This Lenten vegan pasta recipe loads veggies, protein, and healthy fats into a creamy roasted red pepper sauce!

vegan pasta recipe lent
vegan pasta recipe for lent

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This vegan pasta recipe is a great meal option for the Lenten season. I love how it sneaks all of the nutrients into the sauce! Looking at the dish, you wouldn’t know it contains superfoods like walnuts and hemp seeds. These ingredients are considered superfoods because they promote gut health and are a good source of healthy fats, fiber, and protein (Sources: Healthline article on Walnuts, Healthline article on hemp seeds). Adding to the roasted veggie base, cannellini beans, nuts, almond milk, and nutritional yeast give this vegan pasta recipe a creamy and nutty quality.

The recipe yields two jars of sauce, which is handy for meal prep. Store the extra batch of sauce in the freezer and a box of pasta in your pantry, and you will thank yourself in the future!

Read the recipe below, or jump to the recipe card. (The recipe card can be saved to Pinterest or printed!)

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Vegan Pasta Recipe: Cannellini Veggie Sauce

Ingredients  

  • 1 Box Pasta 
    • Note: Use the pasta of your choice! I used tri-colored pasta.
  • 2 Handfuls of Baby Spinach
  • 1 Can Cannellini Beans (No Salt Added or Reduced Sodium)
  • 3 Red Bell Peppers
  • 1 Yellow Onion
  • 2 Tablespoons Minced Garlic
  • 1/3 Cup Nutritional Yeast
  • 1/2 Cup Walnuts
  • 1 Tablespoon Hemp Seeds
  • 1/3 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
  • 1 Teaspoon Ground Pepper 
    • Note: All spice amounts are estimates! I just add what feels right.
  • 1 Tablespoon Red Chili Flakes 
    • Note: Red chili flakes make it spicy. If you like spicy, add a lot. If you don’t like spicy, keep it minimal. We love spice, and I think this ingredient adds a lot to the flavor!
  • 1 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
  • 1 Teaspoon Garlic and Herb Blend
  • 1 Teaspoon Italian Blend

Instructions 

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Chop up the red peppers and onion into chunks.
  3. Toss the red pepper and onion chunks, minced garlic, and ground pepper around on the cookie sheet in a light coating of olive oil.
  4. Bake for 25 minutes. Once cooked, set aside and let the veggies cool. (It is dangerous to put hot/warm ingredients in your blender.)
  5. Cook your pasta in the pot and strain your pasta in the strainer. Reserve a mug of pasta water for the sauce. Drizzle a little olive oil on the pasta while in the strainer and mix it around. This will prevent the pasta from sticking together.
  6. Moving back to the sauce, add all of the ingredients (minus the pasta and baby spinach) to your blender. Blend on high until a smooth sauce forms.
  7. Pour small amounts of reserved pasta water into the sauce until it reaches your desired consistency.
  8. Using the pot you cooked the pasta in, coat the bottom of the pot with a thin layer of pasta water. Heat on low/medium and add in the spinach and cooked pasta. Pour in half the amount of the sauce from your blender. (Save the other half of your sauce for the freezer.)
  9. Once all heated up and mixed together, enjoy! Serve with a sprinkle of red chili flakes and ground pepper.

Recipe Video

Recipe Card

vegan pasta recipe for lent

Vegan Pasta Recipe: Cannellini Veggie Sauce

This Lenten vegan pasta recipe loads veggies, protein, and healthy fats into a creamy roasted red pepper sauce!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 4 Servings of Pasta (2 Jars of Sauce)

Equipment

  • 1 Blender
  • 1 Medium/Large Pot
  • 1 Cookie Sheet
  • 1 Large Strainer
  • 1 Cutting Board
  • 1 Chopping Knife
  • Utensils and Measuring Cups

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Box Pasta Use the pasta of your choice! I used tri-colored pasta.
  • 2 Handfuls of Baby Spinach
  • 1 Can Cannellini Beans (No Salt Added or Reduced Sodium)
  • 3 Red Bell Peppers
  • 1 Yellow Onion
  • 2 Tablespoons Minced Garlic
  • 1/3 Cup Nutritional Yeast
  • 1/2 Cup Walnuts
  • 1 Tablespoon Hemp Seeds
  • 1/3 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

Spices

  • 1 Teaspoon Ground Pepper Note: All spice amounts are estimates! I just add what feels right.
  • 1 Tablespoon Red Chili Flakes Red chili flakes make it spicy. If you like spicy, add a lot. If you don't like spicy, keep it minimal. (We love spice, and I think this ingredient adds a lot to the flavor!)
  • 1 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
  • 1 Teaspoon Garlic and Herb Blend
  • 1 Teaspoon Italian Blend

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350F.
  • Chop up the red peppers and onion into chunks.
  • Toss the red pepper and onion chunks, minced garlic, and ground pepper around on the cookie sheet in a light coating of olive oil.
  • Bake for 25 minutes. Once cooked, set aside and let the veggies cool. (It is dangerous to put hot/warm ingredients in your blender.)
  • Cook your pasta in the pot and strain your pasta in the strainer. Reserve a mug of pasta water for the sauce. Drizzle a little olive oil on the pasta while in the strainer and mix it around. This will prevent the pasta from sticking together.
  • Moving back to the sauce, add all of the ingredients (minus the pasta and baby spinach) to your blender. Blend on high until a smooth sauce forms.
  • Pour small amounts of reserved pasta water into the sauce until it reaches your desired consistency.
  • Using the pot you cooked the pasta in, coat the bottom of the pot with a thin layer of pasta water. Heat on low/medium and add in the spinach and cooked pasta. Pour in half the amount of the sauce from your blender. (Save the other half of your sauce for the freezer.)
  • Once all heated up and mixed together, enjoy! Serve with a sprinkle of red chili flakes and ground pepper.
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