Pasta – The Spicy Spatula

Cheese, French, International vegan cuisine, Pasta, Plant Based, Sauces & Creams, Vegan

Creamy Vegan French Onion Pasta

Posted on June. 2022June. 2022 by writinstuff

Anyone else have a serious carb addiction? Just me?

Okay.

Anyway…

I spend some of my time perusing the vegan food blogs for recipe ideas because as much as I am creative and well-traveled and experienced with new cultures, there are many, many times where someone else is more so. When that happens, I make an effort to defer to those know either know more or do it better. At least…somewhat.

So when I came across tons of vegan recipes for variations on French onion pasta, I was eager to try it, experiment with it and make it my own. Because that’s what we do as creatives, as vegans, as home cooks, as…humans.

Right?

This is a simple vegan recipe that also happens to be a 30-minute vegan recipe which in my eyes kind of makes it the gold standard of the perfect vegan weeknight dinner. The only thing is, this one was of my recipe requests which means that my partner, Cos, made it.

And it was simple, delicious and exactly what I wanted.

Creamy Vegan French Onion Pasta (tagliatelle)

Ready to get started?

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Grains, International vegan cuisine, Italian, Pasta, Sauces & Creams, Vegan

Easy Creamy Vegan Chicken Alfredo

Posted on May. 2022May. 2022 by writinstuff

Hello, my beautiful people. Today we have another quick and easy recipe because I am–still–knee deep editing Mustang Prairie so I can get it off to the editor as soon as possible. I promise not to skimp on details for this delicious weeknight vegan dinner, but I’m also not going to give you some long backstory on the recipe.

But there will be a short backstory, lol.

Does anyone watch Love After Lockup? Anyway someone suggested it and I decided to give it a shot this season and one of the former inmates blew off the girl that had been waiting for him for over a decade while he was in prison, to go to a strip club which isn’t the worst part of the story, if you can believe it.

His excuse? The strip club has “bomb ass shrimp alfredo”. Yep, you read that right. he blew her off for strip club alfredo, which is what I named this recipe in my Cronometer App but for reader, Google and SEO purposes, I’ve switched it up.

This is a quick and easy vegan recipe that doesn’t require soaked cashews, coconut cream or any of that. This is the perfect vegan dinner when you want something delicious that won’t take hours in the kitchen.

I promise.

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Bowls, Grains, International vegan cuisine, Italian, oil free vegan recipes, Pasta, Sauces & Creams, Vegan

Spicy Red Orzo & Vegan Feta ~ Easy Orzo Recipes

Posted on March. 2022March. 2022 by writinstuff

Sometimes you want pasta for dinner but you don’t really know what you want, which is exactly what happened to me the other night. We have pasta in the pantry. Always. All types and shapes of pasta, but that doesn’t make the decision any easier.

Looking for a new way to use broccoli? Check out this Pasta & Creamy Broccoli Sauce recipe!

So the other night The Hubs and I were both out of ideas for dinner. It was his turn to pick and didn’t know, which is usually something I enjoy because it means I get to choose what to make. But on this night I had no idea. I didn’t feel like anything in particular and I was just plumb out of ideas.

Until I spotted the bag of orzo in the pantry. It’s not something that’s widely available here in Romania so when Lidl had one of their specialty weeks–Greek week for this particular item–I knew I would find it.

So I grabbed a bag of mince, a mix of fresh and canned tomatoes, a chili pepper and then I was off to the races, as they say.

This spicy orzo with red sauce is full of flavor, easy to make and a great excuse to bust out the vegan feta cheese you just bought but refuse to eat with just a knife.

This is a quick and easy vegan meal that works especially well on those nights you don’t feel like making dinner or you have other things waiting for you. Enjoy!

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Italian, Pasta, Vegan

Easy Vegan Pasta Recipes ~ Vegan Sausage & Lemon Asparagus Pasta

Posted on March. 2022March. 2022 by writinstuff

Pasta is a staple in this house because when either one of us is feeling a little too lazy to be creative, pasta is one of our favorite go-to recipes. You can pair it with just about anything, like King Oyster Scallops. Take your favorite vegan meat alternative, sauce and vegetables and make some fabulous. It’s easy and almost always tasty, so I usually keep a few different types of pasta in the pantry.

Want something a little more creative? Try this Lemon Broccoli Pasta & Vegan Salmon recipe!

Another great thing about easy vegan pasta recipes? You can use all of your leftover vegetables so you don’t end up tossing them in the trash.

Today’s vegan recipe is easy, flavorful and oh so delicious you’ll make it every single time you have a few extra spears of asparagus.

The flavor in this dish packs such a punch that no one will ever believe this is a thirty minute vegan meal.

All the praise with just half the work, where do I sign up?

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Grains, International vegan cuisine, Italian, Pasta, Plant Based, Sauces & Creams, Vegan

Creamy Broccoli Sauce & Vegan Pasta

Posted on February. 2022February. 2022 by writinstuff

I am so excited about today’s vegan recipe, y’all. Maybe I’m just late to the game but I stumbled upon this Creamy Broccoli Pasta recipe online thanks to the beautiful and talented Gaz of Avant Garde Vegan. I made some adjustments because of course I did, but the spirit and flavor of the recipe is pretty much the same.

The great thing about a simple vegan recipe like this is that you can add as many greens as you want without compromising flavor, and the food processor still does most of the work. This was my first time having a vegan pasta dish like this but I was pleasantly surprised about the flavor and consistency of the sauce, and so was my husband.

You can have creamy vegan broccoli sauce without a few florets!

This vegan pasta recipe is quick and easy, and best of all you can change it up to change the flavor profile for a completely new taste.

