Vegan Cacio e Pepe

Vegan Cacio e Pepe

from zardyplants.com
Entree
20 min
261 kcal / serving

Cheesy, rich, and a little indulgent, this Vegan Cacio e Pepe is basically grown up mac and cheese. This easy dish packs a bunch of flavor.

Ingredients

  • 1 poundspaghetti or other pasta (see note 1)
  • about 1 + ¼ cup of the pasta cooking water (see note 2)
  • ½ cupraw sunflower seeds (see note 3 for substitutions)
  • ¼ cupolive oil or extra virgin olive oil, optional (see note 4)
  • 2 clovesgarlic, peeled
  • ½ cupnutritional yeast (see note 5)
  • 2 tablespoonswhite / yellow mellow miso paste (see note 6)
  • 1 tablespoonsthe juice of ½ a medium lemon, about
  • freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
  • freshly grated vegan parmesan or vegan parmesan topping

Directions

  1. 1

    If you do not have a high powered blender like a Vitamix, I advise you to soak your raw sunflower seeds (or cashews) in just boiled water until you’re ready to make the sauce--then make sure to drain them before adding them to the blender. This will help ensure your sauce is very smooth, not gritty.

  2. 2

    Start by cooking your pasta because you need the water from the cooked pasta to make your sauce. Because the miso is plenty salty, you might not want to salt your pasta water since we’ll be adding over a cup of the pasta water to the sauce. If you prefer to salt your pasta water, then use less miso/salt and add to taste.

  3. 3

    Once the pasta is cooked through, strain it in a colander positioned over a large bowl or measuring cup in the sink. Aim to get at least 2 cups so you have plenty.

  4. 4

    Add the sunflower seeds to the blender and add at least a cup of the starchy pasta water. I ended up using 1 + ¼ cups but you may need less.

  5. 5

    Add the olive oil, garlic cloves, nutritional yeast, miso paste, and lemon juice to the blender and blend until super smooth--I like to do a full minute in the blender. If you do not have a high powered blender, you may need to stop and let your blender rest--that’s how my old blender was.

  6. 6

    Add the sauce to the pasta, toss to combine and serve as much pasta into as many bowls as you’d like. Top with a liberal amount of freshly cracked black pepper (to taste) and sprinkle with some vegan parmesan if you’d like. Enjoy!

  7. 7

    You could definitely serve this with some veggies--it’d be great with some sauteed mushrooms, steamed broccoli, roasted brussels sprouts, or a side salad.

  8. 8

    Like most pasta dishes, this vegan cacio e pepe is best on the first night, but you can store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days in an airtight container.