The best Vegan Cacio E Pepe

This vegan cacio e pepe pasta is covered in a delicious and comforting creamy sauce made from cashew nuts, nutritional yeast, and pepper. It’s simple to make and will satisfy every pasta lover.

Cacio e pepe is a traditional Italian pasta dish, that originates from Rome and translates to ‘cheese and pepper’. Here is our vegan take on this classic, without any use of cheese.

This vegan cacio e pepe has very few ingredients and is delicious and satisfying. The cashews provide a creamy base, while the nutritional yeast adds a cheesy, umami depth. Black and green pepper offers a subtle kick of heat. The creaminess and the spicy kick make it really satisfying and comforting, so much so, that we did not even think about missing parmesan as a topping.

This recipe for vegan cacio e pepe pasta requires minimal ingredients and effort while boasting a complex flavor.

If you love vegan creamy pasta, try our other similar recipes Easy Creamy Miso Mushroom pasta (Vegan) and Creamy Leek Pasta With Butter Beans (Vegan). If you want more plant-based pasta inspiration, see Easy Vegan Orzo Pasta (With Cherry Tomatoes And Butter Beans), Quick High protein vegan pasta (15 minutes), and Kimchi Udon with Peanut Butter.

Why you’ll love this vegan Cacio e pepe pasta

• Ultra creamy garlic – The soaked cashews provide a creamy velvety sauce that hugs every noodle. It’s cozy, comforting, and seriously satisfying.,
• Quick & easy – On the table in just 25 minutes (including the cashew soak!). Perfect for busy weeknights or lazy evenings.
• Simple ingredients, big flavor – Just a few of pantry staples come together to create something seriously delicious.
• Pleasantly peppery – A combination of black and green pepper gives it a subtle kick without overpowering the creaminess. It’s just the right amount of heat to cut through the creamy sauce and keep things interesting.

Ingredients

• Cashew nuts are naturally creamy when blended with liquid. Cashews are a popular ingredient in plant-based recipes, both sweet and savory. The cashew nuts production is largely non-ethical, therefore look for fair-traded ones if you can find them.
• Black pepper packs more heat and a strong familiar flavour.
• Green pepper balances the black pepper with fresh and fruity notes, without adding too much heat.
• Nutritional yeast contributes a savory, umami-rich flavor often described as cheesy.
• Lemon juice provides a bring, acidic counterbalance that cuts through the richness of the creamy cashew nut sauce.
• Sea salt will season the pasta while cooking and will deepen the flavor of the sauce.
• Water will help to get the sauce to the desired flavor.

Step by step process

Vegan pasta sauce

1. Soak the cashews in boiling water for 20 minutes. This will give the sauce a silky consistency. You’ll need enough water for it to reach about one cm, or half an inch, over the cashews. You can also soak them in room-temperature water for several hours.
2. When soaked, add the cashews, salt, water, nutritional yeast, and lemon to the blender. Blend for 3 minutes, watch your blender to not overheat and if needed pause in between.
3. Be patient when blending the sauce. Not blending it long enough will result in a grainy sauce.
4. Once the sauce is blended and without any lumps, add in ground black and green pepper. Save a little bit of the green pepper for garnishing the dish. The sauce should be quite liquid, as it will thicken up a little bit when you add to the pasta.

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Pasta

1. Boil the water for pasta. It’s important to generously salt the pasta cooking water, chefs would tell you that the water for cooking pasta should be so salty that it tastes like the sea, and they are 100-percent right. Pasta normally doesn’t contain salt and does not absorb the salt like veggies, so we need to add more to the cooking water.
2. Cook the pasta for the amount of numbers written on the package.
3. Drain the pasta. Save a little bit of the pasta sauce, in case the sauce needs to be thinned out.

Vegan cacio e pepe pasta assembly

1. Place the drained pasta back in the pan or pot, and add the cashew sauce on top.
2. Mix well, ensuring all the pasta is smothered with the delicious sauce.
3. Garnish with with green pepper.

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Storage tips

Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for two days. Be mindful that the pasta will absorb some of the sauce, which will result in slightly overcooked pasta. Likewise, when left to rest, the pasta will thicken. Therefore, when reheating the pasta, add a tablespoon or two of water in the pan with the pasta and heat up to a desirable temperature. 

If you love this vegan cacio e pepe recipe you’re also likely to enjoy these recipes:

• Creamy leek pasta with butter beans (Vegan)
• Creamy cabbage and leeks
• Easy creamy vegan burrata (with cashews and sunflower seeds)

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Vegan cacio e pepe pasta

Author: Darja

This vegan cacio e pepe pasta is covered in a delicious and comforting creamy sauce made from cashew nuts, nutritional yeast, and pepper. It's simple to make and will satisfy every pasta lover.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course High protein, Mains, Pasta

Cuisine Italian, vegan

Servings 2 people

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

• 1 Blender
• 1 Cooking scale
• 1 Medium cooking pan
• 1 Medium bowl

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 100 grams Cashew nuts measured when dry
• 1 teaspoon Green pepper
• Half teaspoon Black pepper
• 200 grams Water
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 2 tablespoons Nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
• 140 grams pasta

Instructions

 

Sauce

• Soak the cashews in boiling water for 20 minutes. You’ll need enough water for it to reach about one cm, or half an inch, over the cashews. You can also soak them in room temperature water for several hours.
• When soaked, add the cashews, salt, water, nutritional yeast, and lemon to the blender. Blend for 3 minutes, watch your blender to not overheat and if needed pause in between.
• Once sauce if blended and without any lumps, add in ground black and green pepper. Save a little bit of the green pepper for garnishing the dish. The sauce should be quite liquid, as it will thicken up a little bit when you adding to the pasta.

Pasta

• Boil the water for pasta. Generously salt the pasta cooking water, chefs would tell you to that the water for cooking pasta should be so salty that it tastes like the sea, and they are 100 percent right. Pasta normally doesn’t contain salt and does not absorb the salt like veggies, so we need to add more to the cooking water.
• Drain the pasta. Save a little bit of the pasta sauce, in case the sauce needs to be thinned out.

Vegan cacio e pepe pasta assembly

• Put the drained pasta back in the pan or pot, and add the sauce on top.
• Mix well, ensuring all the pasta is smothered with the delicious sauce.
• Plate your vegan cacio e pepe, and if you like, garnish with green pepper.

Notes

• Be patient when blending the sauce. Not blending it long enough will result in a grainy sauce.
• Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for two days. Be mindful that the pasta will absorb some of the sauce, which will result in a slightly overcooked pasta. Likewise, when left to rest, the pasta will thicken. Therefore, when reheating the pasta, add a table spoon or two of water in the pan with the pasta and heat up to desirable temperature. 

Nutrition

Calories: 566kcalCarbohydrates: 71gProtein: 22gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gSodium: 1178mgPotassium: 648mgFiber: 6gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 10IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 38mgIron: 5mg

Keyword cashew pasta sauce, plant based pasta, plant forward recipe, quick dinner, vegan cacio e pepe, Vegan pasta recipe