drained
- 1 large carrot boiled
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- salt to taste- about another 1/2 tsp
Instructions:
- Boil the pasta and the carrot (which will be used later in the nacho cheese sauce). Drain and set aside.
- Sauté the onion, bell peppers and mushrooms in a large pot. Add in the tomatoes, TVP, spices, corn and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the veggies are cooked and the flavors all come together.
- 3. Blend up the ingredients for the nacho cheese sauce.
- Combine the pasta, tomato/bell pepper mixture and nacho sauce all together and stir. Top with green onion, avocado and/ or vegan cheese to serve!
Healthy Taco Pasta
Ingredients
For the pasta
- 12 oz pasta I like to use lentil pasta because its high in protein
- 1 large carrot diced (for the nacho cheese sauce)
For the veggies
- 1 onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 8 oz mushrooms minced
- 1/2 cup tvp soaked in veggie broth for 10 mins
- 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
For the nacho cheese sauce
- 1 cup raw cashews soaked for 30 mins and drained
- 1 large carrot (that we boiled from earlier)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- salt to taste
Instructions
- 1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil on the stove top. Add in the pasta and 1 chopped carrot. Boil according to instructions on the pasta package. When its done cooking drain the pasta/ carrot and set the carrot aside. Save 1 cup of the pasta water for later.
- 2. In a separate large pot saute 1 onion for a few minutes until fragrant (either in olive oil or in veggie broth). Add in the mushrooms and bell peppers and cook for a few more minutes to soften. Add in the tvp, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and spices and corn and stir. Simmer for 5 minutes til the veggies are cooked and the flavors come together.
- 3. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce/ veggie mixture and stir. Add in some of the reserved pasta water to thin the sauce out a bit.
- 4. Make the nacho cheese sauce- add the boiled carrot + all of the nacho cheese sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour the cheese sauce into the pasta and stir to combine.
Notes
other add ins- black beans, diced green onion, vegan cheese shreds, hot sauce
If you don’t feel like making the “nacho cheese sauce” you can substitute 1 cup of vegan cheese shreds, stir them into the pasta/ while its hot to melt the cheese.