Looking for more vegan pasta recipes? Try this Vegan Seafood Pasta recipe.

Let’s get to it, shall we?

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International vegan cuisine, Italian, Pasta, Plant Based, Sauces & Creams, Vegan

Spicy Vegan Red Sauce & Whole Wheat Fusili

Posted on January. 2022January. 2022 by writinstuff

Pasta night. One of the best nights of the week. You get carbs, which let’s face it, are amazing. You get veggies and if you’re a person who struggled to get more vegetables into your diet, homemade pasta sauce is definitely one way to get it. You get sauce, which is great. And you can take one simple vegan pasta recipe and tweak it until you have enough pasta recipes to last for months. Check out my recipe for Vegan Seafood Pasta for a new way to enjoy mushrooms and pasta! Or go with my Lemon Broccoli & Vegan Salmon Pasta recipe!

This go round, I went with something simple yet slightly different. Same red sauce only with a spicy twist. Next time I might add capers or olives or even corn to change it up a bit.

While this isn’t a one-pot dish, it is oil free and vegan, but I guess if you were determined enough it could become a one pot vegan recipe.

I know what you’re thinking, that you don’t have time to spend all night in the kitchen making your own pasta sauce. That’s what you think, and would be wrong. I’m not suggesting you go Old World Italian Nonna and boil your tomatoes and all of that, which would be awesome if you did. And if you know how, hit me up because I could definitely use some tips. I am merely suggesting that you reduce your sugar intake and guarantee you get more veggies–and thus more nutrients–in your system by doing it yourself.

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Cheese, International vegan cuisine, Italian, Pasta, Sauces & Creams, Vegan

Vegan Chicken Alfredo

Posted on January. 2022January. 2022 by writinstuff

Have I mentioned lately how much I love pasta and noodles? That I could eat it at least four times a week without getting sick of it even though I very easily and quickly get sick of dishes if I have them too often? Of course I have, it’s me we’re talking about!

I’ve already made a couple of different vegan alfredo sauces, one with lots of garlic and mushrooms and another with peas, chickpea alfredo sauce and vegan parmesan. Despite my love of pasta and alfredo sauce, I’ve made this dish again because I feel as if my vegan alfredo sauce gets better with every go round.

At first it was too think and clunky, then it was too watery. Whether I used a roux, processed tofu or early versions of mediocre vegan cheese, it was good but it wasn’t quite right. Thus began my Goldilocks method of perfecting my vegan alfredo sauce.

Today I kept it simple with this vegan chicken alfredo made with Naturli brand breaded schnitzel, which includes this particular dish in the easy vegan recipes column. Pop the schnitzel in the oven until crispy and sizzling, let it rest while you take care of everything else.

If you think making vegan alfredo sauce from scratch couldn’t possibly qualify as ‘easy’, think again. Even the recipe list on this bad boy is fairly simple.

Track Your Nutrition & Health Data with cronometer.com

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International vegan cuisine, Pasta, Plant Based, Potatoes, Sides, Vegan

Vegan Sides Great for Any Holiday Dinner

Posted on December. 2021December. 2021 by writinstuff

With the holidays right around the corner, many vegans will have a tough choice to make. Should I make a side diesh to bring to family dinner and risk that no one will eat it, or should I just show up and hope for something more to eat than salad and dinner rolls?

Not gonna lie, it can be a difficult choice, made much easier by everything else that’s going on. You could opt to stay home and still make enough food to feel a small army and thereby negating your need to cook for a few days.

Either way, I have a few options that are mostly easy, totally delicious and not too time consuming to make.

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Bowls, International vegan cuisine, Pasta, Sauces & Creams, Sides, Vegan

Vegan Seafood Pasta ~ King Oyster Scallops & Creamy Garlic Wine Pasta

Posted on November. 2021October. 2021 by writinstuff

Well I’ve finally done it. I have jumped on the bandwagon to try a dish that I have REALLY been looking forward to trying on my own, while all the vegan bloggers in the world have been able to try this dish. I’m not jealous or bitter, not at all, but I have to tell you that I was seriously stoked when my partner and I were strolling the produce section at Metro (Romania’s version of Costco) and what did I happen upon but King Oyster mushrooms!

Instantly I knew that this was my moment. My chance to see if these King Oyster vegan scallops were as tasty and amazing as they seemed.

They are. No, they’re not. They are better, but only if you’re not expecting for a mushroom to taste like a creature that lives in the sea.

But I did it. Yay, I frickin’ did it y’all!

There are two schools of thought–apparently–when it comes to making these vegan scallops. Some have advised slicing the mushrooms and marinating them overnight while others say that thirty minutes or more will suffice.

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International vegan cuisine, Italian, Pasta, Plant Based, Vegan

Spicy Vegan Tuna Puttanesca with Orecchiette

Posted on September. 2021September. 2021 by writinstuff

When it comes to pasta, my motto is, the more the better. That’s right. Despite my efforts to eat healthier over the years, the one thing I refuse to give up is carbs. I love spaghetti, mac & cheese, ramen, bread…all of it. But I’m also not afraid to add any of them to a bowl of raw veggies to balance it all out.

But I’ve recently discovered a brand of vegan tuna called Unfished, and you know that meant I needed a do over from my last vegan puttanesca dish!

There are a lot of variations on what it means to make a true puttanesca but this is a vegan food blog so we already know there won’t be any anchovies or other formerly living critters in this recipe, and that’s all right because that’s where the vegan tuna comes in.

This dish was pretty easy to make, especially if you already know the basics of building a good red sauce. Even if you don’t, you’ll find it easy…with a bit of prep work.

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