Super Quick Tomato Basil Cream Pasta
When it’s summer, I can’t get enough of recipes that use up fresh tomatoes and basil. But no matter what time of year, I’m always down with quick recipes. You can make this sauce in the time it takes to boil the pasta. My whole wheat pasta cooks in 9 minutes, so this simple sauce makes a 9 minute summer meal that’s hard to beat.
I wanted to make a dish similar to this one, but not using tofutti cream cheese. I decided to replace it with cashews. Cashews are the base of most of my favorite vegan cream sauces because they’re very rich tasting and blend easily, allowing you to create a velvety smooth sauce in your blender.
Super Quick Tomato Basil Cream Pasta
Serves Two
1 Large, ripe tomato (2 cups roughly chopped, 1 1/2 cups blended)
1/2 Cup Raw Cashews
1 Tbs Tomato Paste
1/4 Cup Water
2 Tbs Olive Oil
2-4 Cloves Garlic, minced, optional
6 Ounces (ish) Whole Wheat Spaghetti
1 tsp Salt (edit: upped from 3/4!)
2-3 Tbs Wine or Water, optional
1-2 tsp Freshly Cracked, Coarse Black Pepper
1 Large Handful Fresh Basil Leaves, chopped
Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
Core the tomato, then roughly chop it. Add it to your blender, seeds, skin and all. Add cashews, tomato paste, and water. Blend until very smooth.
Add olive oil to a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute until golden, being careful not to burn. Once water is boiling, add pasta. Pour sauce from the blender into the saute pan and bring to a simmer. Add salt and let cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
If desired add wine/water to thin out the sauce. Taste and season more if necessary. Let simmer until pasta is finished cooking. Once pasta is cooked, drain. Add pasta to the saute pan with black pepper and freshly chopped basil leaves. Toss to coat. Serve immediately, garnishing with more pepper and basil.
Enjoy! And stay tuned this week for a big, happy announcement.
I love dishes that incorporate fresh tomatoes – yum!
This looks like the perfect quick ‘pasta with tomato sauce’ I was looking for.
wow, wow, WOW! this looks so awesome & delicious – and perfect for summertime! i’m printing off your recipe right now! we have A TON of tomatoes from our farmer’s market so perhaps i’ll double your recipe and have lots of tasty leftovers. mmmmmm, mmmmmmm! i can’t wait to try this one out! thank you!
and a big, happy announcement, huh?! i can’t wait to find out what it is….. :)
ANNOUNCEMNT: YOU AM PREGGERS
Hah, no, I’m not preggers.
Oooh, I hope that happy announcement has to do with your cookbook! Even if it doesn’t, I’m giddy with anticipation.
Also, it’s lunchtime and your photography isn’t helping. Makes my stomach growl.
Awesome. I love cashews in anything, but I haven’t yet experimented with the cashew/tomato combo.
I love this and especially so because it has ingrediants I always have on hand. Don’t even get me started on how long it took me to find Red Miso for your tofu recipe (btw, that rocked and has become our lunch staple). This will be tonights dinner for sure.
Thanks,
a.
P.S I reeeeally hope it’s a cookbook.
That sounds so delightful! I love simple sauces and pasta in the summertime. Tonight, I’m having the VwaV pesto with whole wheat pasta and white beans, and I can’t wait until dinnertime!
Yum, yum, YUM!!! This looks like the perfect pasta!
Yep, making this for dinner tonight. I can imagine it’s going into the regular rotation.
this looks terrific (and like the kind of quick but fresh and creamy favorite that we will eat a lot). Thanks!
When I saw the pictures I immediately thought of the tofutti recipe! This looks super delicious too, I’ll definitely have to try it out.
I can’t believe how delicious this looks. The pictures are so beautiful, I feel like I can taste this yummy pasta! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
this looks absolutely fabolous, thinking about to make it tonight, but I’m wondering if I can use a tomato purree instead of tomato pasta??
Amazing! Cooking this in just 9 minutes? Cool!
http://www.foodista.com
I am going to make this using unsweetened cashew butter from TJ’s, a tomato from the farmer’s market, and non-whole wheat pasta. Because that’s how I roll.
I love the idea of using cashews to create the cream. I can’t wait to try this dish. It sounds sensational! :)
This looks great. And I really hope this announcement is about what I think it is…
Oh, this looks fabulous! I have all fo the ingredients on hand, so I think it’ll be dinner tonight… I’m making flax bread (dinner was originally sandwiches), so hopefully that’ll go well with it. mmmm sounds TASTY!
Mmmm that looks and sounds so good. It’s definitely going in my to-try list!
