Vegan cacio e pepe made with roasted cashews, miso, and nutritional yeast is super creamy and flavorful. This classic pasta dish is great for a week night dinner because it's ready in under 30 minutes.
So much of the funky cheese flavor comes from the first step in this recipe, roasting your cashews. I like to pan roast them on the stovetop to speed up the process. This extra step releases their oils which helps when it comes to blending.
The other key to getting a creamy sauce for this vegan cacio e pepe is allowing the cashew sauce to sit for 15 minutes after their first blend. You're essentially soaking the broken down cashews so when you give it a second blend the result is a super creamy sauce.
While you're waiting, you'll sauté some garlic. Then you add the cracked pepper just after you take it off the heat to bring out even more flavor. Mix everything up and you have a new favorite pasta dinner!
Ingredient Notes
You will need these simple ingredients to make vegan cacio e pepe:
To make the cheese sauce you'll need cashews. Starting with raw cashews only adds a couple extra minutes to your prep time but it really adds to the freshness.
In addition to cashews, white miso and nutritional yeast add a funkiness to the sauce. Don't leave out these ingredients!
The true star is black pepper. You can use freshly crushed or ground pepper, though it will taste the best if you crush it yourself. Either way, blooming the pepper in hot oil makes the flavor pop.
The recipe card below includes the full list of ingredients + instructions.
How to Make Vegan Cacio e Pepe
- Cook spaghetti.
- Pan roast cashews.
- Process cashews.
- Blend cashew sauce.
- Crush pepper.
- Cook garlic and spices.
- Combine pasta with sauce.
Serving Ideas
To garnish, you can always add more freshly cracked pepper as well as some basil or chopped parsley. A sprinkle of some vegan parmesan made with sunflower seeds is great for extra cheesiness.
Add more bulk with nutritional yeast tofu or crispy roasted chickpeas. Mushroom bacon would also make for a delicious addition.
And for a little extra tang, sometimes I will add a splash of white wine vinegar or lemon juice.
I love to add a piece of bread on the side to sop up any extra sauce. For some green, kale salad or crispy smashed broccoli are great sides.
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Vegan Cacio e Pepe
Ingredients
- 6 ounces spaghetti
- ¼ cup raw cashews
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon white miso
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar optional
Directions
- Add water and salt to a medium sized pot. Bring to a boil and cook 6 ounces spaghetti according to the package instructions to al dente. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water and drain the rest.
- While the pasta cooks, preheat a pan to medium heat on the stovetop. Dry roast ¼ cup raw cashews for about 5 minutes or until they start to brown, stirring frequently.
- Add roasted cashews to a blender and process into a gravel mixture, fine like sand.
- Add ½ cup water, 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, 1 tablespoon white miso, and ½ teaspoon salt. Blend again. Let the cashew sauce sit for 15 minutes. Then process again until completely smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
- While your cashew sauce sits, heat a pan to medium. Then add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook 2 garlic cloves until fragrant and golden. Turn off the heat and add ½ teaspoon black pepper.
- Combine the pasta, cashew sauce, garlic, and pepper in the pot from cooking the spaghetti. Mix to combine and add a splash of the reserved pasta water as needed to create a creamy consistency.
- Taste and add 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, if desired for more tang. Garnish with more crushed black pepper.
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* The provided nutritional information is an estimate per serving. Accuracy will vary on specific ingredients and brands used.
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