I have been staring at this head of cauliflower all week long, not quite sure what I wanted to do with it. I kept wanting to make a casserole, but couldn’t decide what direction to go in. I ended finding inspiration in one of my own recipes – Spaghetti Squash with Vegan Mushroom Cream Sauce.
This pasta bake isn’t heavy or drenched in sauce, but is a great way to make an easy dinner that is both healthy and filling.
Cauliflower Pasta Bake with Mushroom Sauce
Ingredients: (serves 6 to 8)
- 1 package pasta (I used small shells)
- 1 head cauliflower
- 1 pint sliced mushrooms
- 3 cups unsweetened original almond milk (or other milk)
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1.5 teaspoons salt (or more to taste)
- 3 slices sourdough or other crusty bread
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon Earth Balance or butter
- pinch of red pepper flakes
Instructions: The only bad thing about making this is that you are going to get your kitchen dirty. Definitely not a one pot meal! Start by boiling a large pot of water to cook your pasta and cauliflower. I used these pretty colorful shells that I found in the bulk bins at my grocery store, but you can use whatever type you have on hand.
Once the water boils, add your pasta and cook for 5 minutes or so. With 2-3 minutes left in your cooking time, add the cauliflower to the pot as well.
Once pasta is al dente and cauliflower is beginning to soften, drain both in to a colander in the sink, and set aside to cool.
In the meantime, you can make your sauce. Start by adding sliced mushrooms to a pan over medium high heat, and sautéing in a bit of olive oil. Cook for about ten minutes until soft and brown. (Note: I didn’t have sliced mushrooms, so I chopped up 4 big portabellas!)
Once mushrooms are cooked, add 1 cup of almond milk and allow to simmer for a few minutes in order to condense and create a rich base for the sauce. Next add the nutritional yeast and the rest of the almond milk. Bring the sauce up to a simmer and allow it to cook and condense for about 10 minutes. The sauce will still be very thin and runny.
In a small separate container, combine 1 tbsp cornstarch with 1 tbsp water to make a slurry. Do not add the cornstarch directly to the sauce! Add the slurry mixture to the sauce and continue to stir – sauce should start to thicken immediately! Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
Last but not least, prepare the breadcrumbs! Take 3 slices of crusty bread (I used cracked sourdough – yum!) and tear into pieces. Add to a food processor along with garlic, Earth Balance, a pinch of red pepper flakes.
Pulse until bread becomes breadcrumbs!
In a 9×13 baking dish, combine pasta and cauliflower with the mushroom sauce and spread evenly. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.
Top baking dish with breadcrumbs, and bake for 20 minutes at 325 degrees F.
The finished product is more of a tossed pasta dish than a casserole, and is perfect for a hearty meal that is still full of vegetables.
The sauce is light and creamy, and it’s hard to believe it’s vegan.
Red pepper flakes in the breadcrumb topping pack just the slightest kick, which I love. This meal is great for making ahead and baking on a busy night, or eating straight out of the oven.
Whenever you choose to make it – enjoy!
34 Comments so far
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Mmm, anything with a creamy mushroom sauce sounds fantastic to me. I love that you made your own breadcrumbs too.
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yum! looks delicious :)
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WOW – that looks incredible! I was the one who made your Goat Cheese Potato Salad for our “cook off” and it was delicious…so I really look forward to trying this out. And I have thoroughly enjoyed all of your pregnancy updates etc. As a mom of a 14 year old I think it’s so cool that you have done so much blogging and picture taking!
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That looks great! I have quite a few veggie bakes that I make. Sometimes I put pasta in them, sometimes rice, lentils, potatoes…just depends. Always add nooch to them though!
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Sounds really tasty! I still haven’t tried vegann sauces yet with nutritional yeast but it’s on my culinary to-do list. Love the tri-colored shells, too!
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Not only does it seem tasty, but it looks beautiful! I love the colors!
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This looks absolutely beautiful. I’m always a sucker for things that LOOK appealing.
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Looks great and I love the vibrant colors!
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That looks yummy!*
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This looks fab–to bad I just bought another set of ingredients for my giant cauliflower in the fridge. It’s bookmarked for next time!
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I like how you always bulk up your pasta recipes with veggies. Looks delicious.
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This looks like a delicious transition meal from summer to fall.
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You’re such an awesome cook!
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Hmmmm, mushrooms. Thanks for the dinner recipe. I’m excited to use some of my GF bread that became too dry. Happy weekend.
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Aimee-las vegas Reply:
September 13th, 2011 at 6:40 pm
Ok, we made it! YUMMM. It’s been rainy and chilly in Vegas so this was the perfect meal for tonight. We made it GF and used 2 tbl of slurry. Thanks again!! Kids are working on their second serving of ‘yummy sauce and vege’
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Emily Malone Reply:
September 14th, 2011 at 1:56 pm
So glad you liked it! :)
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looks delicious, and i HATE cauliflower. you may have just converted me….
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Oh this sounds amazing!!!!
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This looks and sounds wonderful!!
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looks soooo good! I found your blog recently and have really been enjoying it!
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I was never a big mushroom fan until I gave up meat. Now I’m starting to love them! This looks amazing, and my boyfriend just made a comment about how much he loves cauliflower. Perfect timing much? :D
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I can imagine this being even better if the cauliflower was roasted first! I love roasted cauliflower <3
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That looks amazing and i just happen to buy a head of cauliflower the other day. Yay! :) Love that this has red pepper flakes and mushrooms too. Num num (that’s how one of my boy’s would say it). :)
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That looks absolutely delicious! That would be a great meal to make when your having friends over. I always settle with lasagna, so this would be a great alternative!
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wow i love this recipe emily, thanks so much for sharing! I always have the hardest time with cornstarch, and that is a fabulous trick! I love when you throw in culinary tricks of the trade into your posts! :)
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I love mushroom cream sauces. Looks delish!
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hey! speaking of cauliflower, next time you are stuck with a head on your hands and not sure what to make, try this recipe http://reginarae.com/2010/03/08/aunt-kathis-cauliflower-sweet-potato-pie/
i made it the other week and it was amazing, definitely recommend it!
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Wow- what a great recipe. This will be a perfect comfort dish for the upcoming fall weather!!
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I need to make this…like right now!!!
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YUMM AGAIN! Vegas has rain and chilly, this was the perfect dinner. We made it GF and added a second dose of slurry to thicken it up. Kids asked for ‘seconds of the yummy vege and sauce’ Thanks!!
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Just popped this into the oven! Can’t wait for it to be ready, the sauce looked sooo good!
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I Just made this! It’s soooo good. I love the mushroom sauce! Thanks for the recipe.
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I made finally made this! One request–I’m terrible at adding salt-to-taste. Please give us more guidance!
Other than coming out really under-salted, it was tasty! I needed some protein and ended up adding buffalo-style seitan in–it felt like it needed something strong and spicy to working with the creamy sauce. Any other suggestions?
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My favorite part about your recipes is scrolling through the comments, because people actually make your dishes and I can read about possible subs or just reviews! Making this as a day-before-thanksgiving meal!
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