I decided to make this as a late lunch instead. Used orzo pasta and no tomato paste (was halving this recipe for one, and decided it wasn’t worth opening the can). It tastes wonderful! Like mac and cheese for adults :) This is definitely going to be a staple in frantic architecture student (i.e. no time to eat, let alone sleep) lifestyle. I think my vegetarian roommate will love it, too!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was fabulous (and simple)! My husband suggested I add some red pepper flakes–and it added a great little bit of kick. Thanks for the recipe.
Made this for dinner tonight. it was fantastically creamy. whole family cleaned their plates, including the 2 year old!
reporting back on your dish: it was as gloriously awesome as i had hoped. took maybe 15 minutes to make from start to finish. bext tomato basil cream sauce we’ve ever had. THANK YOU for this rock’n recipe! mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
This was dinner for me and my husband, used simmered sun-dried tomatoes for the tomato paste and TJ’s whole wheat and flax penne. Even though I didn’t process the cashews and tomatoes smooth, the omnivore hubby still asked for me to make this again. I didn’t tell him that I used a bit of his favorite red wine from Italy for the sauce. :) Thanks for the lovely and quick recipe!
Yum! I remember seeing your original and being sad because I can’t have tofu. Thanks for making a soy free version!
Fantastic and simple pasta! I made this for my family and it was delicious :)
Hi!
I’d like to nominate you for a blog award, if you haven’t recieved this one already. Check it out at my site, and thanks for all the awesome recipes and instructions. And if you accept, please pass on the nominations to others.
Thanks again.
This looks delicious and like a perfect pasta for this time of year. I’m saving this one to try out. Thanks!
I’ve started trying some vegan recipes and really enjoy them! I’ve got a lot of fresh tomatoes right now so, can’t wait to try your recipe this weekend!
Great recipe! We’re making it this weekend. I’ve never had a creamy tomato sauce before so I’m intrigued.
I’m hoping the good news is about the cookbook!
Yay! Thank you so much for a soy-less cream sauce!
I’m experimenting with veganism, but I can’t do wheat or lots of soy. But cashews? Divine!
I literally JUST made this and am chowing down as I type. Just wanted to join the choir– this recipe is as delicious as it is easy! I started boiling the water at 7:50, and it’s now 8:10. Unbelievable. Thanks so much!
Now back to my dinner, hehe :)
I just ate a ton of cool whip, but just looking at this picture makes me hungry again. I’m gonna make this for breakfast!
This is THE quickest, fabulous creamy sauce i’ve ever made without cream (now that’s a bonus). I substituted 1/4 cup of the cashews with pine nuts. Truly delicious!
Just cooked it for my gf, sooo delicious & quick!
I am currently eating this for lunch. Nom.
i’m such a huge fan of quick pasta dishes, i can’t wait to make this!
Just made this for dinner and it was wonderful! I wasn’t patient enough to process it to optimal creaminess, so I put it on fusilli instead. Sooooo good.
I just made this and it.was.incredible.
Cook book, please!
I made this too. Needed a quick dinner and thought of this. It was great, smooth creamy goodness. Thanks!
i just made this tonight. really yummy! and the BEST part? it was really easy, simple, and took less than 30 minutes to make. :D
Made this for dinner last night–super tasty! I tripled it (so I don’t have to cook/heat up the kitchen for a few days–yay!) I loved the recipe, but I have just one question–how do you get the cashews to grind up smooth? The best I could get was very very small pieces, but hubby didn’t like the texture of that (though he loved the taste) I used my food processor (since my blender recently had a meltdown)…would a blender work better, or do you think if I started with just the cashews in the food processor they’d get creamy? (sorry if that’s a dumb question, I’m kind of new to food processor-ing foods)…anyhow, it was an awesome new flavor combo, and if you have any pointers, I’m all ears! Thanks!
What an easy and yummy lunch! Thanks for the recipe! I added some broccoli and red pepper and it was awesome. I was unsure if I’d like it because I’m not a nut person but it was really good!
YUM. I just had this for dinner and it was friggin awesome, thank you so much for the great recipe. I’m so glad that I made the full lot even though I live alone, the rest is tomorrow’s lunch!
I had to leave out the basil though because the stupid supermarket didn’t have any!! I think it will even better next time when I am prepared and have basil.
very good one
made me almost cry a little as it reminded me of my alfredo sauce pre vegan days I changed it up a little but cashew is a good base better than thahini for the creamy cheeze sauces
Cashews + tomatoes is an interesting combination – I need to try this – and your tahini noodles…