Vegan Carbonara with Marinaded Mushrooms (Gluten-free)

A deliciously creamy vegan, meat-free and gluten-free carbonara sauce stirred through pasta topped with the tastiest smoked tamari marinaded mushrooms. Add on some homemade walnut parmesan and this dinner is ready in 20 minutes!

I love a good pasta dish, and being Italian, it holds a special place in my heart. So, when I saw that there is a brand-new pasta sauce on the shelves, I just had to try it. The Sacla’ Vegan Carbonara Sauce is a game changer and means that this hearty, wholesome meal pleases everyone: meat eaters and plant-based fanatics, too. What I love about this sauce, is that it is also gluten and wheat free making it great for those avoiding gluten while offering maximum taste.

The sauce is super creamy, like you’d make at home, and has so much smoky and Italian flavour, too. Traghetti (shown here which is similar to Spaghetti and can also be found on the sacla.co.uk website) alla Carbonara has never tasted so good. The sauce is made creamy from a delicious secret blend that boasts pea protein and soya, too, while it also has delicious “meaty” chunks. 

I haven’t needed to add any more flavour to the Vegan Carbonara Sauce than what is already in the jar, simply heat it up and stir through your favourite pasta for a meal that’s ready in as long as it takes to cook pasta. You can see more ideas here, and find the Vegan Carbonara Sauce on the Sacla’ website and in Aldi Stores in the UK (from July 4^th 2021).

But, if you are looking to jazz up your Vegan Carbonara why not try it with these delicious marinaded mushrooms and homemade walnut pesto. I have used the Sacla’ sauce with their Traghetti pasta as the base and then added these juicy mushrooms.

I love to serve this Vegan Carbonara with Marinaded Mushrooms with a simple side salad but made extra special with the tastiest vegan dressing! Sacla’ have a few plant-based salad dressings that I love and shown here is their egg-free, dairy-free Caesar Dressing but they also have Vegan Garlic Aioli and Vegan Blue Cheese dressings, for example.

What goes into the marinaded mushrooms?

• Mushrooms: I love to use button mushrooms, but you can use any kind.
• Olive oil: this keeps the mushrooms juicy and moist while they fry off.
• Tamari soy sauce: this adds the umami richness and savoury tang to the mushrooms.
• Maple syrup: for a little bit of stickiness and to make that shiny glaze on top.
• Garlic: everything tastes better with a kick of garlic, and it marries so well with the Vegan Carbonara Sauce.
• Smoked paprika: I love the little smoky heat that this lends to the mushrooms and compliments the smokiness already in the creamy sauce.

Stir all the mushroom ingredients together and then allow them to sit for 10 minutes, or for up to 60 minutes if you have the time and want the richest of flavours. Fry off the marinaded mushrooms in a griddle or frying pan until turning a rich colour and they are nice and sticky.

Meanwhile, prepare the rest of this Vegan Carbonara with Marinaded Mushrooms.

• Warm up the deliciously creamy and smoky Vegan Carbonara Sauce from Sacla’.
• Cook your pasta (al dente is my preferred style)
• Toss the pasta with the sauce with a splash of cooking water
• Top the carbonara with the mushrooms
• Sprinkle over the homemade walnut parmesan 
• Dig in!

This Vegan Carbonara with Marinaded Mushrooms makes a delicious and speedy dinner for 2 or 3 or increase the volume to feed a family. Plus, if you are cooking for one, any leftovers keep really well in an airtight container in the fridge, just warm back up in a saucepan with a splash more water. Leftovers never tastes so good!

If you’re in the mood for Italian food, be sure to look at my other recipes with Sacla’ like my Vegan Pesto Eggs on sourdough or try using this sauce in some of my other recipes:

• Stir it into my Homemade Sweet Potato Gnocchi
• Stir and bake it into my Tomato and Chickpea Pasta Bake with Tempeh Crumble
• Add a few tablespoons into my Sun-Dried Tomato and Chickpea Gnocchi
• Dollop a couple of spoons into my Roasted Cauliflower and Beetroot Pasta

I hope you will love this easy recipe for Vegan Carbonara with Marinaded Mushrooms so please let me know what you think below. If you do make this, remember to tag me and Sacla’ in your posts as we love to see them!

With vegan carbonara love x

p.s. this post was made in collaboration with Sacla’ but all opinions are my own and I am so excited to share this sauce with you.