Hi Vegetarian Carnivores! One of my favorite foods is pasta, if you didn’t already know. Pasta with red sauce, pasta with white sauce, pesto pasta, olive oil pasta. The list really just goes on. But since phasing out dairy, I have made it my life mission to recreate all the traditional comfort foods, in a hearty way that doesn’t compromise on ethics. I’m going to show you how to make this decadent creamy cheesy pasta. It is all vegan and made with pretty shelf stable ingredients that you can find at your local Whole Foods or Safeway. AKA: comfort food made easy during quarantine!
Oats
Now you might be thinking: “what the heck is a bowl of oatmeal doing in a pasta recipe? Janani has lost her marbles.” And to that I say “well yes, I have tried some pretty weird things in my culinary adventures, so you’re not wrong.”
But no, I am not putting oatmeal in my pasta. LOL
I am talking about oatmilk! Did you know you could milk oats? It’s true. Just like our list of vegan milks is getting longer every day with soymilk, pea milk, hemp milk, rice milk, flax milk, etc, oat milk is one of my top favorite types of milk. The brand that I use of Oatly, because they are ridiculously creamy and delicious.
This oat milk is literally my secret ingredient in this recipe. If you don’t have a full fat oat milk, you can feel free to sub out Ripple’s plain unsweetened pea protein milk or Silk’s full fat plain soymilk. Both are around the consistency we are looking for here and would result in a totally decadent creation!
The reason I like Oatly’s oatmilk is that it is fortified with DHA’s aka Omega 3 fatty acids (a somewhat hot commodity that many people could use more of) as well as Vitamin B12 (another hot commodity, regardless of whether you eat meat or not). Oatmilk is also pretty high in unsaturated fats, which are totally underrated in my opinion. So I like to get some oatmilk every day!
Also, oatmilk is just damn delicious, plain and simple. As someone who has been repulsed by the smell of cow milk from childhood (I would hold my nose and choke it down at my grandmother’s house. Seriously.), I find myself drinking oatmilk directly from the carton!
More Creaminess
I supplemented the creaminess in this dish and added a handful of vegan mozzarella. For this I used Daiya’s vegan shreds, but you can feed free to use Follow Your Heart, 365, Violife, or any vegan variety that is in your local store. We’re just going to use around half a cup to melt in and create the yummy cheese pull!
Ok enough chit chat. Let’s get cooking!
Ingredients
- 1 box any short pasta, cooked according to instructions. Do not drain and rinse.
- 2 tbsp oil
- 3 tbsp all purpose flour (can sub gluten free for this)
- 2 cups Oatly full fat oatmilk
- 1/2 cup vegan mozzarella, optional but recommended
- 2 tbsp red pepper flakes (can adjust according to spice preference)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Cilantro to garnish
- Vegan Parmesan, to garnish, optional
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large saucepan and add flour. Whisk well until well combined.
- Whisk in oatmilk, turning the heat to medium low. Combine well.
- Whisk in vegan mozzarella and melt completely.
- Add your garnishes: red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, cilantro, and vegan Parmesan.
- Mix in pasta directly from the starchy water. Mix well until thoroughly coated.
- Enjoy!
Results
This recipe was a spur of the moment inspiration, triggered by extreme cabin fever one day. I have been making so many pasta dishes and know that you will all love this one. You will not miss the dairy at all, I can assure you!
So try this out, and leave me a comment below with your thoughts!
See you soon!
Janani <3 <3
