This creamy cauliflower pasta is a variation on one that I make quite often. It is lush and a little tomato-y, cozy without being overly heavy. As one reader put it: “This dish felt so rich without feeling heavy. The quick vegan parm was a game changer.” The abundant cherry tomatoes really help to sauce up the overall texture, great for using up a garden haul or whatever is sitting in the fridge. Make and serve it with my vegan parmesan on top for the best vegan pasta dinner!
Of course cauliflower is the star, but roasted tomatoes do a lot of the heavy flavor lifting. If you have slow-roasted tomatoes on hand, use them. If not, the recipe notes cover a quick sun-dried tomato swap that works beautifully. I keep raw soaked cashews in my refrigerator for all sorts of recipe emergencies. In particular savory sauces like the one we’re making here.
The cashew sauce gets blended with the reserved pasta cooking water rather than fresh water. The starch in the pasta water helps the sauce cling to every strand and gives it a silkier texture than plain water. This is also a one-pan situation for all the non-pasta components. The cauliflower gets sautéed directly in the same pan as the garlic, tomatoes, and sauce rather than roasting separately. Faster, fewer dishes, and the cauliflower still gets plenty of flavor from the pan.
Creamy Cauliflower Pasta with Garlic & Roasted Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegan parmesan, divided
- ¾ lb dry linguini
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cups small cauliflower florets (from about ½ a large head of cauliflower)
- 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
- pinch chili flakes
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ cup roasted tomatoes, lightly chopped or mashed (see notes)
- salt and ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup shelled fresh or frozen peas
- 2 sprigs fresh basil, sliced
- 2 green onions, sliced
Equipment
- Blender
Notes
- I prefer traditional wheat-based linguine here, but brown rice pasta would be great.
- To roast tomatoes, cut cherry/grape tomatoes in half, toss with olive oil and seasoning, and bake in a 400 oven for about 25 minutes.
- If you don’t want to slow roast some tomatoes for this recipe, I’d recommend replacing them with a ¼ cup of finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil.
- Don’t forget to reserve a cup of the salty and starchy pasta cooking water. It’s the key to success here.
Instructions
- If you haven't yet, make the parmesan. My recipe is linked in the ingredients.
- Cook the pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the salty and starchy pasta water before draining and setting aside.
- In a large, wide sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the cauliflower to the pan and stir. Sauté until the cauliflower is lightly softened on the edges, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, chili flakes, paprika, tomatoes, salt, and pepper to the pan and stir.
- In an upright blender, combine the cashews, the reserved pasta cooking water, and the ½ cup of filtered water. Blend the mixture on high until you have a milk-like consistency.
- Pour the cashew milk into the pan and add the peas as well. Bring the mixture to a boil and then immediately lower the heat to a simmer, stirring often. Once the cauliflower is soft and the peas are bright green, gently fold the pasta into the mixture to coat in the sauce.
- Sprinkle the basil, green onions, and ½ of the parmesan onto the pasta and stir to combine. Serve the creamy cauliflower pasta hot with remaining parmesan on top and extra chili flakes if you like.
So good!! Accidentally used smoked sweet paprika and it turned out amazing. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
Cannot wait to try this!
This dish felt so rich without feeling heavy. I did half slow roasted tomatoes and half sun-dried tomatoes, which I think was the best of both worlds. the quick vegan parm was a game changer – the texture was perfect. Will definitely be making this one again this season.
I love this dish so much! It has become a true comfort food to me. The flavors compliment each other so wonderfully. I add some more sun dried tomatoes because they are my favorite :)
Thanks for the wonderful recipe, Laura!
My husband and I are not vegan, and we absolutely loved this pasta! It was so satisfyingly rich and creamy without feeling heavy like a cream based sauce. We will definitely keep it in our dinner rotation.
This is so delicious! It’s on a regular rotation in my home. The flavors are wonderful! I typically add mushrooms and spinach, but otherwise follow all the seasonings.
Just made this last night — I used sunflower seeds (out of cashews) and it turned out so well! Yummmmmm
THANK YOU
I’m doing Vegan January and this was my first foray into “creamy” vegan pasta. It was SO good! I’m so impressed!!!! Thank you for this delicious recipe.
I’m about to try this! But we don’t have any basil or spring onions (green onions)… any other subs that could work?
I have fresh oregano, parsley, thyme and rosemary in the garden.
