A vegan Creamy Tomato One Pot Pasta, topped with tons of fresh sautéed vegetables. The highlight of this easy pasta recipe is the spicy tomato sauce highlighted with sweet sundried tomatoes. The perfect healthy busy-weeknight meal!
This post is sponsored by Fruit Bliss— a company committed to bringing healthy snack options to our kitchens. I only work with brands whose products I genuinely love. Thank you for supporting the brands that help keep Sunkissed Kitchen running!
Contents
How to Make Creamy Tomato One Pot Pasta
Have you ever made a one pot pasta?
I have to admit – I was skeptical to try them!
One Pot Pastas are made by simmering the pasta with other additions, like sauce components or veggies, so that the starch from the pasta is released into the water, thickening it and creating a sauce.
My favorite way to make one pot pastas is with a thicker sauce, like this Creamy Tomato One Pot Pasta. I uses soaked cashews along with tomatoes and tomato paste, to keep this recipe vegan and dairy free.
I love TONS of veggies with my meals, and while you can add the veggies in to cook along with the pasta (like I do here, in my Mediterranean One Pot Pasta), I prefer them to be lightly sauteed, and then mixed with the pasta in the final dish.
This meal is a great clean-out-the-veggie-drawer dish — if you always have pasta, canned tomatoes, and cashews in your cupboard, then you’re almost there!
Another staple in my cupboard lately? Fruit Bliss organic and non-GMO dried fruits, including their Tomato Halves.
Fruit Bliss takes pure fruit, NO SUGAR ADDED, dries it, and then rehydrates it with pure water, for soft fruit bites that are bursting with real fruit flavor.
The dried tart cherries are my fav for snacking, and I love having these tomatoes on hand to add pops of flavor to pastas and salads (have you seen my Pesto Zoodle Salad?).
Add whatever veggies you have on hand, and a healthy veggie-packed dinner is served.
The Best Gluten Free Pasta to Use
Traditional wheat pasta will definitely work in this recipe. If you need it to be gluten free, like I do, try to find a pasta made from corn, quinoa, or a chickpea pasta.
I strongly advise against using a brown rice pasta. When I first started trying to make one-pot pastas, I kept using a brown rice pasta and it resulted in thick inedible sludge!
Chickpea/lentil pastas work great here, but reduce the cooking time and the water.
How to Serve this Vegan One Pot Pasta
One pot pastas are meant to be quick dinners — meaning you can’t make this ahead of time and have it ready for when everyone comes home.
This is a meal to make when everyone is there, and everyone is hungry! Serve this pasta right after it finishes simmering, while it’s still really hot.
The pasta will continue to soak up the sauce, so the pasta will become overcooked if left in the pan while waiting to be served.
If you’re looking for a simpler recipe, make this pasta just with the sauce and the dried tomatoes (so much flavor!). Add a side salad or even some simple steamed broccoli, and you have an amazing, vegan pasta dinner ready in no time!
Creamy Tomato One Pot Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 8 ounce gluten free pasta *corn/quinoa blend recommended
- 1/3 cup cashews soaked overnight, or in hot water for 30 minutes
- 1 15 ounce diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes optional, if spicy pasta is desired
- 2 1/2-3 cups water
Sautéed Vegetables
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red onion sliced thinly
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 pound asparagus trimmed
- 1/2 pound broccolini trimmed
- 1 cup carrots peeled and sliced
- 1/2 cup Fruit Bliss Tomato Halves *sundried tomatoes
Instructions
- Soak cashews overnight. If you don't have time for this step, add boiling water on top of cashews, and soak for 30 minutes. Drain before using.
- Add soaked cashews, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, cumin, oregano, dried garlic, onion powder, and optional chili flakes, to a blender. Blend on high speed until very smooth. Set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, add olive oil, onions, and garlic. Saute for 5-7 minutes until just beginning to brown.
- Add the carrots, broccolini and asparagus (or desired veggies) to the pan, and saute for another 5 minutes, until tender. Set veggies aside.
- In the same pan, add 2 1/2 cups of water, the pasta, and the creamy tomato sauce. Stir together to keep the pasta from sticking.
- Simmer the pasta in the sauce for 12-14 minutes, until pasta is done to liking. Use the other 1/2 cup of water to thin out if necessary. I like the sauce on the thinner side, so I use the full 1/2 cup.
- Top the pasta with veggies and serve immediately -- the pasta will continue to cook in the sauce if it isn't served right away.
Video
Nutrition
Other One Pot Pasta Recipes:
I’d love to connect with you on social media! Find me on Facebook or Instagram where I post daily healthy eating and lifestyle inspiration.
This Creamy Tomato One Pot Pasta post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you make a purchase, I will receive part of the sale as a commission. This helps me continue to bring you lots of fresh and inspired recipes!
I’ve actually used Fruit Bliss sun dried tomatoes and they are chewy and sweet — love them in all types of preparations, but in your one pot pasta, they really shine. Great recipe!
Thanks Lisa! Adore it.
One pot pastas are the best! We made this over the weekend and it was SO delicious! Thanks for sharing!
I love one pot dinners! This is going on my need to make list!
I’ve never heard of Fruit Bliss, but this recipe makes me want to have their products stocked in my kitchen! Thanks a lot for sharing!
You do want their products stocked in your kitchen 🙂 I used their apricots and dried cherries in a Moroccan chicken dish this week — totally made it!
It was so creamy, I love the tomato flavor. delicious thank you!
Thanks for letting me know!
I love a one pot pasta dish and this looks like an easy weeknight meal.
Exactly!
Pasta dishes are my favorite, I love the use of cashews in this recipe!
I always have a big bag of cashews for creamy sauces and soups!
This sounds so easy and packed full of flavour! This is definitely my perfect weeknight meal! Need to give it a go!
Let me know if you do, Nathan! I’m already getting reports of people loving this dish!
I’ve never cooked dried pasta directly into the sauce, and now I’m wondering why not? – it makes so much sense! I love that this is all done in one pot as well. What a fab recipe!
Thanks Elizabeth! It is such an easy method and it makes the sauce wonderfully thick and creamy!
Yum this dish combines all my favourite things! PASTA, creaminess and one pot! Great recipe.
Thanks Rosa! I adore this recipe — so easy, and looks 5 star 🙂