This delicious, creamy penne pasta has been a favorite of mine since the first time I made it and is a huge staple in my house. I pretty much make some version of this every week use up any veggies in the fridge I might need to get get rid of. That’s what so great about pasta is that it can be so versatile! Feel free to switch up this recipe and add any other veggies you might have on hand like olives, broccoli, squash or zucchini. The possibilities are endless!
Below is a step-by step walkthrough of how to prepare this pasta dish, with a full recipe summary and measurements at the bottom of the page.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to duplicate this recipe, but feel free to substitute the pasta or add any veggies of your choice:
- 1 box penne pasta
- cherry or grape tomatoes
- bell pepper
- onion
- garlic
- mushrooms
- spinach
- diced tomatoes
- tomato paste
- soy milk
- nutritional yeast
- crushed red pepper flakes
- Italian seasonings
- salt/pepper
Step 1:
Boil a large pot of water and cook pasta according to package. Make sure to set aside 1 cup of the cooked pasta water before straining! Also, feel free to substitute any kind of pasta you prefer if you don’t want penne.
Step 2:
Gather your veggies and get chopping! Mince the garlic, slice the cherry (or grape) tomatoes in half, and chop the onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, and spinach. Just give them a rough chop. We will be blending the sauce at the end, so no need to worry about chopping them perfectly.
Step 3:
Next, heat a small amount of olive oil in a large pan and add the onions, then garlic and sauté for about 3 minutes.
Step 4:
Next up, add the tomatoes, bell pepper, and mushrooms, Italian seasonings, crushed red pepper flakes, and salt/pepper and sauté for another 6-7 minutes.
Pro tip: Adding the dry seasonings at this stage helps to reawaken them and boost the flavor profile.
Step 5:
Once the veggies have cooked down and are nice and tender, transfer them to the pot you used to cook the noodles (or straight to blender if you don’t have an immersion blender) and add the reserved pasta water, soy milk, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and nutritional yeast.
Step 6:
Blend with immersion blender then simmer for 10 minutes.
Step 7:
Add pasta and spinach to sauce and cook just another minute or so, until spinach has wilted.
Viola! There you have it. You’ll never want to make boring old spaghetti and marinara again. I really do hope you enjoy this recipe! If you do, share it with a friend and leave a comment down below. I love to hear your feedback!
Creamy Penne Pasta
Ingredients
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper chopped
- 5 oz. cherry tomatoes halved
- 4 mushrooms chopped
- 2 cups spinach
- 2 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1 cup soy milk
- 1 box penne pasta
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- salt/pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package instructions. Once pasta is done cooking, set aside 1 cup of pasta water and drain the rest.
- In a large pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil and add onions and garlic and sauté for 3-4 minutes.
- Add bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, Italian seasonings, crushed red pepper, and salt/pepper. Sauté another 6-7 minutes.
- Transfer sauteed veggies to pot and add cooked pasta water, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, soy milk, and nutritional yeast and blend with an immersion blender until smooth and creamy.
- Simmer sauce for at least 10 minutes.
- Pour pasta into pot with sauce, add spinach, and heat just another minute or so, until spinach has wilted.