The flavour will be a bit different, but your best substitution would be some chopped parsley here since you want something leafy rather than woody/super strong.
-L
Hi, Greetings from the UK and thanks for fabulous recipe…. I want to make a healthy version of baked cauliflower cheese. Could I use the sauce recipe but perhaps use plant milk instead of the reserve dollar pasta water? Any advise or thoughts would be very much appreciated.
ps I love your cookbook! X
Yum! This is one of my favourites of the recipes that you’ve shared here. It’s so creamy and satisfying… the slow roasted tomatoes are little sweet surprises! I’ve made the recipe once before with regular pasta noodles but last night I spiralized yam for the noodles (my first time spiralizing… way late for that train) and was really pleased with how it came together.
Thanks for taking the time to create these super tasty, thoughtful recipes and for sharing them with all of us.
Just made this and oh my it was comforting, flavourful and easy to make! Just what I needed on a cold December night. I subbed the cashews for sunflower seeds and it worked well. Thanks for another wonderful recipe and for keeping me inspired :)
I made this yesterday for dinner and it was soooo delicious. I can’t stop thinking about it I might have to make it again!
If using zucchini noodles, what’s a good sub for the starchy water in the sauce?
I would try whisking/blending a bit of arrowroot powder into the cashew “cream” mixture to get the starchy/sticky texture. I haven’t personally tried this so can’t vouch for effectiveness, but this is probably the direction I would go in first.
-L
This is SO delicious! I subbed the cashews in the sauce for some cooked haricot beans instead because beans = more protein, less fat, I’d already hit my daily fat target and I have a mountain of beans in the fridge! The dish was still really creamy and flavourful and will be henceforth a regular feature on my menu. Thank you Laura.
What could you sub for soaked cashes in a pinch? pre-packaged nut milk? or hemp seeds with the hot pasta water?
Hemp seeds would work, or a richer non-dairy milk (like cashew or unsweetened coconut milk) would be fine!
-L
Oh my gosh, this was SO good! Creamy, tomato-y pasta loaded with veggies is one of my all-time favorite meals. I make it all year round, swapping out whatever is fresh. I always use heavy cream, and I always get a stomachache later that evening. This was just as good, and I felt great afterwards! This is going to be my new go-to.
Best way to get that creamy rich feel without cream! Also fab for hiding another veggie in pasta!
I made this a few days ago and I obsessively ate it for every meal until it ran out. SO GOOD. I can’t get over it. I usually make up my own pasta sauces and they always start with onions. I was surprised that this recipe didn’t miss the onions at all – it was so good and complete just as it was. It was also easy to make without any packaging – just had to shell by hand some fresh peas from the produce section and it was so fun! Thank you for this! I will be making it again and again.
Going to make this today! I have a jar of roasted red peppers in the cupboard- could these be subbed for the sundried tomatoes packed in oil?
I think the roasted peppers would be fine! You might want to add a splash of lemon juice or white wine vinegar or something to make up for the acidity though. Let me know what it’s like if you try it.
-L
This looks heavenly! The perfect fall comfort food! Can’t wait to give it a try!
This pasta looks amazing! What a creamy and flavorful-looking sauce!
Wow, we just finished shooting a cauliflower pasta recipe for next week! Yours looks extra lush and cozy, I can’t wait to try it! I think my little one would go for it in a big way.
Yes, I totally LOVE this time of year here in Ontario. The farmers’ markets are all full of insanely gorgeous produce and I refuse to buy any veggies from the grocery store, they all need to come from the local market (with exception of avocados, lemons and limes – can we please get some local farmers working on somehow producing those??). I’ve been going easy on the carbs this past week so this recipe is killing me – it looks so good!
Pasta really is one of the best ways to let ingredients shine (and I so love everything in this beautiful bowl), so I fully support you embracing your carb-loving self. In fact, I just came back from the kitchen, where I took out some leftover pasta (with roasted tomatoes and mushrooms) and ate it for breakfast. Because we can make these awful/brilliant decisions… we’re adults, damn it!
I love love love that you did two comfort-type dishes in a row. I seek these out at this time of year more than any other recipe category. I also get really excited when you show shots of your kitchen while you’re cooking. It puts me in your world and makes me even more excited to make this recipe. xoxo
Looks so incredibly delicious!
Must remember to put this on our meal plan for next week :-)