Our Favorite Quick & Easy Weeknight Pasta, Vegan + Gluten-Free
As much as I’ve always loved mac n’ cheese, I was never really a big pasta gal until I became pregnant with Baby V. Suddenly, I found myself craving pasta 6 nights a week, and since Ross has always loved pasta and tends to order it when we go out to restaurants, this worked out very nicely for us.
Once Baby V was born, pasta stayed in our dinner rotation because it’s just so darn quick and easy to make! Plus, now that Baby V is actually Toddler V with a mighty appetite, pasta is one of the few foods she rarely says no to.
Today I’m excited to share Our Favorite Quick & Easy Weeknight Pasta (Vegan + Gluten-Free). This meal is super simple, but so tasty and satisfying! We pretty much always have the ingredients on hand so it’s easy to whip this dish up on the fly. I couldn’t even count how many times I’ve made this recipe in the 17 months that Baby V has been on the scene since our time has become so limited and this recipe is just so easy and delicious.
Even if you have all the time in the world to make dinner, I still think you’ll love this combo! With olives, capers and lemon juice, the flavor is super fresh and the nutritional yeast adds a cheesy note.
Now let’s chat about the pasta for a minute. In the photos, I used Ancient Harvest Lentil Penne. We’ve been on a major bean pasta kick lately because it packs a whole bunch of protein and we all like the texture. We also like Banza (chickpea pasta!) and Explore Asia (especially the black bean spaghetti). For non-bean based gluten-free pasta, Tinkyada brown rice is another one of our favorites.
- 1 8oz package of tempeh
- 2 tablespoons tamari, divided
- 4 servings of your choice of pasta (see my favorites above)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 2 packed cups shredded kale
- ¼ cup kalamata olives, chopped
- 1 tablespoon capers
- juice of half a lemon
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- salt and pepper, to taste
- Slice the tempeh into ½" cubes. In a medium bowl, toss it with1 tablespoon of tamari. Let it marinate for at least 10 minutes.
- Prepare the pasta according to the directions on the package.
- In a medium sized pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil at medium heat. Add the tempeh and broccoli and saute until the tempeh is lightly browned and the broccoli is tender (about 10 minutes).
- Add the kale and stir it in until it wilts (about 2 minutes).
- When the pasta is done cooking, drain the water and return the pasta to the pot on the stove and turn the heat to low. Add the sauteed tempeh and vegetables and the remaining ingredients, then stir until everything is warm.
- Transfer to plates and enjoy right away.
Wow, this pasta looks so delicious! I love that it’s also vegan and gluten-free, makes it even better!
Fantastic dish! Making again tonight!
Yay!!
Love all the veggies in this dish. Looks so easy and soooo good!
This looks amazing
This looks amazing! So flavorful and nutritious – my kinda pasta dish!
Mine too! 🙂