Well, I must say! This is one Cheesy Meatless Vegan Pasta among my healthy vegan recipes that all of my family likes. Hooray for me!
You know my family is not vegan and they shun anything without meat. So when my family likes it, you know it has to be good.
This one’s a winner, in more ways than one:
- I love that I can make it for my family and they love it.
- I love that I can make it for friends (it’s very guest worthy) and they, too, love it.
- I love that I can make this ahead, which makes for less to do on the day of entertaining.
- This pasta dish also freezes well. You could do the preparations up to the baking point. Thaw and on the day of serving, pop into the oven for the required cooking time.
- And, I love that it has that meat and cheese taste that is so familiar to many of us who spent most of our lives eating the Standard American Diet.
It’s made with Veggie Crumbles that resemble meat in case you’re not familiar with it.
These meatless crumbles come in several brands.
This is Yves Veggie Ground which is NON-GMO. Important point to consider. No cholesterol and fat either.
There is also this one. Once in the dish, you really can’t tell the difference between the crumbles and real meat. Many non-vegans have eaten this dish in my home and no one knows. I never tell them until they’ve eaten it and then they’ve had a pleasant surprise.
This non-dairy cheese is really good for company and special occasions because it has that familiar cheesy taste. Although, I wouldn’t make a steady diet of it, here is the non-dairy cheese.
Enjoy! And thanks for visiting my healthy vegan recipes site.
Cheesy Meatless Vegan Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 packages Veggie Ground or Non Meat Crumbles
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (28-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons each: Italian seasoning, basil, oregano
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 jars sliced mushroom (or fresh if you prefer)
- 1 1/2 packages Dairy free cheese
- 2 pounds Fusili or Rotelle pasta or elbow macaroni or pasta of your choice
Instructions
- Sauté onion and garlic in a bit of water
- Add meat crumbles and break up with a fork
- Add tomatoes, water, sauce and seasonings
- Bring to boil, then turn to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes
- Stir in mushrooms
- Cook pasta in salted, boiling water until not quite done, stirring constantly so it doesn’t stick together, about 5 minutes or so. (Pasta will continue to cook in the oven). Drain well
- Add pasta to meat crumble mixture. Stir well
- Add 1 package of the non-dairy cheese and mix well
- Turn mixture into a 10 x 15 inch baking dish. Sprinkle remaining non-dairy cheese over top of casserole. At this point you can refrigerate, OR if you are serving on the same day you are preparing this, you may bake it now
- Bake at 350º about 30 – 45 minutes or until heated through