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Here is a nice vegan pasta dish that can be made with or without a gluten-free option and either baked or unbaked.
This Vegan Baked Penne with Spicy Rose’ Sauce is perfect if you like a little spice and it is made with minimally processed ingredients.
My boys absolutely love pasta in any shape or form so luckily it’s a pretty versatile meal and can be changed up very easily just by using different sauces and toppings.
This was a new version that I liked because it had extra vegetables and a creamy vegan sauce.
If you make the homemade salsa, you can make it in your food processor and the vegan sauce is made in a matter of minutes with a Vitamix.
It can actually be an “almost” raw meal except for the pasta (and bread crumbs if you use them) and is very much like a pasta salad.
5 Fast Facts About Cashews:
- packed with dietary fiber
- rich in “heart healthy” fats
- rich source of minerals
- high in magnesium and copper
- good source of antioxidants
5 Fast Facts About Spinach:
- contains anti-inflammatory properties
- high in anti-oxidants
- super high in vitamins A and K
- phytonutrients provide anti-cancer benefits
- can help improve cardiovascular health
5 Fast Facts About Red Bell Peppers:
- high in anti-oxidants
- 1 cup contains 195.8% RDA of vitamin C
- excellent source of carotenoids
- potential anti-cancer benefits
- helps reduce inflammation
5 Fast Facts About Nutritional Yeast:
- vegan source of vitamin B12
- a complete protein containing 18 amino acids
- boosts immune system
- excellent anti-oxidant
- contains 15 minerals
5 Fast Facts About Almonds (Almond Milk):
- helps to regular cholesterol and blood pressure
- energy booster
- loaded with protein, calcium and fiber
- high in anti-oxidants
- helps to reduce risk of heart disease
5 Fast Facts About Tomatoes:
- high in lycopenes – cancer fighting agents
- high in beta-carotene
- anti-oxidant
- high in vitamin A and K
- good source of chromium
5 Fast Facts About Onions:
- rich source of healthy sulfur compounds
- excellent for cardiovascular health
- inhibits bone loss in women
- reduces blood pressure
- helps to lower blood cholesterol levels
5 Fast Facts About Garlic:
- regulates blood sugar levels
- lowers high blood pressure
- anti-bacterial and analgesic properties
- anti-viral
- helps to lower cholesterol
5 Fast Facts About Cilantro:
- powerful antioxidant
- helps to remove toxins and heavy metals
- anti-inflammatory
- helps to control blood sugar
- promotes healthy liver function
5 Fast Facts About Jalapenos:
- excellent anti-oxidant
- thermogenic food
- anti-inflammatory agent
- high in vitamins A and C
- contains anti-bacterial properties
5 Fast Facts About Lemons:
- extremely alkaline
- blood purifier
- excellent for detoxification
- balances blood sugar levels
- contains powerful anti-bacterial properties
5 Fast Facts About Cayenne Pepper:
- increases metabolism
- improves high blood pressure
- contains anti-fungal properties
- anti-inflammatory
- circulatory stimulant which aids in detoxification
5 Fast Facts About Pink Himalayan Salt:
- contains 84 minerals
- unrefined, unprocessed, raw
- promotes stable pH balance in cells
- controls water levels in the body
- aids digestion and facilitates better nutrient absorption
Where to Buy: If you have trouble finding any of the ingredients to make this recipe, you can order online from Amazon and have them delivered straight to your door:
Tip #1: I made half of it baked in the oven and the other half unbaked. The unbaked version would certainly save time and would probably be healthier because the spinach, red bell peppers, cashews, etc) would all still be considered “raw”. My family liked both versions.
