When I woke up this morning, I decided to make pasta with Carbonara for dinner. Despite the decadence and creaminess of the sauce, vegan pasta carbonara is healthy and simple to make. Similar to vegan Alfredo sauce, carbonara sauce is creamy. But, vegan carbonara sauce combines sweet and smokey flavors in a thick and creamy sauce.
Traditionally, Carbonara is an Italian pasta dish from Rome made with egg, hard cheese, cured pork, and black pepper. The word arrived at its modern form, with its current name, in the middle of the 20th century.
Of course, this vegan carbonara sauce by using whole-food ingredients. Believe it or not, I love transforming any recipe into a healthy vegan version. Over the years, I've challenged myself to discover ways to make meals my family loves while keeping everyone healthy and fit.
Even though pasta with Carbonara is usually served with spaghetti noodles, I chose fusilli noodles because I love how the sauce sticks into the noodles' ridges.
What ingredients are needed for vegan pasta carbonara?
- Pasta of choice and shape (gluten-free noodle option)
- Vegan Coconut Bacon
- Raw Cashews (or flour alternative)
- Vegetable Broth
- Sun-dried Tomatoes (not in oil)
- Shallot
- Oat Milk (or plant milk of choice)
- Nutritional Yeast
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Sea Salt
- Asparagus
- Peas
- White wine (optional)
- Parsley (garnish)
- Vegan Parmesan Cheese
If you haven't tried Vegan Coconut Bacon, you're missing a euphoric experience. Does it taste like bacon? Of course not. I didn't transition from a standard American diet to a plant-based diet to eat fake meat. Instead, coconut bacon has a distinct texture and smokey, sweet flavor, compliments the pasta carbonara recipe's flavors.
Unsweetened coconut chips absorb the marinade flavors and create a crispy and crumbly texture.
Since I use vegan coconut bacon for various recipes, I often make a large batch to use throughout the week.
Also, it is recommended to cook the vegan bacon beforehand to set up while the other ingredients are prepared.
Other uses for coconut bacon
- Vegan BLT
- BLT Pizza with Coconut Bacon
- Vegan Breakfast Burrito
- Broccoli Salad with Coconut Bacon
- German Potato Salad
- Salad topping
- Perfect for baked potatoes
- On top of Vegan Potato Soup
How to make vegan pasta carbonara (nut-free and gluten-free)
- Make this fabulous pasta dish gluten-free by choosing gluten-free pasta and substitute gluten-free flour for the cashews.
- Whenever a recipe calls for cashews in a cream sauce, substitute the flour for the cashews and blend it with whatever liquid the recipe calls. Combining the flour with the liquid prevents clumping.
- Another way to include flour instead of nuts is to slowly sprinkle the flour into the pan and use a whisk to prevent clumping.
Making vegan carbonara sauce
Once the coconut bacon is baked and cooling, begin making the sauce. In a skillet, saute the shallots until translucent.
- The trick for making a vegan cream sauce without clumps is to combine the nuts (or flour), 2 cups of vegetable broth, oat milk, and nutritional yeast in a blender until smooth.
- Next, saute the shallots until translucent and add the sun-dried tomatoes and 2 additional vegetable broth cups. Then add the white wine if using.
- Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
- Next, add the tomato, shallot mixture, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to the blender.
- Use an immersion blender, transfer the sauce back to the blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
- In the meantime, cook the pasta according to the package directions.
- Then, transfer the blended carbonara sauce back to the pan you cooked the shallots and sun-dried tomatoes.
- Add the asparagus and the peas and simmer on medium-low for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat.
- Reserve ¼ cup pasta water and set aside, and drain the pasta.
- Return the pasta to the pan with ¼ cup pasta water.
- Pour the sauce into the pan with the asparagus, peas, and pasta.
- Again, bring the heat to medium-low heat to thicken the sauce.
- If the sauce isn't thick enough for your preference, add additional nutritional yeast 1 Tablespoon at a time until you reach a thick consistency.
- Add the vegan coconut bacon and toss.
- Serve in a bowl or on a plate and garnish with chopped parsley.
- Add Vegan Parmesan Cheese for an added cheesy taste.
Once the pasta is served, add the parsley and Vegan Parmesan Cheese if desired. I also provide additional red pepper flakes on the side for those who like it a little spicier.
FAQ
What can I serve with pasta carbonara?
- I love a big green salad and Vegan Garlic Bread to soak up all the creamy vegan carbonara sauce.
