Pasta with all the creamy comfort of spinach artichoke dip? Sign us up! This comforting, veggie-filled dish comes together with simple methods and just 10 ingredients. It’s a weeknight dream!
Bonus? This crowd-pleasing recipe is vegan, optionally gluten-free, and packed with vitamins and minerals (C, K, folate, iron, potassium, and more!). Let’s make pasta!
This creamy pasta party kicks off with cooking your favorite pasta and (quickly!) soaking cashews to soften them and ensure a more neutral flavor.
While you wait, there’s time to chop the shallot, garlic, and artichoke hearts and then blend up the cashews with lemon, salt, and nutritional yeast to create a “cheesy,” creamy sauce.
When your pasta is done cooking, you can use your now-empty pasta pot (yay, fewer dishes!) to sauté the shallot, garlic, artichoke hearts, and spinach. This enhances their sweetness and removes some moisture for best flavor!
Finish it off by adding your cooked pasta and the creamy cashew sauce, and stir it all up. And for an extra delicious final touch, garnish with vegan parmesan cheese and spicy red pepper flakes. Dinner is served!
We hope you LOVE this spinach artichoke dip pasta! It’s:
Creamy
Saucy
Garlicky
Veggie-packed
Easy to make
& SO delicious!
With 17 grams of protein per serving, it’s a comforting, plant-based meal all on its own! It would also pair well with roasted asparagus or Brussels sprouts, or grilled chicken or shrimp if not vegan/vegetarian.
More Weeknight Pasta Recipes
- Creamy Vegan Pink Pasta (30 Minutes!)
- Easy 1-Pot Vegan Spaghetti
- Lemon & Garlic Pasta with White Beans
- Easy Pesto Pasta Bowls with Crispy Tofu & Veggies
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo @minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Creamy Vegan Spinach Artichoke Pasta (1 Pot!)
Ingredients
SAUCE
- 3/4 cup raw cashews, soaked
- 3/4 cup water (or reserved pasta water from cooking pasta)
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
PASTA
- 8-10 oz. dry pasta (gluten-free as needed // we like Jovial penne // or a legume-based pasta like Banza for more protein)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 3/4 cup diced shallot (2 medium shallots yield ~3/4 cup or 105 g // or sub red onion)
- 4 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (14 oz.) can artichoke hearts in water, drained, finely chopped
- 1 (5 oz.) package baby spinach (5 oz. yields ~7-8 cups)
- 1 healthy pinch each sea salt and black pepper (plus more to taste)
FOR SERVING optional
- Vegan parmesan cheese
- Red pepper flakes (for heat)
Instructions
- SOAK CASHEWS: Add cashews to a heatproof bowl and cover with hot water by at least 1-2 inches. Soak for ~20 minutes.
- PASTA: Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add the pasta and cook according to package instructions.
- While pasta is cooking and cashews are soaking, chop the shallot, garlic, and artichoke hearts. Set aside.
- SAUCE: Drain the cashews and add them to a high-speed blender (or small blender) with all remaining sauce ingredients: water, lemon juice, salt, and nutritional yeast (optional). Blend until smooth and creamy — about 1 minute.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot, Dutch oven, or large rimmed skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the chopped shallot and garlic. Sauté for 1-2 minutes, then lower the heat to medium-low and sauté for 2-3 minutes more or until slightly caramelized.
- Increase the heat to medium and add the chopped artichoke hearts and cook for 3-4 minutes to remove some of the liquid. Add the spinach and a healthy pinch each of salt and pepper and sauté for ~2-3 minutes, stirring frequently to wilt the spinach. If your spinach doesn’t all fit in the pan at once, simply add some, let it wilt, then add more. Keep going in this way until it’s all added. It’s okay if it doesn’t all go in at the same time.
- Turn off the heat and add the sauce and cooked pasta and toss to combine. You can add a little water if you desire a saucier, thinner consistency.
- Enjoy warm garnished with vegan parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes (both optional).
- Best when fresh, but leftovers will keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Not freezer friendly.
Notes
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with the lesser amount of whole wheat pasta and without optional ingredients.
Susan Ottwell says
Love this recipe, although I use frozen artichoke hearts.
Not a big fan of canned food usually laced with silicone used to prevent foaming in processing canned foods, and that is also use in waste treatment plants and carpet cleaning formulas and high-pressure steam boilers as well as in pills to prevent digestive gas bubbles from forming. Some years ago the largest milk distribution company here was hit with hefty fines for watering the most commonly used 2% milk, dosing it with silicone to emulate the consistancy of full milk so consumers wouldn’t notice. I had already switched to various plant-based milks (oat milk is my favorite, cheapest and easiest to make and with a lovely warm flavor), so I was highly amused at the outrage and consternation.
