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Cajun Pasta with Sausage and Peppers

Nicole Vranjican
Bow-tie pasta, sautéed onions, bell peppers and vegan sausage tossed with a bold and zesty Cajun cream sauce.
5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Vegan
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb bow tie pasta
  • 3 vegan sausages I recommend Beyond Sausage Brats
  • 3 tbsp olive oil divided
  • 1 medium yellow onion
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 2 red bell peppers
  • 2½ tbsp Cajun seasoning
  • ¾ tsp kosher salt I use Morton's
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ⅓ cup dry white wine
  • ¼ cup chopped parsley

Cream Sauce

  • ½ cup raw cashews
  • 1 cup full fat oat milk such as Oatly
  • 1½ tbsp nutritional yeast

Instructions
 

Prep

  • Place the cashews in a saucepan and cover with water. Boil for 15 minutes and then remove from the heat and continue soaking off to the side until ready to use.
  • While the cashews are boiling, dice the onions and peppers and set aside. Mince the garlic and chop the parsley and set aside.

Brown the Sausage

  • Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to the large frying pan and add the vegan sausages. Brown on all sides (about 5 minutes) and then slice into disks and set aside. 

Cook the Pasta

  • Next, bring a large stock pot of water to a boil and add a pinch of salt and the pasta noodles. Cook for one minute less than the package instructions tell you to for al dente pasta.
    Important: Before draining the pasta, ladle out 1.5 cups of the pasta water and set aside for now. This will be used for the sauce later on.

Cook the Veggies

  • Return the frying pan you used to cook the sausages to the stove and add the remaining olive oil and chopped onions. Cook on medium heat for 5-6 minutes or until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. 
  • Add the bell peppers and cook over low heat for 2-3 minutes. The add the Cajun seasoning and mix well to combine. Then add the white wine and cook until he liquid is mostly evaporated. 
    Turn off the heat and leave the pan on the stove.

Make the Cream Sauce

  • Drain the soaking water from the cashews and place the nuts in a blender with the oat milk and nutritional yeast and blend until smooth. Then add the cashew cream to the pan with the peppers and onions.Add salt and pepper, mix well and turn the heat to low. 

Assemble

  • Drain the pasta noodles and add to the pan with the veggies. Add 1 cup of the reserved pasta water and toss well to coat the pasta in the cream sauce. It will thicken nicely as it heats up.
  • Add the sliced sausages and chopped parsley and then taste. Add more salt and pepper as needed and serve!