Vegan Stuffed Shells
Vegan stuffed shells just got elevated! Featuring a cashew cream sauce, vegan pesto and a vegan tomato sauce, these vegan stuffed pasta shells are the ultimate in vegan comfort food!
Ingredients
- 1 10 oz pkg large pasta shells
For the Vegan Tomato Sauce
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion diced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp garlic minced; 1 tbsp of minced garlic is equal to about 2 cloves
- 1 tbsp Italian herb seasoning see Recipe Notes
- 1/2 cup tomato paste
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
For the Vegan Pesto Sauce
- 2 cups fresh basil washed, dried and loosely packed
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 whole garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup pine nuts toasted; see Recipe Notes
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
For the Cashew Cream Sauce
- 1 cup cashews
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 cups baby spinach washed, dried and loosely packed
As Additional Garnishment
- Fresh basil leaves
- Crushed red pepper to taste
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Soak the cashews in hot water for 30 minutes.
- Prepare the pasta al dente, then rinse it with cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.
To Make the Simple Vegan Tomato Sauce
- Heat up the olive oil in a large, deep-sided skillet. When shimmering, add the onions and salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low and slow cook the onions until they begin to brown. About 10-12 minutes.
- Add the garlic and Italian herb seasoning to the onions. Stir to combine and cook until fragrant. 1-2 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and increase the heat to medium. Sauté the onions and garlic with the tomato paste until it becomes a dark red. About 2-3 minutes.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and brown sugar. Stir to combine and reduce the heat to low. Cover and allow the sauce to simmer while preparing the Italian Cashew Cream Sauce and Vegan Pesto Sauce.
To Make the Vegan Pesto Sauce
- Add the fresh basil, ½ tsp salt, 2 garlic cloves, toasted pine nuts, 2 tbsp nutritional yeast and ½ tsp crushed red pepper to a mini food processor. Chop until all the ingredients have been reduced to small pieces.
- Stir in ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil and 2 tsp of lemon juice.
- Season with fresh ground pepper.
To Make the Italian Cashew Cream Sauce
- Drain and rinse the soaked cashews.
- Combine the soaked cashews, water, garlic clove, 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp Italian seasoning and 2 tbsp of nutritional yeast in a high-speed blender. Blend until creamy.
- Add the spinach to a large glass bowl. Microwave on high for ~20 seconds. The spinach should be wilted. If not, continue to microwave for 10 second intervals.
- Combine the wilted spinach and the Italian Cashew Cream Sauce.
Putting the Vegan Stuffed Shells Together
- Uncover the vegan tomato sauce and stir in 1 tbsp of lemon juice.
- Combine the vegan pesto sauce and the Italian cashew cream sauce, reserving a small amount of the vegan pesto sauce as a garnishment.
- Spoon the cashew cream sauce into each large pasta shell, then nestle the shells into the vegan tomato sauce. Continue until all the shells are filled or the deep-sided skillet with the tomato sauce is full.
- Continue to cook the tomato sauce on low to reheat the shells and filling, then serve.
- Garnish with the remaining basil pesto, fresh basil leaves, crushed red pepper and salt & pepper, to taste.
Notes
- I use Italian seasoning quite frequently. I have found an online blend that I quite like: Spice Jungle’s Italian Herb Seasoning. If you don’t have Italian herb seasoning on hand, you can substitute it with 1 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp dried oregano and ½ tsp thyme. If you have it, you can also add ½ tsp marjoram and ¼ tsp rosemary.
- Toasting pine nuts adds to their richness. To toast pine nuts, add them to a hot, dry skillet. Stir them constantly until they just begin to brown. About 2 minutes. Then remove them from the heat immediately. Their high fat content will cause them to burn quickly.
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