Let me introduce my new favourite pasta dish… or just new favourite dish, in general:
Creamy pasta with spinach & nutmeg, topped with cheesy, garlic breadcrumbs.
Sounds good, right? It really is.
The weather is finally heating up now in the UK but I tend to crave comforting dishes like this all year round.
Plus, you never know when to expect a cold, rainy day here, so this dish is perfect for then!
It’s surprisingly easy to put together and can be ready in 25 minutes.
You’ll want to add these breadcrumbs to all your meals, they’re so delicious!
But so simple to make. It’s simply stale bread (or toast) added to a food processor with some garlic and nutritional yeast to create a crunchy, flavourful topping.
I can imagine it would be AMAZING on some vegan mac n cheese.
This dish is:
- Vegetarian & vegan
- Dairy-free & egg-free
- Low-fat
- Nut-free (use a nut-free milk)
- Soy-free
Vegan Pasta with Cheesy Garlic Breadcrumbs & Spinach
A creamy, crunchy pasta dish that is so flavourful yet low-fat and healthy!
Ingredients
- 180 g dried penne or other pasta
For the cheesy garlic breadcrumbs
- 1 slice crusty bread, slightly stale or lightly toasted is best
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 garlic cloves
For the creamy nutmeg sauce
- 240 ml / 1 cup almond milk or soy milk
- 1 heaped tbsp cornflour
- A pinch of ground nutmeg
- 3 handfuls of fresh spinach
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Add the pasta to a large saucepan filled with water and cook according to the packet's instructions.
- Meanwhile, make the breadcrumbs by toasting the bread before adding it to a food processor, along with garlic and nutritional yeast. Blitz until you have large chunky breadcrumbs.
- Next make the creamy sauce by blending the almond milk and cornflour together and adding it to a small saucepan. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer, stirring until thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the nutmeg and spinach.
- Once the pasta has cooked, combine with the sauce and spinach and divide between 2 bowls.
- Top with the garlic crumbs and add salt and pepper, to taste.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition Information
Yield 2 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 418Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 0mgSodium 351mgCarbohydrates 70gFiber 9gSugar 9gProtein 22g
Molly Kumar says
This is such a healthy dish and I love the ‘Nutmeg Sauce’ really creative.
Alisa Fleming says
I’ve never used cornflour to thicken – this is different from cornstarch, correct?
Michelle Blackwood says
Love pasta with creamy sauce, lovely photos and flavors!
Linda @ Veganosity says
Creamy and crunchy, and delicious. What else could you ask for from a pasta dish?
Erin says
Goodness lady what are you doing to me?! It is nearly 4 pm. I should be sound asleep. yet here I am DROOLING over this. The late night craving is hitting HARD!
Hauke Fox says
Woah!! This pasta looks absolutely delicious :D
Quite the carb bomb, but who cares? haha
Meg @ Noming thru Life says
Carb on carb!?!?!? Sign me up! I can never get enough pasta anyway ;)
Manju | Cooking Curries says
OMG! Love that cheesy garlic crumbs topping. Im gonna steal that idea.
Kelly @ TastingPage says
A crunchy texture always wins for me, so this looks like a definite winner!
Aimee says
Thanks Kelly!
Anjali @ Vegetarian Gastronomy says
Put creamy, cheese, and vegan all in one sentence and I’m usually IN! This looks delicious, and I’m intrigued by the use of cornflour!
Aimee says
Thanks Anjali! It’s just to thicken the creamy sauce :-)
Mel @ avirtualvegan.com says
Ooo this sounds so delicious. I love the thought of the creamy pasta with the crunchy, cheesy sprinkles! And I love spinach with creamy sauces. Great recipe!
Aimee says
The texture combination is SO good! Thanks Mel :-)
Uma says
Pasta with spinach and garlic flavor will be super hit! These looks so yummy! I like pasta with different flavor:)
Aimee says
Thank you, Uma!
Anna says
I love pasta regardless of what time of year it is or what the weather is like, so I will defo be trying this! :) looks delicious Aimee!
Aimee says
Thank you my dear! x
Hedi says
Ohhhh Aimee I think I would love this one. Garlic , pasta and crumbs you cant go wrong, can you? Yum!
Aimee says
Exactly! Thanks Hedi :-)
Chris @thinlyspread says
Oh yum to those breadcrumbs, how to make a pasta dish perfect!
Aimee says
Thanks Chris!
Hana | Nirvana Cakery says
Such a comfort meal, living in the UK you need quite few of those, even in the summer! Love the cheesy garlic breadcrumbs!
Aimee says
That’s so true, unfortunately! Thank you Hana :-)
Sophia, Veggies Don't Bite says
I just love pasta. It’s so good and you can do so much with it. I’m dying over those added breadcrumbs!! They sound incredible as I love different textures in my food!
Aimee says
Me too! Thanks Sophia :-)
Natalie | Feasting on Fruit says
I can see myself just eating these breadcrumbs straight from the food processor by the spoonful style! They sound so dang good! The only reason I ever liked baked pasta dishes so much was for the crumbly toasty topping that complimented the creamy sauce so well, but this solves that problem and it’s so much easier!
Aimee says
I definitely did that, I’m surprised there were any left to photograph!
Cathy @ Planet Veggie says
Oh, what a brilliant idea for the breadcrumbs. I have two pots of nutritional yeast in the cupboard but I’ve never thought of doing this!
Aimee says
Thanks Cathy! Well, I add nutritional yeast to pretty much everything :D
Becky Striepe says
Oh my goodness, those garlic breadcrumbs look fabulous!
Aimee says
Thank you Becky!
Jenn says
You had me at cheesy garlic crumbs! Wow, this looks so good! Definitely a recipe that would make me go back for seconds!
Aimee says
Thank you Jenn :-) I think my giant bowl counts for seconds haha!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
I’m usually not a big breadcrumbs on pasta kinda person but…girl this looks fantastic! Garlic and cheesyness…no one could pass it up!
Aimee says
Me neither actually… it’s not really something I’d tried much before but now I’m addicted to this dish!