August 3, 2018

You ever stay up all night thinking about food? It happens to me constantly. Some might say it’s a curse, but I think it’s a blessing. Sure, I get little to no sleep, but sometimes I come up with amazing dishes like this Vegan Cajun Pasta and it’s like magic when it hits your tongue.

If you follow me on Instagram, then you may have seen me make this vegan cajun pasta on my stories a couple weeks ago. It was so popular and highly requested that I recipe tested it to perfection and voila! Here is the recipe. I promise you, this pasta is everything. Creamy, savory, smoky deliciousness all in one. Not to mention, it only required less than an hour of your time! #Winning. 

Grab a glass of wine and let’s get to cookin’ the best pasta you’ve ever tasted!!!

The creamy sauce is cashew based. We quick soak our raw cahsews in very hot water for 20-30 minutes and they blend up so creamy! If you don’t have a high(er) speed blender, you may need to soak them a little longer, about 45 minutes to an hour. All you have to do is all the sauce ingredients to a blender and set aside once you’ve reached your desired consistency!

For an extra depth of flavor, I like to caramelize the red onion, but if you want to make this a really quick dish, you can just sautee  them with the peppers until they’re tender (we recommend caramelizing them, though). In addition, we blacken he vegan chicken strips to give our vegan cajun pasta a nice depth of flavor with its smokiness.

Are you drooling yet?!

Last, we blister some cherry tomatoes in the same pan we blackened the vegan chicken strips in. It’s currently tomato season and we think they’re a great addition to freshen up any dish this summer!

We hope you guys love this recipe for our vegan cajun pasta as much as we do! If you try it out, please take a photo and tag us on Instagram at @eat_figs_not_pigs and use the hashtag #eatfigsnotpigs. We love seeing your recreations of our recipes!

Til next time, guys!

XOXO!

5.0 from 10 reviews

Vegan Cajun Pasta

 

Save Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

55 mins

 

Our vegan cajun pasta with blackened 'chikn' and blistered tomatoes is the perfect balance of creamy, savory, smoky perfection! This dish is sure to be a household favorite!

Author: Ashley

Recipe type: Vegan

Cuisine: Pasta

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• 1 LB pasta of choice, such as Fettuccine

Creamy Cajun Sauce

• 2 cups raw cashews
• 1 ½ - 2 cups unsweetened almond milk (or any unsweetened non-dairy milk)
• 1 cup vegan parmesan cheese shreds, such as Follow Your Heart
• 4 cloves garlic
• 3 teaspoons cajun seasoning, such a Slap Ya Mama (mild or spicy)
• ¼ teaspoon vegan chicken bouillon or ½ bouillon cube, such as Better Than Bouillon or Edward and Sons Not Chickn Cubes

Blackened "Chickn"

• 10 oz vegan chicken, such as Gardein or Morning Star
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 3 teaspoons avocado oil

Caramelized Onions, Peppers, and Blistered Tomatoes

• 1 small red onion, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
• 2 teaspoons avocado oil
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes
• Salt to taste
• Fresh chopped chives, for garnish
• Additional vegan parmesan, for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees
2. Cook Pasta noodles according to package directions. Drain, rinse, and set aside

Creamy Cajun Sauce

1. Quick soak the cashews in very hot water for 25-30 minutes. Drain and rinse.
2. To a blender, add cashews, 1 ½ cups milk, vegan parmesan, garlic, seasonings, and bouillon. Blend until completely smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings. If you find sauce to be too thick, add the other ½ cup milk and blend another 30 seconds. Set Aside.

Blackened 'Chickn"

1. In small bowl mix together all the seasonings (except the oil), and mix with a fork to combine.
2. Place vegan chicken strips in a large bowl and gently toss in 2 teaspoons avocado oil with your hands, ensuring all the chicken is lightly coated with oil. Add seasoning mix and toss gently again with hands, ensuring all the chicken pieces are coated with seasoning.
3. In a large oven safe, non-stick pan or cast iron skillet on high heat, add seasoned chicken and sear on each side until blackened, about 3-5 minutes. When all sides of the chicken are seared and blackened, put the pan in the preheated oven to keep warm.

Caramelized Onions, Peppers, and Blistered Tomatoes

1. In a large pan on medium high heat, add avocado oil until it becomes hot and starts to separate from the pan. Add onions and stir to coat the onions with the oil, continuing to stir occasionally. Reduce heat to medium, and continue to saute until the onions caramelize, about 30 minutes. If the pan seems to get dry, add about 1-2 tablespoons of water and deglaze it by scraping up the brown bits (trust us, that’s the good stuff).
2. Add yellow and red sliced peppers and saute, stirring occasionally, an additional 10-15 minutes. Place caramelized onions and peppers in an oven safe container and place in the oven with chicken.
3. On medium high, heat the same pan that you cooked the onions and peppers in. Once hot, add tomatoes and cook until they sear and blister, about 5-7 minutes, tossing once or twice.
4. When tomatoes are done, turn heat off and combine the noodles, sauce, vegan chicken, onions, and peppers. Toss well, ensuring all the noodles are coated with sauce. Garnish each plate with a few blistered tomatoes, fresh chives, and a sprinkle of additional vegan parmesan cheese.
5. ENJOY!!

3.5.3251