Pasta with Carbonara

4.67 from 6 votes

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!

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Total Time40

Course: Entrees

Cuisine: Italian

Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 443kcal

Author: Kathy Carmichael

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 unsweetened 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.
For an extra cheesy taste, garnish with
vegan parmesan cheese.

Notes

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.

Nutrition