What does carbonara sauce taste like?
- The carbonara sauce has the texture of a creamy Parmesan sauce without having that heavy feel of cream sauces after you eat it. The vegan version, much healthier than a typical carbonara sauce, is just as decadent without the fat and calories.
What type of pasta is used for Carbonara?
- Spaghetti is the most common pasta, but fettuccine, rigatoni, linguine, or bucatini are also used. Any pasta shape, type, or gluten-free noodles work well with this dish.
If you love pasta but you want to make it healthy, try these pasta recipes
- Chipotle Pasta
- Creamy Mushroom Pasta Recipe
- Red Pepper Pasta
- Creamy Tomato Pasta
- Fajita Pasta
- Bruschetta Pasta
- Lemon Pasta
- Enchilada Pasta
- Vegan Pasta Primavera
- Cajun Pasta
Enjoy your pasta and eat to your heart's content.
Pasta with Carbonara
Ingredients
Pasta
- 16 ounces pasta of choice any shape; gluten-free pasta may be used or whole-grain
Vegan Coconut Bacon
- 1 cup vegan coconut bacon or vegan bacon of choice
Carbonara Sauce
- 1 Shallot minced
- ¼ cup raw cashews or ¼ flour gluten-free or flour of choice
- 4 cups vegetable broth separated
- 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 3 Tablespoons Oat milk or plant milk of choice
- ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes chopped
- ¼ cup white wine optional
- 2 teaspoon red pepper flakes begin with 1 teaspoon and adjust to taste preference
- 2 cups asparagus cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 ½ cup green peas
- ¼ cup chopped parsley garnish
- [Vegan parmesan cheese garnish]
Instructions
Coconut Bacon
- Follow the directions attached for Vegan Coconut Bacon.
- When the coconut bacon is cooled, chop and measure out 1 cup.
Making the Carbonara Sauce/Cooking the Pasta
- In a high-speed blender, combine 2 cups of vegetable broth, oat milk, nutritional yeast, and ¼ cup raw cashews (or flour).
- Blend until smooth; set aside.
- In a large skillet, saute diced shallots and garlic until the shallots are translucent.
- Add the sundried tomatoes and 2 additional cups of vegetable broth with the shallots and garlic.
- Now add white wine if using red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
- Next, add the shallot tomato mixture to the contents in the blender and blend until smooth.
- Set aside.
- In the meantime, cook the pasta according to the package directions.
- While the pasta cooks, transfer the blended carbonara sauce back to the pan you cooked the shallots in and add the asparagus and the peas and simmer for 10 minutes, on medium-low.
- The sauce will thicken as it heats up.
- Remove from the heat.
- Reserve ¼ cup pasta water and drain the pasta.
- Return the pasta to the pan the pasta was cooked in and add the ¼ cup pasta water.
- Pour the carbonara sauce into the pan with the asparagus, peas, and pasta.
- Again, bring the heat to medium-low heat to thicken the sauce.
- If the sauce isn't thick enough for your preference, add additional nutritional yeast 1 Tablespoon at a time until you reach a thick consistency.
- Add the vegan coconut bacon and toss.
- Serve in a bowl or on a plate and garnish with chopped parsley.
- For an extra cheesy taste, garnish with vegan parmesan cheese.
Notes
Nutrition
Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂
Manda
This was decent. I used a shiitake bacon recipe instead of coconut. The sauce never really thickened. The taste was pretty blah. I added garlic powder, salt and the crushed red pepper. I actually think it would make a good soup but with brocolli instead.
Bonnie
Kathy,
Thank you so much for adding flour as an alternative for the cashews in your Vegan Pasta Carbonara Recipe. We are vegan, but my son is highly allergic to cashews and other nuts, so I find myself passing on some wonderful sounding/looking recipes. Your flour alternative caught my eye. I'd like to try it-but didn't see how to mix it into the sauce. How much flour would be equal to the cashews in this recipe? Is there a conversion recipe for flour/cashews for other recipes? Thanks for the information!
Kathy Carmichael
Hi Bonnie, for a thickening agent, you can always use flour to replace the nuts. Cornstarch and arrowroot powder also work as well but in much smaller quantities. I suggest blending the flour to avoid clumps. You can also use silken tofu and white beans as a replacement for cashews in dressings and sauces. For instance, my vegan ranch dressing has an option to switch the cashews for silken tofu or white beans. The ratio is generally 1:1, but I always start with slightly less flour and add more if necessary. I hope this is helpful.