This completely plant-based pasta dish is packed with vegetables and features a bolognese-like sauce made with mushrooms and walnuts. The recipe can be halved and made in an 8 x 8 baking dish if you wish to make a smaller number of servings but this dish reheats well and we bet you’ll be happy with the leftovers!
1 lb pasta of choice*
8 oz California walnuts
8 oz baby Bella mushrooms
32 oz low sodium marinara sauce
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chopped kale, stems removed
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tbsp olive oil
7 oz package vegan shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
* You can use regular, whole wheat, gluten free, or legume-based pasta. Rigatoni, penne, or rotini works best.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Bring large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta for 2-3 minutes less than package recommends. Drain and set aside in a large bowl.
In a food processor, pulse walnuts and mushrooms until they are finely chopped.
To the pasta, add walnut and mushroom mixture, marinara sauce, onion, garlic, kale, Italian seasoning, salt, and nutritional yeast and mix well until everything is incorporated.
Coat a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with olive oil and then add the pasta mixture. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
Remove foil, top with mozzarella and peas and bake for roughly 10 minutes, until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.