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Full of hearty texture and nutritious ingredients. Vegan Cheesy Chili Pasta is, cheesy filling and the whole family will love it. Loads of veggies and flavor in each bite. You won’t even noticed it has no meat or dairy!
Why You Need this Chili Pasta.
it is so hearty and filling. Meat lovers enjoy this recipe! My husband loved this recipe and didn’t miss the meat! You can incorporate seasonal squash. I like butternut squash but you can use acorn or any firm squash if needed. This chili pasta is plant based and can easily be made gluten free with gluten free pasta.
I love chili and I love mac and cheese, but I like to eat as healthy as I can, even with comfort foods. So, I added lots of veggies and cut out loads of fat with this plant based version. Trust me, you wont miss the beef, and you won’t miss the cheese!
What You Need To Make Chili Pasta.
Canned Beans. I call for 2 cans of 15 oz beans. Dark red kidney and pinto or light red kidney. You can use black beans as well if you would prefer.
Butternut Squash. This adds a great texture, color and it’s a great way to boost your potassium.
Zucchini. You can also add summer squash if wanted. Chopped.
Onions. I use yellow or white onions. Chopped
Garlic. Fresh always offers the best flavor!
Canned diced or crushed tomatoes. This is for the chili sauce and flavors.
Pasta. I prefer shells or elbows for this recipe.
Seasoning. chili powder, smoked paprika, ground cumin, oregano, salt, garlic powder.
Nutritional Yeast. This is the cheesy flavor for the cashew cheese.
Cashews. The cashew cheese base. Raw works best.
Water. To make the cashew cheese and for the chili mixture.
Optional Fresh toppings: Cilantro, avocado, tortilla chips or vegan sour cream.
How To Make Chili Pasta.
Step 1. Chop all of your veggies into equal bite sized pieces and place into a large dutch oven or skillet in oil over medium/high heat. Heat a large pot over medium-low heat and add the olive oil. Stir in the onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until the onions soften, about 4 minutes. Add the chopped butternut squash, zucchini and beans (be sure to drain all the liquid from the beans and rinse before adding. Add canned tomatoes, water and simmer on medium/low for about 10 minutes
Step 2: Start to cook your pasta according to the package. Once pasta is cooked add to the chili and remove from heat.
Step 3. Make your cashew cheese. Make sure you read the instructions carefully. A high speed blender will work best with getting a creamy cashew cheese.
Tips For Chili Pasta.
You can make this chili pasta for meal prep. This pasta can be frozen in an airtight container or ziplock for up to 3 months. Simply defrost and microwave when ready to eat. Add a few tbsp to the bowl to keep things moist and cook properly.
You can refrigerate this meal for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
You can use store bought vegan queso if you’d like to make this easier.
Use any beans you would prefer, I enjoy kidney beans most.
Make this recipe gluten free by using gluten free pasta substitutes.
Other Recipes To Try.
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Vegan Cheesy Chili Pasta
Ingredients
- 1½ cup chopped butternut squash , *raw
- 1 chopped zucchini, * about 1 medium zucchini
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ cup chopped white onion
- 1 15 oz can red kidney beans
- 1 15 oz pinto beans, *
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 14 .5 oz can crushed or diced tomatoes
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp dried crushed oregano
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 cup water
- 6 cups cooked pasta, *
Cashew Cheese (vegan)
- 1 cup raw, unsalted cashews
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- ¼ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp oregano
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp salt , *
- 2 cup water
Instructions
- Chop all of your veggies into equal bite sized pieces and place into a large dutch oven or skillet in oil over medium/high heat. Heat a large pot over medium-low heat and add the olive oil. Stir in the onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until the onions soften, about 4 minutes. Add the chopped butternut squash, zucchini and beans (be sure to drain all the liquid from the beans and rinse before adding. Add canned tomatoes, water and simmer on medium/low for about 10 minutes
- Start to cook your pasta according to the package. Once pasta is cooked add to the chili and remove from heat. Make your vegan cashew cheese.
Vegan Cashew Cheese
- Put cashews in 1 ½ cup of water. Microwave for 1 minute. Let them cool completely. Microwave again for 1 more minute and then add all the warm water, cashews, garlic, chili powder, salt, nutritional yeast into a vitamix or high-speed blender.
- Blend. Add leftover ½ cup of hot water as needed to get to desired texture. I prefer mine thinned enough to spread and mix. Drizzle cashew cheese over chili pasta and serve immediately. Add fresh garnish; cilantro, avocado, tortilla chips or vegan sour cream if preferred.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was really good. We used shredded cheddar since we aren’t vegan and only vegetarian it was really really good we finished it in two days.
Thank you so much for taking the time to come let me know I’m so glad you enjoyed