Life Changing Vegan Tomato Basil Cream Sauce

Made with fresh tomatoes, basil, and deliciously dairy free, this creamy vegan pasta sauce is simple enough for a weeknight, but decadent enough for a weekend date night in! Who doesn’t love tomato basil cream sauce?!

They say you are what you eat, so I’m pretty sure at this point I’m about 90% pasta. I’ve been obsessed with pasta since I was a wee one, but this tomato basil cream sauce really blows all of the other pasta out of the water. My brother even said it’s restaurant material. He can be kind of dramatic, but I’ll take it!

Ingredients for this creamy vegan pasta sauce

This recipe requires three, yes three, forms of tomato to achieve the best flavor. We’re going to use whole tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste! Seems excessive, I know, but I promise it’s worth it! These ingredients combine to give the best flavor, and you’d have no idea it’s entirely dairy free! For this recipe you will need:

• Fresh tomatoes
• Tomato sauce
• Tomato paste
• Cashews
• Basil
• Olive oil
• Yellow onion
• Garlic
• Salt & pepper

I used brown rice pasta to keep this dish gluten free, but you can use regular pasta or even a legume or chickpea based pasta for some extra protein!

How to make tomato basil cream sauce

This recipe may seem scary and intimidating because it has a lot of steps, but it’s really easy, I promise! Essentially, all you need to do is roast the garlic, onions, and tomatoes to bring out lots of flavor and juices. You will need to peel the tomatoes to prevent a grainy texture to the sauce. However, I’m guessing if you have a high speed blender you can safely skip this step. Next, you’ll add the roasted veggies and all remaining ingredients to a blender and process until completely smooth. Lastly, feel free to taste and adjust any seasonings as desired before you pour the sauce over your cooked pasta.

Looking for more pasta recipes? Try these!

• Roasted Red Pepper Penne
• Mushroom Broccoli Rigatoni with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce
• Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo

Lastly, if you want more recipes, be sure to subscribe to my email list! As always, don’t forget to tag me on instagram so I can see your creations!

Life Changing Vegan Tomato Basil Cream Sauce

★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Claire Cary
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Cuisine: Italian

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Description

Rich, flavorful, and lusciously creamy, this tomato basil pasta is going to be a new family favorite. 

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 16 ounces pasta of choice
• 5 medium tomatoes (about 775 grams)
• 1/3 cup tomato sauce*
• 2–3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1 cup basil, chopped
• 6 large cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil (divided into 2x 2 tbsp)
• 1 tsp salt 
• Optional: 2 tbsp nutritional yeast

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 
2. Add the cashews to a bowl and cover with boiling water. 
3. Peel and chop the onion into large chunks, peel the garlic, and cut the tomatoes in half and then half again and add to a baking tray lined with parchment paper. 
4. Drizzle with 2 tbsp of olive oil and toss to make sure everything well coated. 
5. Bake for 20 minutes ten take out of the oven. 
6. Carefully remove the skins of the tomatoes. They will be hot, but the skins should peel off very easily. 
7. Pop back in the oven for an additional 10 minutes. 
8. Drain and rinse the soaked cashews and add to a blender. 
9. Add the roasted tomatoes, onion and garlic to a blender and be sure to get all the juices in there. 
10. Add all remaining ingredients  (except basil) to a high speed blender and process until completely smooth. Add in 2 tbsp worth of basil and blend again. 
11. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. 
12. Pour the sauce over the cooked pasta and stir until well coated. 
13. Add in the chopped basil and mix through. 
14. Best served immediately but stores in the fridge for 3 days. 

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Notes

For the tomato sauce, you will want to use just plain tomato sauce from a can. 

The sauce shouldn’t need any additional liquid because the tomatoes release a lot of juice. If the sauce is too thick, you can add a few tbsp of vegetable broth, water, or even almond milk. 

Keywords: tomato basil pasta sauce, creamy vegan pasta sauce, vegan cream sauce, vegan pasta recipe