Creamy Walnut Pasta
Nourishing, comforting and oh-so-delicious toasted walnut pasta. This dish is a real crowd-pleaser; it takes less than 20 minutes to make and is bursting with nutty flavor! So creamy and luscious; tastes a little bit decadent, but it’s actually really light and healthy. It’s also 100% plant-based and can be easily made gluten-free, oil-free or paleo.
Ingredients
PASTA
- 4 servings of whole-grain or GF pasta, 12 ounces – 340 grams
WALNUT SAUCE
- 1 cup walnuts
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¾ cup water
- 1 Tbsp coconut nectar or maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp olive oil, omit if you are on an oil-free diet
- 1 Tbsp coconut aminos
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp ground coriander
TO SERVE
- 3 Tbsp toasted walnuts, finely chopped
- 3 Tbsp chopped chives
- 2 cups steamed broccoli, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F / 180 °C.
- Cook pasta according to instructions. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining it. This is a great trick; the starchy water will add a beautiful silkiness to the sauce.
- While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce. Place walnuts and garlic cloves (unpeeled) in a baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Be sure to check the walnuts a couple of times, they burn easily. Remove the walnuts when toasted. Check the garlic cloves, they should be a little soft, if not, cook them for a few more minutes. Remove and cool down.
- Place walnut, garlic cloves (peeled) and the rest of the sauce ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Pour the sauce into a large pan and heat over medium heat until nice and warm.
- Add the cooked pasta and stir for another minute, if the sauce gets thick, add some of that reserved pasta water, a little bit at a time, until smooth and silky (you won’t need the whole cup, just a little).
- Serve immediately and top with more walnuts and chopped chives. You can also add some steamed broccoli, it tastes so good with this sauce.
- Enjoy this heavenly meal!