GF and DF Quinoa Pasta Recipe

My Epic Quinoa Pasta Recipe for an Easy Weeknight Dinner!

Hey friends! I’m back again to share with you an extra special quinoa pasta recipe today. This is an epic marinara pasta that I make all the time with my girlfriend Milena! This is one of our go-tos for a weeknight dinner in, and combines all the Italian flavors I love into a one-pot meal. We’re upping the game with a dairy-free parmesan cashew “cheese”, and using a GF quinoa pasta to make this recipe completely gluten free. You can customize this recipe with your favorite dairy or dairy alternative if you want, and go to town on the spices in the sauce, from basil to oregano.

Let me know in the comments which pasta dish is your favorite to make, and get the full recipe below!

What makes this quinoa pasta recipe so healthy?

We’ve taken a typically heavy meal — pasta — and made the sauce the hero. It’s super flavorful but comes together in minutes, coats the pasta beautifully, and doesn’t require any blending or puréeing like many plant-based sauces do!

The quinoa pasta gives you an extra boost of protein without being too heavy, and the sauce is loaded with vitamins and minerals from the tomatoes. Tomatoes are helpful in reducing risk of heart disease and cancer, and contain lots of vitamin C, potassium, folate and vitamin K.

The nutritional yeast we’re using in this one is a great source of B12, which is a vitamin that is lacking in many of our diets! It is a vitamin naturally made by bacteria in the soil, but when vegetables come from depleted soil the B12 content is lower. So this helps you get that boost of a very important vitamin, but also provides a delicious cheesy taste without adding any dairy.

What makes this quinoa pasta recipe easy?

This quinoa pasta recipe is made in minutes, and when I say minutes I mean it! While the pasta cooks you can blitz up your cheese and assemble your sauce, which is a pan sauce. This one is great if you’ve just got a couple of minutes on hand at the end of a long day and want something simple and comforting.

Don’t forget to save some of the pasta water to make the sauce stick even better to the pasta once it’s drained. Serve it with your favorite greens or roasted veg and you’ve got a nutritionally dense and delicious meal on the table in 10 minutes!

Dairy-free and GF Quinoa Pasta Recipe

Ingredients:

1 package of quinoa pasta (about 4oz)

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 15-oz cans crushed tomatoes

1 cup raw chasews

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 stalks fresh roasemary

2 cloves garlic

Sea salt

Black Pepper

Method:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add 1-2 Tbsp sea salt, followed by your pasta. Cook for 8 minutes.

2. In a large skillet, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil until shimmering. Add 2 cloves smashed garlic, a pinch of salt, 2 stalks of fresh rosemary leaves, and another drizzle of olive oil to fully coat the pan.

3. Cook until garlic is soft and golden brown, then add 2 cups crushed tomatoes and their juices. Stir to combine, then add salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat.

4. In a food processor, blitz nutritional yeast and cashews until you have a coarse powder. Set aside.

5. Once pasta is cooked, reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. Drain pasta and add it to the pan with the sauce. Stir to fully combine. Add a bit of pasta water to help everything come together (about 1/4 cup or more if needed).

6. Serve family-style, topped with cashew cheese and fresh black pepper.