Vegan Cacio e Pepe Pasta
by: claire cary
This vegan cacio e pepe features a creamy and cheesy cashew based sauce with lots of pepper and smothered in perfectly cooked spaghetti noodles. This simple recipe is big on flavor and so easy to make!
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta of choice I used gluten free
- 1 cup raw cashews
- ½ cup cashew parmesan click for recipe
- 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
- 1/2-1 tsp salt
- ¼ cup olive oil or butter
- 1 cup water
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup grated violife vegan parmesan optional but recommended!
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package instructions.
- Meanwhile, add the raw cashews to a pot and cover with water. Boil for about 10-15 minutes to soften. You can also soak them in water overnight, but this is much faster!
- When the cashews are ready, drain and rinse them and add to a blender along with all remaining ingredients.
- Blend until completely smooth.
- Taste and adjust flavors as desired. I suggest keeping the sauce thick, but you can add a smidge more water as needed to help it blend if you don't have a high speed blender.
- Combine the sauce with the cooked pasta and serve warm!
Notes
Unfortunately, cashews are a key ingredient here, I don't recommend subbing for sunflower seeds or any other nut/seed.
I added about 1/4 cup of the violife vegan parmesan, which I grated, which adds a bit more of an authentic flavor here. It's optional, but I do recommend it!
Serving: 1bowl / Calories: 527kcal / Carbohydrates: 62g / Protein: 16g / Fat: 24g / Saturated Fat: 4g / Fiber: 4g / Sugar: 3g
