Creamy Herby Pasta with Greens and Beans (Vegan)
This delicious high fibre and high protein Creamy Herby Pasta with Greens and Beans is ready in 20 minutes, made with a few staple ingredients and fresh veggies. Use your favourite pasta shape and enjoy leftovers the next day too.
I love a good pasta recipe, and even better is one that tastes delicious the next day warm or cold. This veggie-packed recipe is so good for a midweek meal or a meal prep option and it’s full of fibre and protein. There are three key components to the recipe: a creamy sauce made in the blender; fried off veggies with beans; and the cooked pasta. With fresh herbs, green veggies and your favourite pasta shape, it’s minimal effort and maximum satisfaction.
Why will I love this?
This dish is so good:
- Creamy, herby and zesty
- Richly flavoured with miso and nutritional yeast
- Packed with fibre from veggies
- Full of protein with beans and tofu
- Secretly high protein creamy sauce
- Using silken tofu!
- Full of fresh ingredients
- Ready in 20 minutes or just longer than it takes pasta
- Everyone will love it
- Naturally vegan, dairy-free and egg-free
- Nut-free
- Easily gluten-free
- Great for feeding a family or friends
- Delicious for meal prep
- Leftovers taste great warm or cold
- With hemp seeds for added fibre and protein
- Easy to make in a few steps
- Make a bigger batch to feed more
If you already love the sound of this pasta, then skip ahead to the recipe card below. Or, first let’s discuss the recipe in more detail.
What ingredients do I need?
You can see the ingredients with weights in the recipe card below and see my favourite and recommended products in the “shop the recipe” section.
For the pasta:
- Pasta shapes: I used Mafalda Corta here and love this fun shape but any shape is good.
- Olive oil: for cooking in – or your preferred oil.
- Courgette: chopped into ¼ or ½ moons.
- Asparagus: these are so good coming into Springtime.
- Spring onions: to keep it green.
- Cavolo nero: or spinach.
- Roasted garlic: see below.
- Cannellini beans: or you preferred beans, chickpeas or lentils.
And for the sauce:
- Silken tofu: this makes the sauce so creamy while adding lots of protein. I do not recommend swapping this for anything.
- Lemon: the zest and juice for freshness.
- Roasted garlic and onion: these are from Belazu and is so delicious, they both so much flavour. If you only have garlic, I recommended roasting a while garlic bulb in foil, with oil and salt for 30 minutes at 180ºC and then using a clove for the sauce here and leave out the onion paste if you don’t have any.
- Nutritional yeast: for a savouriness rather than it tasting too cheesy. If you don’t have any, you can use vegan parmesan or leave it out.
- Miso paste: this adds umami richness and a lovely flavour. I use white miso paste here.
- Extra virgin olive oil: to add so much flavour.
- Fresh basil: a fresh bunch for adding the colour and flavour.
- Salt and pepper: to season.
Is this gluten-free and nut-free?
This is easily gluten-free as long as you use GF pasta and this is also nut-free.
How do I make this?
This pasta is ready in a few steps:
- Put the pasta onto cook: and allow to cook until al dente. Keep some of the water.
- Fry off the green veggies in a non-stick pan in the olive oil: until softened.
- Blend up the sauce in a small blender: until creamy.
- Add the beans, sauce, the pasta and the reserved water to the pan: and allow to warm through.
- Serve and enjoy: or keep for later.
How long will it last?
Enjoy straight away or keep in the fridge, once cool, for 2-3 days and warm back up in a saucepan with a splash of water – or eat cold.
What other recipes can I try?
For more 30-minute meals:
- Roasted Veggie Pesto Gnocchi Traybake
- Red Pesto Roasted Vegetable Bean and Grain Salad
- Peanut Curry Ramen Noodles
- Crispy Rice Mushroom Satay Salad
- Green Broccoli Spinach and Pea Soup
Creamy Herby Pasta with Greens and Beans (Vegan)
This delicious high fibre and high protein Creamy Herby Pasta with Greens and Beans is ready in 20 minutes, made with a few staple ingredients and fresh veggies. Use your favourite pasta shape and enjoy leftovers the next day too.
Ingredients
For the Pasta:
- 160g pasta shapes (I used Mafalda corta)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small courgette, in 1/2 moon shapes
- 1 bunch asparagus (150g), trimmed and chopped into 2-cm pieces
- 2 spring onions, sliced
- 80g cavolo nero, de-stemmed and chopped
- 1 tsp roasted garlic paste (or clove garlic, crushed)*
- 1 tin cannellini beans, drained (240g once drained)
For the Sauce:
- 1 pack silken tofu (300g)
- 1 lemon, juiced and zested
- 1 tsp roasted garlic paste (or 1 garlic clove)*
- 1 tsp roasted onion paste
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp hulled hemp seeds
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp white miso paste
- 1 small bunch fresh basil
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Add the pasta to a pan of boiling water and cook according to packet instructions (about 12-14 minutes).
- Meanwhile heat a non-stick pan with the olive oil and add the courgette, asparagus, spring onion and garlic. Stir well and allow to fry off for 5-10 minutes, until nicely charred. Remove from courgette slices to go on top.
- For the sauce, add all of the ingredients to a small blender and process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper (note that the miso is salty so you may not need to add salt).
- When the pasta is ready, scoop out 60-100ml of the cooking water and then drain the pasta.
- Pour the sauce, cannellini beans and pasta into the frying pan with the vegetables along with 60ml of the cooking water and stir well. Allow it all to warm through (add more cooking water as needed).
- Serve in bowls and top with the reserved courgette slices and some fresh black pepper.
- Eat straight away or all to cool and keep in a sealed container in the fridge for 2-3 days and warm back up in a pan with a splash more water or enjoy cold.
Notes
* Roast a while garlic bulb in foil, with oil and salt for 30 minutes at 180ºC and then allow to cool. Squeeze out the cloves as needed, store in the fridge wrapped up well for 1 week.
Shop the recipe
Stay in touch
I look forward to hearing what you think of this Creamy Herby Pasta with Greens and Beans so please let me know in the comments below and leave a star review. If you do make this, I’d love to see so please tag me, I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest – please say hello!
With pasta love x
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