Vegan Cheesy Baked Penne

There’s not much I love more than a comfort food casserole!

Cheesy baked pasta has always been one of my favorite meals, and this is the ultimate vegan version! The cheese sauce tastes like Wisconsin soft cheese, and Impossible meat is always fantastic. Plus, all you need for the tomato sauce is a jar of marinara, so it’s easy to customize the flavor (I use Arrabiata when I want some spice)!

I brought some of this over to my grandparents’ house, and the next text from my grandma was, “Yummy yummy yummy,” and, trust me – that’s just about the highest compliment a recipe could get!

Cheese Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups raw unsalted cashews
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp salt

Pasta Ingredients:

• 16 oz penne noodles
• 25 oz (1 jar) marinara sauce
• 0.75 lb vegan ground “beef”, cooked
• 2 cups vegan shredded mozzarella

Method:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F/190 degrees C, and lightly spray a 9×13 casserole dish with cooking spray.
• To make the cashew sauce, soak the cashews in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse, and add to a high-powered blender with the water. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and blend until smooth. Set aside.

• Cook the pasta according to the al dente instructions on the box, then add the cooked noodles to the baking dish.
• Pour the marinara sauce and vegan meat over the pasta, and stir to combine.
• Pour the cheese sauce into the baking sheet and stir to combine. Top with the shredded mozzarella.

• Bake for 25-30 minutes or until heated through. Enjoy & share!

Vegan Cheesy Baked Penne

This is one of my favorite comfort meals! It warms me from the inside out with flavors of vegan meat, cheese, tomato, and pasta.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Servings 8

Calories 548 kcal

Ingredients

  

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Cheese Sauce

• 1 1/2 cup cashews raw, unsalted
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp salt

Pasta

• 16 oz penne noodles
• 25 oz pasta sauce
• 0.75 lb impossible meat cooked
• 2 cups vegan mozzarella shreds

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F/190 degrees C, and lightly spray a 9×13 casserole dish with cooking spray.
• To make the cashew sauce, soak the cashews in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse and add to a high powered blender with the water. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and blend until smooth. Set aside.
• Cook the pasta according to the al dente instructions on the box, then add the cooked noodles to the baking dish.
• Pour the marinara sauce and vegan meat over the pasta, and stir to combine.
• Pour the cheese sauce into the baking sheet and stir to combine. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella, if desired.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes or until heated through. Enjoy & share!

Nutrition

Calories: 548kcalCarbohydrates: 65gProtein: 22gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gSodium: 1042mgPotassium: 908mgFiber: 7gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 384IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 37mgIron: 3mg

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