Recipe of the day: Meat-free Monday vegan carbonara

This plant-based twist on the classic dish features rich cashew sauce, smoky mushrooms, and flavourful garlic, delivering all the comfort of traditional carbonara while being entirely meat-free and packed with wholesome ingredients. Enjoy!

Vegan carbonara:

• Prep: 10 minutes, plus soaking overnight

• Cook: 20 minutes

• Serves 4

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Ingredients

• 1 punnet white mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 45 ml (3 tbsp) avocado or olive oil
• 2.5 ml (½ tsp) smoked paprika
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 300g spaghetti
• 65g (½ cup) cashews, soaked overnight in water
• 1 small avocado, peeled and stoned
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 22.5 ml (1½ tbsp) nutritional yeast
• 22.5 ml (1½ tbsp) lemon juice
• 1.5 ml (¼ tsp) paprika
• Fresh parsley, for serving

Method:

Mix in the mushrooms and serve immediately, garnished with parsley.

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Toss the mushrooms, oil, smoked paprika and seasoning in a medium bowl.

Arrange mixture on paper-lined baking sheet and bake for 7 to 8 minutes. Flip the mushrooms and continue baking about 7 to 8 minutes more, until mushrooms are crispy and brown. Cool mushrooms on a baking sheet.

Cook pasta according to instructions on the packet. Drain and reserve 250ml (1 cup) of the pasta cooking water when draining the pasta.

For the sauce, combine cashews, avocado, garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, pepper, salt, and paprika in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy, adding in a little of the reserved pasta water, if necessary, to moisten the sauce.

Toss the pasta with the sauce and stir until pasta is well-coated.

Supplied by: Avocado.co.za

Meat-free Monday Vegan Carbonara

This plant-based twist on the classic dish features rich cashew sauce, smoky mushrooms, and flavorful garlic, delivering all the comfort of traditional carbonara while being entirely cruelty-free and packed with wholesome ingredients. Enjoy!

• Author: Avocado.co.za
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Category: Lunch, Dinner
• Method: cook
• Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• • 1 punnet white mushrooms, thinly sliced

• • 45 ml (3 tbsp) avocado or olive oil

• • 2,5 ml (½ tsp) smoked paprika

• • Salt and pepper, to taste

• • 300 g spaghetti

• • 65 g (½ cup) cashews, soaked overnight in water

• • 1 small avocado, peeled and stoned

• • 3 cloves garlic, chopped

• • 22,5 ml (1½ tbsp)nutritional yeast

• • 22,5 ml (1½ tbsp)lemon juice

• • 1,5 ml (¼ tsp) paprika

• • Fresh parsley, for serving

Instructions

1. Mix in the mushrooms and serve immediately garnished with parsley.
2. Preheat oven to 200°C.
3. Toss the mushrooms, oil, smoked paprika and seasoning in a medium bowl.
4. Arrange mixture on paper-lined baking sheet and bake for 7 – 8 minutes. Flip the mushrooms and continue baking until mushrooms are crispy and brown about 7 – 8 minutes more. Cool mushrooms on baking sheet.
5. Cook pasta according to instructions on the packet. Drain and reserve 250 ml (1 cup) of the pasta cooking water when draining the pasta.
6. For the sauce, combine cashews, avocado, garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, pepper, salt, and paprika in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy, adding in a little of the reserved pasta water, if necessary, to moisten the sauce.
7. Toss the pasta with the sauce and stir until pasta is well-coated.