Tip #2: If you need a gluten-free version, just use gluten-free penne pasta and organic or healthy gluten-free bread crumbs. I did a quick online search for gluten-free bread crumbs and didn’t like the ingredient lists for them:
(Pea starch, non hydrogenated shortening(palm fruit and/or canola), potato starch, brown rice flour, brown sugar,sweet rice flour, tapioca starch, water, rice bran, sugar, blackstrap molasses, honey, glucose,vanilla, salt, sodium bicarbonate, pea protein, pea fibre,guar gum, inulin, soy lecithin, mono calcium phosphate) source
That is ~way~ too many ingredients and since it’s not organic, the canola shortening and soy lecithin would definitely cross it off my list since those ingredients are high on the GMO list.
I did find one organic brand online but it wasn’t gluten-free.
The brand I used was “365 Panko Bread Crumbs” and the ingredient list was: (Unbleached Wheat Flour, Sugar, Dried Yeast, Salt). But they also were not gluten-free.
If you really, really want to use bread crumbs and make it gluten-free, you would probably be better off using homemade gluten-free bread crumbs.
Or if it’s no big deal, just leaving them off completely which would be my preference because I liked the uncooked version better.
Tip #3: I love to make my own homemade salsa so I did that instead of getting store-bought salsa. But if you are short on time or for whatever reason, feel free to use a store-bought salsa instead of the homemade version. It would save you a little time and an extra step.
Tip #4: I try not to use any processed/packaged foods if I don’t have to, but vegetable broth is one that I do buy even though I don’t really use it that often. The brand I used, “Pacific Natural Foods Organic Vegetable Broth” has an ingredient list free of any additives or toxic ingredients:
(Filtered Water, Organic Carrots, Organic Tomatoes, Organic Celery, Organic Onions, Organic Garlic, Organic Leeks, Sea Salt, Organic Bay Leaves, Organic Parsley, Organic Thyme). It’s also gluten-free.
Tip #5: I added a jalapeno to my salsa which made it pretty hot so I only used 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne and it was plenty spicy. So if you use a “mild” store-bought salsa or make a homemade salsa without jalapeno, adjust the amount of cayenne pepper that you use.
Vegan Baked Penne with Spicy Rose’ Sauce
Print recipe
| www.thehealthyfamilyandhome.com | The Healthy Family and Home |
Ingredients
- 1/2lb organic penne pasta (or gluten-free pasta)
- 2 cups organic baby spinach (chopped in thin strips)
- 1 organic red bell pepper (diced)
- 1 teaspoon pink himalayan salt
- 1/4 teaspoon organic cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
For the sauce
- 1/3 cup organic raw cashews
- 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
- 1/3 cup organic vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 cup homemade salsa (or store-bought)
For the topping (Optional)
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs (or gluten-free bread crumbs)
For the homemade salsa (Optional)
- 1 small organic tomato
- 1 small organic jalapeno
- 1/4 large organic onion
- 2 small organic garlic cloves
- 1 - 2 tablespoon organic cilantro
- 1/2 organic lemon (freshly juiced)
- 1/4 teaspoon pink himalayan salt
Directions
| Step 1 | Prepare pasta according to package directions. Set aside. Put all ingredients for the homemade salsa (tomato, jalapeno, onion, garlic, cilantro, lemon juice and pink himalayan salt) into a food processor and pulse about 20 - 30 times (or just use store-bought salsa). Set aside. Put all ingredients for the sauce (cashews, non-dairy milk, vegetable broth, nutritional yeast and salsa) into a Vitamix and blend until well combined and creamy. Cut the spinach into thin strips and dice the red bell peppers into tiny pieces. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the pasta, spinach and red bell peppers, sauce and remaining seasoning ingredients (pink himalayan salt, cayenne pepper and nutritional yeast) and stir until mixed well. Option 1: Serve and enjoy! Option 2: Put the mixture into an 8 x 8 glass baking dish and sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 20 - 25 minutes or until the topping is browned and the sauce is bubbling. Cool for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy! |
Note
Recipe inspired by and altered from: http://www.wholefoods.com/recipe/baked-penne-spicy-ros%C3%A9-sauce
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