Penny says
As I had some cooked quinoa that needed using up, I substituted that for the pasta….it was great.
Lovely! Thank you for sharing, Penny! xo
Katalyn Stark says
This recipe is amazing!!! One of the top I’ve ever made from this site. Added a few pieces of chopped sun dried tomatoes and a little more salt to taste.
Woohoo! Thanks so much for sharing, Katalyn! xo
Rachel says
Crazy delicious! I used frozen spinach, and added more spinach and pasta than it called for. Used pasta water for the sauce and HOLY MOLY, so creamy and delicious. Making it again tonight and I might throw in some sundried tomatoes to see if they add some extra brightness. TOTALLY RECOMMEND!!
Amazing! Thank you for sharing, Rachel! xo
Michelle says
Thanks for your response, and your thoughts. Just a few follow up thoughts. The AHA recommends no more than 2300, but suggests that less than 1500 is ideal (for everyone). So, that makes this recipe closer to 30% which still may sound reasonable, but as someone who struggles with borderline hypertension, I take every step I can to keep it low. Sodium sneaks in, in unsuspecting ways — even my smoothie today added 4% from whole fruits and veggies. Understanding where the sodium comes from in this recipe helps me quickly determine ways that I might consider modifying (if needed).
Ah, got it! That makes sense :)
Michelle says
Hi,
This looks yummy and the thoughts shared with others might even make tastier for me. I look forward to trying. My one hesitancy is the sodium amount. I am trying to figure out what is making it “so” high so I can minimize that piece. Can you offer any insights on this? Thank you!
Hi Michelle, the sodium content for 1 serving is ~22% of the recommend daily adult intake in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which doesn’t seem super high to us for a meal. In this recipe, the sodium content is primarily coming from the sea salt in the sauce, veggies, and from the canned artichoke hearts. Keep in mind the nutrition info is a rough estimate and the nutrition software might not take into account that the artichoke hearts are drained, so the sodium content may actually be overstated here. Hope that helps!
Andrea says
This was pretty good, and I loved how easy it was to make! I took the advice of another reviewer and added an 8.5-oz. jar of California Sun-Dry Sundried Tomatoes. I felt like the “punch” and acidity of the sundried tomatoes paired nicely with the tameness of the cream sauce and helped boost the flavor.
I don’t own a food processor, so I couldn’t make the suggested Minimalist Baker vegan parm. Instead, I made the vegan parm (with hemp hearts, nutritional yeast, garlic & onion powder, and salt) on Cookie & Kate’s website. That was decently good too, though it maybe could have used a little more garlic and onion powder for this particular recipe.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing your experience and modifications, Andrea!
Laura D says
I’d probably give this 3.5 stars, it just wasn’t a hit for me. It was fine, but I wouldn’t make it again it just tasted a little bland or like it was lacking something. Maybe adding some sundried tomatoes with their oil would help kick up the flavor? I just made another similar recipe of yours- the lemony one with tomatoes, arugula and white beans and liked that one a lot better so that’ll be the keeper out of the two. Thanks though!
Hi Laura, so sorry you didn’t enjoy this one as much as the other! Did you end up using the vegan parm to top it? It could enhance the flavor. If you didn’t have any you could use more salt. Hope this helps! xo
Katie says
What a great springtime recipe! It was easy to make, required little chopping and tastes like comfort food. I will definitely make this again soon! Thanks for the delicious recipe.
Woohoo! Thanks so much, Katie!
Cheryl says
Just made this recipe and wow! Blown away. To make it less calorically dense, I subbed 1/2 of the cashews with small white beans for the sauce. Also, next time I make this (which will be very soon), I’ll use half the amount of artichoke hearts as I feel the hearts are a bit overpowering and I’ll add more spinach. All that being said, DELISH and so simple!! Highly recommend! I made the sauce in my Vitamix and blended for about 3-4 mins so it was a bit thicker and thought it was perfect. I’m also going to add some vegan chicken strips to make it even more filling. Will be in my usual rotation from now on! Thank you!
Woohoo! So glad you enjoyed, Cheryl. Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications!
Jessica Toledo Garcia says
Loved this recipe ! Came out super yummy ! But my favorite part easy to make 💗
Thank you for sharing amazing recipes 😊
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Jessica! Thanks so much for the lovely review. xo
Lindy says
a little underwhelming after the high that was MB’s last week’s white bean skillet. however, with plenty of chili flakes and vegan parm this is good :)
Glad you enjoyed it overall, Lindy! Thanks so much for sharing!
Letty says
Hello! I’m allergic to nuts(except almonds). What could i substitute the cashews in this recipe for?
The cashews are unfortunately what gives this recipe its creaminess. You could try making a more traditional cream sauce with almond milk and flour/gluten-free flour like this recipe and adding the rest of the flavors in the sauce like lemon! Hope this helps. xo