Creamy Vegetable Pasta Sauce (using roasted veggies)

A plate of Creamy Vegetable Pasta Sauce, garnished with parsley.

Creamy Vegetable Pasta Sauce (using roasted veggies)

Meet the creamiest roasted vegetable pasta sauce! This Creamy Vegetable Pasta Sauce features sweet, caramelized vegetables and cream cheese for a luscious, veggie-loaded sauce.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1

Servings

Calories 520

Author Elizabeth

Equipment

Blender

Ingredients

1 Medium Yellow Onion sliced
2 Medium Carrots peeled and sliced
2 Medium Zucchini sliced into rounds
1 Small Head Cauliflower broken into florets
1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil optional *see notes for oil free
1 Teaspoon Salt
½ Teaspoon Black Pepper
1 Cup Cream Cheese I used vegan cream cheese
¼ Cup Nutritional Yeast optional (can use parmesan if not vegan)
1 Pound Pasta of choice I used rigatoni - almost any shape will work well; including gluten free *see notes
For garnish: chopped fresh parsley optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Place the veggies on a foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss a few times to distribute the oil and spices. Roast for 45-55 minutes, until soft.
During the last 20 minutes of cooking, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve 1 of cup pasta water. Then transfer the pasta to a large bowl.
When veggies are done, carefully transfer them to a blender, using the foil as a funnel. Add the cream cheese and nutritional yeast. Blend until smooth.
Pour the vegetable sauce over the pasta. Stir, adding the pasta water to thin the sauce as desired - I used almost the full cup.
Serve with a garnish of chopped fresh parsley.

Notes

Oil Free: I often roast my vegetables oil-free! The trick is to rinse and slightly dry the vegetables - this allows them to have enough moisture that they don't burn but not so much that they only steam.

Gluten Free: this recipe is great with gluten-free pasta. When mixing sauces with gluten-free pasta, the pasta can easily break down, so I recommend cooking 1-2 minutes below what the package lists as al dente.

Nutrition