Vegan Cheezy Asparagus Lemon Pasta Bake

By GuidingVegan

Try this delicious Vegan Cheezy Asparagus Lemon Pasta Bake recipe.

Ingredients

• cashew cream:
• 5 cups cooked pasta, optional spirals
• 1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
• 1 bunch asparagus, chopped into one inch strips
• 1/4 - 1 cup vegan cheese, shredded (a white, provolone or jack cheese preferred)
• 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup cashews, raw
• 1/3 cup non-dairy plain milk
• 1 lemon, squeezed
• fold in:
• 4 lemon slices, thinly sliced and seeds removed
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 35mins
Adapted from kblog.lunchboxbunch.com

Preparation

Step 1

Cook your pasta. While the pasta is cooking, using a strainer, submerge your raw cashews in the boiling water for about a minute. This will help soften them.

Transfer drained, cooked pasta (steamy and hot) to a large mixing bowl. Add in the vegan cheese shreds and lemon zest from one lemon. Fold them in so they melt a bit. Set aside.

Sauté asparagus, mushrooms 3-5 minutes, add spinach to wilt.

In a food processer add all the cashew cream ingredients and blend until smooth and velvety.

Pour the cashew cream into the pasta bowl and toss everything well. tip: add a pinch of lemon zest too for extra lemon flavor!

Pour the pasta into a glass casserole dish. Add the lemon slices on top. Cover with foil. You can either place in the fridge to bake at a later time, or if serving right away, place in a 350 oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. This softens the pasta and allows the sauce to soak into the pasta and veggies.

Serve warm and steamy with those baked lemon slices as garnish. Fresh black pepper over top. Optional: add fresh basil as a spring garnish!