Pasta with carbonara is a rich, decadent Italian pasta dish. The vegan sun-dried tomato cream sauce complements the smokiness of the coconut bacon. Then asparagus and peas are added at the very end. This dish can be made gluten-free and nut-free as well. Vegan pasta carbonara never tasted so good!
When I woke up this morning, I was craving pasta, so I whipped up 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 smoky flavors in a thick and creamy sauce.
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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, I made vegan carbonara sauce using whole-food ingredients. But, 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 to the noodles' ridges.
Vegan Pasta Carbonara Ingredients
- Pasta: Choose any pasta. Spaghetti noodles are traditionally used, but I chose a fun fusilli noodle instead.
- Coconut Bacon: Coconut Bacon is made from dried coconut and a few simple ingredients.
- Raw Cashews: Raw cashews are used to create the creamy sauce; however, a nut-free and gluten-free option is provided.
- Vegetable Broth: I buy organic vegetable broth in bulk at Costco.
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes: Sun-Dried Tomatoes (not in oil) are dehydrated without oil. They are generally located in the store's produce section near the nuts and dried fruits.
- Shallots: Shallots have a delicate and sweet flavor with a hint of sharpness, while onions bring a more intense heat
- Oat Milk: I like oat milk because it's naturally creamy. Make sure you use unsweetened, unflavored plant milk.
- Nutritional Yeast: Nutritional yeast is a thickener and gives the sauce a creamy, cheesy flavor.
- Red Pepper Flakes: Red pepper flakes add a little spice and enhance the flavor of the other ingredients.
- Sea Salt: The sea salt enhances the other flavors in the sauce.
- Asparagus: Asparagus has a tender, buttery sweet flavor with a hint of earthy bitterness.
- Peas: I used frozen peas because I couldn't find fresh ones this week.
- White Wine (optional): I buy small bottles of Chardonnay for cooking.
- Parsley (garnish): Parsley gives the pasta a freshness.
- Vegan Parmesan Cheese: Vegan Parmesan Cheese is made from ground cashews, nutritional yeast, and seasonings.
Vegan Pasta Carbonara Ingredient Substitutions
- 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.
- Oven-roasted fresh tomatoes or roasted red peppers are an excellent substitute for sun-dried tomatoes.
- Use red, white, or yellow onions instead of shallots.
- Choose any unsweetened, unflavored plant milk.
- Cayenne pepper is often used instead of red pepper flakes.
- If you don't like asparagus, try using artichokes.
- Butter beans have a similar sweetness to peas.
- Skip the white wine, or substitute white vinegar.
- Basil is a great substitute for parsley.
- For a nut-free option, skip the vegan parmesan cheese, and sprinkle it with plain nutritional yeast.
What is Coconut Bacon?
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, complementing the pasta carbonara recipe 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.
Coconut Bacon Ingredients
- Unsweetened Coconut Chips: The key nutrients in coconut chips include lauric acid, chloride, and iron, as well as important electrolytes such as potassium, magnesium, and calcium. A healthy balance of electrolytes is important as they improve general well-being.
- Maple Syrup: Maple syrup is a natural sweetener and gives the coconut bacon a maple flavoring.
- Soy Sauce: Soy sauce provides the umami flavor to the vegan bacon.
- Liquid Smoke: I used HIckory smoke-flavored liquid smoke; however, there are many different flavors.
Coconut Bacon Ingredient Substitutions
- Instead of coconut bacon, try carrot or tempeh bacon.
- Date syrup is a substitute for maple syrup.
- Tamari or liquid aminos are gluten-free options to replace soy sauce in recipes.
- Choose low-sodium soy sauce if you follow a low-sodium diet.
- Smoked paprika is often used instead of liquid smoke.
Other Uses for Coconut Bacon
- Vegan BLT
- German Potato Salad
- Salad topping
- Perfect for a baked potato topping
- On top of Vegan Potato Soup
How to Make Pasta with Carbonara
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 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, or 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 to the pan you cooked with 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 of 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 nutritional yeast 1 Tablespoon 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 for those who like it a little spicier.
Recipe FAQs
I love a big green salad and vegan garlic bread to soak up all the creamy vegan carbonara sauce.
The carbonara sauce has the texture of a creamy parmesan sauce without having that heavy feel of cream sauce after you eat it. The vegan version, much healthier than a typical carbonara sauce, is just as decadent without the fat and calories.
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.
Tips
- Choose any pasta shape and size preferred. However, traditional carbonara is made with spaghetti. I used fusilli pasta noodles.
- Cut the woodsy ends off the asparagus, and then cut them into bite-sized pieces.
- If you don't like asparagus, try broccoli instead.
- Although I usually rehydrate the sun-dried tomatoes, this step is unnecessary because you blend the ingredients in a high-speed blender.
- If you don't like spice, skip the red pepper flakes.
- Use coconut or carrot bacon instead of coconut bacon.
- Pasta with carbonara will stay fresh in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
- To reheat, you may need to add a little vegetable broth to help hydrate the pasta.
- When reheating, choose the reheat setting on the microwave for pasta.
Enjoy this pasta with carbonara recipe and eat to your heart's content.
The Best Vegan Pasta Recipes
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📖 Recipe
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 cool, chop and measure out 1 cup.
- Set aside.
Making the Carbonara Sauce/Cooking the Pasta
- Combine 2 cups of vegetable broth, oat milk, nutritional yeast, and ¼ cup of raw cashews (or flour) in a high-speed blender.
- 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.
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! 🙂
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.
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.