Is it Spring yet because I think I have officially topped myself on easiest meals ever! I may be getting a little ahead of myself when it's clearly a little while lest until Spring, but I'm already sick of the cold!

Okay, I guess I should clarify that. If you were planning to hit a drive-through or pop a frozen dinner in the microwave then that is technically going to be an easier dinner. When I say easy I mean by the standard of someone who makes almost everything from scratch. I made this in under 45 minutes and it’s highly improvable!

I just really wanted to make a pasta recipe that still had lots of veggies and flavor, but didn’t dirty every dish in the kitchen. You know? Granted, this still uses a handful of dishes, but I guess I just really didn’t want to make a sauce that needed to be blended. I don’t know about you, but every time I use the blender for anything with garlic it seems like it takes forever to get the smell out. Not that garlic isn’t an amazing flavor, but it doesn’t fit into a smoothie, eww! So yeah, I used cashew butter instead of soaking cashews like many similar recipes call for. I also sometimes skip peeling cloves of garlic and just add extra garlic powder to speed things up just a little.

Anyway, this is a great go to for a hard monday night or a last minute weekend dinner. Also, if you’re feeling really fancy you should try making your own pasta noodles or buying fresh. I really like using fresh pasta from our local grocery store because it not only cooks faster but it tastes better. Don’t worry though, you can use dried if that’s what you have on hand. Oh, and as far as veggies go you can feel free to add what you like and switch it up. Lastly, I wanted any of you with a gluten allergy to know that this can be gluten free if you just replace the pasta. I really love using Banza noodles or maybe some red lentil pasta.

Creamy Spring Veggie Fettuccine

Dinner doesn't need to be complicated to be delicious. This fettuccine uses some pretty basic ingredients and lots of colorful veggies.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 6 -8 servings

Ingredients

1 pound uncooked fettuccine pasta you can replace with any shape gluten free pasta if needed
2 tablespoons olive oil divided
3 cloves garlic minced
1 small onion chopped
1 medium zucchini chopped
1 red bell pepper diced
1 yellow bell pepper diced
1/2 cup portabello mushrooms sliced
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup unflavored almond milk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons arrowroot starch or cornstarch
2 tablespoons cashew butter
4 ounces vegan "cream cheese" at room temp
1/2 cup coconut cream *see note
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
salt & black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

Boil noodles according to package instructions then drizzle lightly with 1 tablespoon olive oil and set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large (deep) skillet over medium heat and add garlic, onion, zucchini, and bell peppers. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes until softened then toss in mushrooms and continue cooking for 2 to 3 more minutes. Pour the veggies into a separate bowl and return pan to heat.
Whisk the starch and almond milk in a measuring glass and add to pan along with vegetable broth, thyme, nutmeg, garlic powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Simmer while stirring until it begins to thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Reduce heat to low and add lemon juice, cashew butter, "cream cheese", coconut cream, and stir gently until cream cheese is melted, Add nutritional yeast and season to taste with additional salt and pepper and stir again. Add pasta and veggies to pan and gently toss to distribute sauce evenly.
Serve hot.

Recipe Notes

If you have trouble finding coconut cream at your local grocery store it's completely fine to use full-fat coconut milk and scrape the cream off of the top. Just be sure that it's cold enough to separate.

ALL CONTENT IS MINE AND ORIGINAL! All of these food photos were taken with my Nikon D750 and my favorite Lens, the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G. You can find out more in my INTRO POST.

Also, a huge shoutout to @rigaronib for designing my logo!

If you're looking for more recipes check out some of my other recent posts!

1. Superbowl Snack - Southwest Egg Rolls + Ranch Sauce
2. The Fluffiest Chocolate Chip Pancakes
3. Creamy Mushrooms + Broccoli Gnocchi
4. Healthy Cocoa + Maca Bliss Balls
5. Bowl Style Sushi!

Also, check out my recap of last year

1. Recapping 2018 for Gringalicious - Part 1
2. Recapping 2018 for Gringalicious - Part 2
3. Recapping 2018 for Gringalicious - Part 3