Vegan Creamy Lemon Pasta (Spaghetti Al Limone Inspired)
HEY FRIENDS! I’m back today with the most delicious, cozy, comforting pasta recipe that is perfect as the weather gets colder. This vegan creamy lemon pasta is heavily inspired by spaghetti al limone, a classic Italian dish, however I made it in a very untraditional way to keep it dairy-free while still preserving all of the wonderful lemon flavour.
I did a bit of research and found that the traditional preparation of this dish typically doesn’t even use cream, although some recipes I’ve seen add it in. The creaminess of the sauce in spaghetti al limone actually comes from a simple mixture of butter, Parmesan cheese and starchy pasta water, which creates a rich, thick sauce. I wanted to replicate that without using dairy in this recipe, so I opted for a modest amount of cashew cream mixed with sautéed garlic, pasta water and tons of lemon juice + zest to create the sauce. The result is the silkiest, most deliciously lemon-y + flavourful dairy-free sauce ever. This is a must make for fall and winter!
Vegan Creamy Lemon Pasta (Spaghetti Al Limone-Inspired)
Ingredients
⅓ cup raw cashews, soaked overnight or in boiling water for 30-60 mins
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp vegan butter
3 large cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
juice + zest of 1 lemon
300g spaghetti (I used gluten-free brown rice spaghetti)
lots of reserved pasta cooking water
chopped chives, for topping
sea salt + black pepper
Method
cook your pasta in well-salted water until al dente. drain and reserve 1 ½ cups of the pasta water.
add ½ cup reserved pasta water to a blender with the soaked cashews, nutritional yeast and a big pinch of salt. blend until very smooth and pourable.
to the same pot you cooked your pasta in, add olive oil and sliced garlic over medium heat. cook just until garlic starts to turn golden, about 2-3 mins. turn heat to low, add butter and stir. add in a big pinch of lemon zest and ½ of your lemon juice. stir, then add a splash of pasta water and cook this “sauce” for a couple of minutes. add in your cooked pasta, then pour in your cashew cream mixture. keep stirring everything over medium-low heat until the noodles are coated and the sauce is thick and creamy. the sauce will continue to thicken the longer you cook it in the pan, so keep adding more pasta water a bit at a time to achieve desired consistency and pasta tenderness. add lots of fresh pepper, sea salt and more of the lemon juice to taste.
once you have your desired taste + consistency, plate the pasta and serve warm topped with more lemon zest, black pepper, sea salt and some chopped chives if desired. enjoy!
Serves 4
