Why I (almost) always make these 2 creamy pastas for vegan skeptics - Blog Vegan

Making meals for people who aren't vegan isn't always easy, especially if they know you'll be making a vegan meal. It's like you say, hey, check out this vegan mango and all the sudden they hate mangoes. The word vegan for a lot of people means that the food will have no flavor, taste like water or just all around no way it can be good.

These vegan creamy pasta dishes will wow anyone, even if they are skeptical at first. It's two that I have made for family and friends often and I know that people in your life (or even you, if you are watching and a bit skeptical yourself) will love too!

Check out these ideas and let me know which one you try (it should be all 2).

Vegan Penne alla Vodka

Hosting People Who Aren’t Vegan

I am the only vegan in my extended family. And my house happens to be like the middle ground for festivities and gatherings. And there's always an elephant in the room when it comes time to converse about food. Now I'm the type of person that wants everyone to feel welcome. And I do that with my cooking.

Because food is just that one language we all speak. So when it's time to put it all on the line for say like a celebration, this is one of the recipes I pull out of the hat. Every satisfaction you're looking for in a pasta is in this penne alla vodka.

Why Use Penne for Penne alla Vodka

For every pasta dish you probably already know this but it is all in the sauce. It really doesn't matter anything else.

Except for this one, because penne is kind of the life of this one. So I wouldn't substitute the noodles unless you're like gluten-free and you just can't happen to find a gluten-free penne pasta.

Because with penne when you mix it into the sauce and sauce gets into like the tube of the noodle, once you bite down on one of those tubes filled with sauce it is like a sunrise in your mouth.

What type of Tomatoes for penne alla vodka

The key to a successful base, san marzano tomatoes, san marzano tomatoes, and san marzano tomatoes. That's what's going to separate this from home cook to restaurant quality.

I've always thought reducing sauces were a pure waste of time until I tried it. The experience was like moving to a different maturity level. Almost like moving through cooking puberty. 

Do I have to add vodka to penne alla vodka

I found myself. Cooking puberty.

Yes. I've said weirder things. The vodka in this recipe helps the sauce maintain a good cohesive texture and serves as a good companion to the tomato base.

So you could swap for a wine or something like that but you're really gonna miss that rich flavor that is put on by the vodka alcohol. 

Purpose of coconut milk in vegan vodka sauce

A always opt for coconut milk to make a very creamy pasta sauce but in this recipe it serves a dual purpose because of the fat content it really does help with like the acidity of the tomatoes.

I've also made the swap with like an oat milk in this recipe due to the fact that it has similar properties as coconut milk and it actually tastes just as good. Just a little more reduction is needed. To top things off at the end of the recipe you're adding just a teeny bit of sugar and that's going to help amplify the sweetness of those tomatoes. Certainly recommend tasting it before you add the sugar.

You have to think of the sugar as like a flavor enhancer similar to you know vanilla extract in a chocolate cake.

Creamy Vegan Mushroom and Asparagus Pasta

The plant food I can’t stand 

Is there a food that you just do not get along with? Like no matter what you guys are never going to be friends on facebook? That is the relationship that mushrooms and I have. I cannot get over my dislike for them no matter how I cook it, or what type of mushroom it is, time of day, nothing. Unlike garlic and I.

Our relationship runs fairly deep. I mean I would take garlic to the movie theater if it wasn't frowned upon. Or weird. 

Why I still love this vegan creamy mushroom pasta

Basically what I'm saying is I myself was a skeptic of this dish. And although mushrooms and I don't get along, I just can't deny the flavors they exhibit in this one.

My kids also don't like mushrooms but when this dish is made, you cannot tell the difference between them eating it or an entire package of sour patch kids.

For this dish I like to dice the mushrooms up really small almost minced to the point that they're really hard to identify. But I'm still like inspector gadget when it comes to mushrooms. Or I slice them up like you've seen me do in the recipe. Because I'm an adult child, it just makes it easier for me to pick them out of there.

The dish has a bit of an umami taste with creamy and smoky flavors to the sauce. The incorporation of asparagus in the dish just gives the pasta an additional texture amongst the noodles and mushrooms in the dish.

During the cooking process you want to give special attention to those mushrooms as they can easily be overcooked especially if you dice them. When adding the vegetable stock and milk, I actually do the stock first this way I can use the spatula and the stock to deglaze what's underneath all of that and incorporate just the rest of that flavor into the dish.

While I use chickpea flour, you could also use you know almond flour or all-purpose flour to help thicken up the sauce.

Or you could do the reduction method again, it's just going to take a little longer. Check out both these pasta recipes linked in the description. Click here for more pasta recipes and or here for more dinner ideas. Thanks so much for watching and as always believe in good. peace.