Spicy Vegan Pasta with Sausage
Spicy Vegan Pasta with Sausage! This easy date-night pasta is so incredible you’d never guess it was meat and dairy-free! If you love Italian food, then you’ve gotta try this easy vegan pasta.
I’m calling this my Fall rigatoni. You want comfort? You want a heaping bowl full of delicious pasta in the most decadent, creamy sauce? Then this spicy vegan pasta is for you.
I can’t even tell you how rich and wonderful this pasta is- and, it’s vegan! We do a lot of date-nights in these days, and this pasta has moved to the top of my list of menu options.
I don’t know about you, but decadent meals like this spicy vegan pasta always feel like they’re worthy of date-night in. With two young kids, we don’t always get a lot of time together but we can almost always make time for dinner on the weekends after the kids are in bed.
As this pasta is fairly easy to put together, I can get started on it while my husband tackles bedtime.
See below for more details, or scroll down to the full recipe.
Ingredient Notes
- Rigatoni: I really like rigatoni for this sauce as it’s hearty enough to soak up the sauce and the holes allow for the sausage bits to get inside. A penne would also work, or another tubular pasta shape.
- Onion and Celery: Sauting these aromatics until tender add in both flavor and texture. I know the celery sounds odd, but I don’t recommend skipping it.
- Fennel Seeds: Fennel is a classic sausage ingredient, and adding more fennel seeds really amplifies this flavor. You can get fennel seeds (not anise!) at most grocery stores or online.
- Cashew Cream: You can easily make cashew cream by blending together raw cashews and water (or broth) together until creamy. If you are new to cooking with cashews, trust that this combination makes for the most silky, luxurious cream sauce. Alternatively, you can use a dairy-free half and half.
- Vegan Sausage: See the notes below on what sausage I recommend for this spicy vegan pasta recipe, but know that most brands will work.
- Spinach: I like the added color that spinach adds, along with a little nutrition. You can sub in kale leaves, or you can omit it!
What Sausage is Best for This Recipe?
The secret to this recipe is using Beyond Meat’s new sausage offerings. No, this isn’t sponsored and I suppose technically you could sub in another sausage. However, there are a few things that I really love about the Beyond brand that I think it’s worth it for this meal. Impossible makes a good sausage too! I’m just partial to the taste of Beyond.
For one, their vegan sausages come with an edible casing! Perfect for grilling, they easily slip off to reveal sausage that can easily be broken down into crumbles. I’ve essentially taken a spicy sausage pasta recipe sans pork and dairy but NOT sans flavor.
For my non-vegan friends, I swear that you won’t be able to tell the difference. I made this for my family when I was home a few months ago, and even my sausage-loving sister had seconds.
I grab mine at Whole Foods, though they are in several retailers (store located here). I’ve written about this a few times over on Instagram, but I don’t stress that these sausages are higher in fat than other plant-based protein options.
Tips for Success
Last thing! This recipe calls for cashew cream, which is my plant-based version of heavy cream. Depending on the power of your blender, it may require some advance soaking.
If I’m in a rush (99% of the time), then I will throw boiling hot water over my cashews to quick soak for 10 minutes, then drain and puree. I’m using a BlendTec blender, which is fairly high-powered and has no problem creaming the cashews after a quick soak. If you’re using a lower-powered blender, then I’d recommend soaking the cashews for at least an hour ahead of time.
That’s it! Hope you enjoy this spicy vegan pasta as much as we did. It’s INCREDIBLE!
More Vegan Pasta Recipes
- Tomato Basil Pasta
- Spicy Tomato Pasta Penne
- 20 Minute Vegan Pasta
- The Best Vegan Lasagna
- Vegan Pumpkin Bolognese
If you try this recipe, make sure to come back to rate it and leave a review. Your feedback helps other readers and seeing you make my recipes makes my day.
Spicy Vegan Pasta with Sausage
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb. rigatoni pasta, with 2 cups reserved pasta water (after the pasta is cooked)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 package vegan sausage, casings removed and roughly chopped** (see notes for recommendations)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, crushed
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1 cup white wine or vegetable broth
- 1 cup cashew cream, from 3/4 cup raw cashews* (see notes)
- 2 cups chopped spinach
- 1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon salt
- red pepper flakes, for topping
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the rigatoni and cook according to package directions. Drain, reserving 2 cups of starchy pasta water.
- Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until very soft, about 10-15 minutes. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until browned and crispy.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and add in the garlic, fennel seeds and tomato paste. Saute until the paste is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add in the wine (or broth) and cook, scraping the bottom of the pot to get the browned pieces of sausage that have stuck to the pain. Cook until reduced, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add in the cashew cream, spinach and 1/2 cup reserved pasta water. Let simmer for 5 minutes and add in the salt to taste. I usually start with 1/2 teaspoon and then add in more as needed– note that adding in more pasta water will also add in more salt.
- Add in the cooked pasta to the sauce and add a little reserved pasta water at a time, stirring to incorporate, adding as much pasta water as needed to let the sauce cling to the noodles. Stir in red pepper flakes, if desired, and serve.