The Top 3 Ingredients To Always Have On Hand For Creamy Vegan Pasta Dishes

Whipping up delectable vegan pasta dishes can involve more than just tomato sauce and veggies. These days, you can make vegan versions of everything from lasagna to Gigi Hadid's tasty vodka pasta as long as you know which ingredients to replace (in this case, heavy cream with unsweetened coconut milk). But if you don't have much experience with plant-based cooking, finding the right components can sometimes feel like a guessing game.

To help point you in the right direction, we sought out a pro's opinion. According to Nisha Vora, New York Times best selling cookbook author of "Big Vegan Flavor," there are three main ingredients you'll want to always have on hand: raw cashews, extra firm tofu, and white or yellow miso. The first two are primarily helpful for lending texture to your sauces, while the latter gives your pasta a big flavor punch, but each of them can be jazzed up in their own ways. Let's dive into how you can incorporate all three ingredients into your vegan pasta recipes, and which dishes you'll want to use them in.

First up, if you want a creamy sauce that's as thick as its dairy-based counterpart, you'll want to have raw cashews on hand. These nuts are known for turning into everything from milk to cream (which you can use in at least 15 different ways), and all of their imitation dairy products have a rich texture. According to Vora, "When you soak [raw cashews] in water overnight (or a quick soak in boiling water), they plump up. Blend them with water or plant milk, and they become truly creamy, making them a fantastic choice for creamy vegan sauces."

If you don't want to wait for your nuts to soak overnight, you can let them sit in hot water for about 20 minutes. Then, toss them in the blender, as Vora suggests, with the rest of your ingredients. Cashew-based sauces tend to be perfect replacements for classic white sauces like Alfredo, although you can also incorporate some canned tomatoes to turn yours into a vodka version. For the former, though, blend your nuts with a plant-based milk, garlic, salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast to replace the parmesan cheese. To make your final product a little thicker, toss in some arrowroot powder as well.

Ricotta is a delectable ingredient in pasta recipes like our White Lasagna with Sausage, but it does contain plenty of dairy. For a vegan version, Vora recommends using extra firm tofu. "You can blend that up with a few seasonings like olive oil, salt, and nutritional yeast into a deliciously creamy tofu 'ricotta,'" Vora explained. Depending on which direction you want to take this in flavor-wise, you can also throw in some garlic, sauteed onions, lemon juice and zest, dried herbs, white miso, red pepper flakes, and chili powder. If your blender is having a little trouble processing everything smoothly, you can also incorporate a few tablespoons of water.

Once you've made your vegan ricotta, feel free to use it exactly how you would deploy a dairy-filled version. Add this savory vegan cheese as a stuffing or layer to lasagna, baked ziti, and cannelloni. Turn it into a lemon ricotta dish by blending it up with garlic, lemon juice and zest, more nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, onion powder, and a little pasta water. Or if you're in the mood to make homemade ravioli, mix it with herbs and lemon juice to create a delectable filling.   

While cashews and tofu can make fantastic vegan substitutes for the dairy-filled elements of a pasta dish, some ingredients should be added purely for flavor purposes. Such is the case with white or yellow miso paste. "Similar to nutritional yeast, this fermented soybean paste packs a punch of umami, and just a little can add a depth of savoriness to cheesy plant-based dishes," Vora said. Go for a white miso if you want a lighter, sweeter taste, or yellow if you prefer a more salty and acidic flavor. In general, you'll want to stay away from red miso, which has more complex notes and doesn't always work in pasta.

Once again, miso and nutritional yeast can be combined to make tasty vegan white sauces, but they'll look a little different than your average Alfredo. For a basic sauce, combine the two ingredients with plant-based butter, milk, garlic, lemon juice, and a little pasta water if needed. You'll want about 1-1½ tablespoons of miso. Feel free to either stop here or add in some canned tomatoes or tomato paste (just like we did with our cashew sauce) for a pink or vodka version. If you want some spice, throw in red pepper flakes, chili powder, or cayenne. And to really build on the miso's umami flavor, pair your sauce and pasta with veggies like mushrooms and peas.