Creamy Vegan Mushroom Miso Pasta
You may notice that I’m realllllly in my pasta era these days, and I’m not complaining. A big bowl of pasta is just such a comforting and versatile dish - you can throw in a bunch of veggies and there are so many options for different sauces and toppings. This creamy mushroom miso pasta is my latest creation and it’s UNREAL.
I love making a vegan cream sauce for pasta using raw cashews, and the great thing about this recipe is you actually don’t need a ton of cashews to make an amazing sauce. I typically stick to about 1/3 - 1/2 cup, because I feel like no one is trying to put a full cup of cashews in their pasta, right?!
This mushroom miso pasta comes together fairly quickly and has a ton of incredible flavour from the leeks, garlic, miso, lemon and nutritional yeast, resulting in a super rich and creamy pasta that is full of veg and makes such a satisfying weeknight meal. It’s dairy-free but I love to top it with some Parmesan because I’ve been incorporating a bit of cheese into my diet and it’s delicious. Feel free to use vegan parm or just leave it out to keep this recipe vegan! Hope you love it :)
Creamy Vegan Mushroom Miso Pasta
Ingredients
½ lb pasta of choice, I used brown rice fettuccine
½ cup raw cashews, soaked in hot water for 30 mins
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tsp white miso paste
1 ½ cups reserved pasta water
1 leek, thinly sliced + thoroughly washed
3 cups mixed mushrooms (I used cremini + shiitake), sliced
3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Olive oil, salt + pepper
Parmesan or vegan cheese for topping, if desired
Chives/parsley for topping, if desired
Method
Heat a large skillet over medium and add a generous glug of olive oil, then your mushrooms. Let mushrooms cook, undisturbed, for about 5 minutes or until they’re browned on one side, then stir and continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes. Add your leeks and a bit more oil and stir, then let cook for 5-7 minutes until the leeks are tender and the mushrooms are a deep golden colour. Add the garlic and a big pinch of salt and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes to soften the garlic. Remove from the heat.
Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain and reserve 1 1/2 cups of pasta water.
Add your cashews to a high-speed blender along with the nutritional yeast, miso and 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water. Blend until very smooth.
Add your pasta to the skillet of veggies (or the veggies to your pot of pasta, depending on which vessel is bigger), then stir everything together. Over low heat, add in your cashew cream and about 1/2 cup reserved pasta water and stir frequently until the creamy sauce comes together. Add the lemon juice and stir, then add more pasta water as needed - the sauce will thicken as it heats up and as the pasta cooks more.
Once the pasta and sauce are cooked to your liking, remove from the heat and add lots of black pepper. Taste and add more salt/lemon as needed. Serve topped with chives and parm or vegan cheese if desired. Enjoy!
Serves 2-4
