I used to make a dish similar to this Blackened Chicken Pasta all the time because we just loved the spice and cream sauce combo. But over the last few years we’ve both backed off on how much dairy we eat, since we both feel better eating less of it. However we both still crave cream sauce dishes all the time, so I’ve really been experimenting to find some alternatives. And finally I came up with my Savory Vegan Cashew Cream Sauce that we’ve both been loving!
In fact the moment I knew I had reached success with a dairy free cream sauce was when I made this pasta dish. I didn’t say anything about it being an experiment and just served it up. After dinner of course I wanted some feedback, so I told Tyler it was a dairy free sauce, and as it would turn out he didn’t even know it was different – so that’s definitely a win!
You’ll want to have a batch of cashew cream sauce ready made and in the fridge before you make this dish for the fastest prep time. Or you can soak the cashews, (they need at least 4 hours) in the morning and blend the sauce that evening as you make the pasta. The key thing is to have your cashews soaked and ready to go!
The main base of this pasta dish is a tangle of caramelized onions, sautéed chicken, blackening spices, and a pop of color + nutrition from the spinach.
Then you add cooked pasta and the cashew cream sauce. The dish can be served just like that, or you can add some fresh flavor with cherry tomatoes and sliced green onions for the ultimate version.
I used a recipe for blackening seasoning that I lightly adapted from the Tupelo Honey cookbook, (great cookbook by the way). But you can also use any blackening seasoning that you love to make this even faster! No reviews
