Pasta on pasta on pasta…I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of pasta honestly.
I recently went grocery shopping and found these huge Lumaconi pasta shells and knew right away that I had to create a delicious recipe with them!
I’ve never cooked them before, but let me tell you….this recipe came out amazing!
Pesto and pasta….plus a creamy and cheesy white sauce…I love my carbs that’s for sure!
Served with some fresh roasted tomatoes, parsley from my garden, cracked black pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.
I highly recommend that you don’t skimp on buying high-quality pasta shells for this recipe. As always, if you dont use homemade pasta you should always go towards higher quality pasta. It will yield a better taste, texture, and cook better. Look for the pasta that is in clear bags and has a light pale yellow color with a brush of flour. The pasta that is bright yellow and looks plastic? Steer clear of that!
This recipe is…
easy
simple
healthy
fresh
100% vegan of course!
Pesto Stuffed Pasta Shells w/ White Sauce
By: Taavi Elizabeth Serves: 2-3
Ingredients
Pesto
- 1 cup packed fresh basil
- 1/4 cup packed spinach
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 1/4 cup raw cashews
- 3 cloves garlic
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 3 artichoke hearts
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup olive oil
White Sauce
- 1/2 block tofu
- 1/4 cup soaked cashews
- 1 heaping tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp tapioca starch
- 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 3/4 cup almond milk
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
10 oz. jumbo pasta shells (I used Lumaconi)
Fresh parsley
1 cup roasted tomatoes
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a large cast iron pan or casserole dish.
- Boil a large pot of salted water. Cook pasta shells according to directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
- Prepare pesto: In a food processor, blitz all ingredients together, except olive oil, until combined. While the food processor is still running, drizzle in olive oil slowly until mixture is creamy. Transfer pesto to a small bowl and set aside.
- Prepare white sauce: In a high-speed blender, blend all sauce ingredients together until thick and creamy. Pour into a small saucepan over medium heat. Stirring frequently with a spatula, cook until sauce begins to thicken and stretches a bit when you pull the spatula away from the sauce. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
- Assemble: In the baking dish, spread a layer of white sauce on the bottom so the pasta can stick. Fill each pasta shell with a spoonful of pesto. One-by-one arrange shells as you like on the baking dish. Once all arranged, add a dollop of leftover white sauce into each pasta shell. At this point, if you want, you can add shredded vegan mozzarella cheese over top. Bake for 10 min until white sauce starts to brown. Broil on high for 2 min.
- Serve shells with fresh chopped parsley, cracked black pepper, and roasted tomatoes (just roasted in olive oil, salt & pepper). Enjoy!
