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This Creamy Pea Pasta is lathered up in the most delicious, luscious sauce made with fresh (or frozen) English peas and mint without a lick of dairy!
The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.– Mark Twain
Hello spring pasta of my dreams! Happy little shells cradle a vibrant, creamy green sauce made up of peas and mint. Not only will this joyful little number make your tastebuds happy, but it’s also vegan and packed full of nutrients! No cream, no cheese, no dairy necessary.
Many of you shop at Trader Joe’s, and already know they offer up fresh shucked English peas each spring which are the perfect fit for this recipe. But know that frozen peas work great here too. Either way, you’ll love this, seriously!
To elevate, pick up some pea shoots at your local farmers’ market and wilt them into the warm pasta right at the end for a burst of color and nutrition.
Ingredients in Creamy Vegan Pea Pasta!
- fresh peas (or use frozen)
- pasta shells
- shallot
- garlic
- fresh mint
- lemon
- hemp seeds
- miso paste
- pea shoots- optional!
Today we are using fresh shucked peas (from Trader Joes) but frozen peas will work too. You’ll need two cups.
Set your pasta to cook- medium-sized shells work beautifully here, but feel free to use what you have. I really love how the shells cradle the sauce. Orecchiette would work well too.
Make the Pea Pasta Sauce:
Start by sauteing the shallots and garlic until fragrant and golden.
Add your fresh peas and cover until steamed through. You want them tender but still vibrant! If using frozen peas, toss them in here and just let them warm up a bit so they are thawed.
Then you’ll scoop out 1 1/2 cups of this and place it in a blender to make the sauce, leaving the rest in the pan.
Add water to the blender, miso paste, hemp seeds (or sub almond butter, soaked cashews or tahini paste).
Add fresh mint. Use about 1/3 of a cup packed. If mint is not your favorite you could use half Italian parsley- but trust me here friends, the mint truly works. I think it makes the dish.
Add lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Then cover the blender tightly, holding down the lid with a towel if the peas are still warm.
Blend for a full minute until it is creamy and smooth. Look at how vibrant this is!
Add optional Pea Shoots:
If adding fresh pea shoots, gently wilt them in the pan with the remaining peas, just for a minute or so. You can scoop them off to a plate ( to garnish the pasta with at the end) or incorporate them right into the pasta.
Toss the Pea Pasta!
Pour in the drained pasta and the sauce. Give a good stir, and gently warm until heated through. Do not simmer too long or you may lose that gorgeous color you created!
Taste and adjust the lemon, adding lemon zest, or more salt and pepper. The pasta will soak up some of the salt, so just give it a couple of minutes. 🙂
At this point, if you want extra “richness” add a drizzle of olive oil, stirring it in.
Truffle oil also works beautifully here with the peas and the mint. My husband likes his with truffle oil and grated pecorino– obviously not vegan but works for him.
I love how packed full of nutrients this pasta is!
Pea Pasta Additions:
You could easily add extra protein (although peas are pretty high in protein) by serving with a piece of baked salmon or baked chicken. This hemp-crusted tofu would go well too.
And of course, you can add seeds, or microgreens or edible flowers to make this even prettier. I’ve been loving these scallion sprouts- so full of flavor!
This Pea Pasta recipe makes 2-3 portions and reheats well.
More recipes you might like:
- Spring Pea Pasta Salad
- Spring Pea Pesto
- Orecchiette with Creamy Carrot Miso Sauce
- Zesty Vegan Pasta with Cashew Alfredo Sauce
- Spring Pea and Potato Salad with tarragon -mustard seed dressing
- Spring Orecchiette Pasta with Asparagus, Mushroom and Peas
- Our 20 BEST Vegetarian Pasta Recipes! (Vegan-adaptable)
Enjoy the Creamy Vegan Pea Pasta and have a happy week friends,
xoxo
Creamy Pea Pasta with Mint (Vegan)
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2-3 1x
- Category: vegan, main, pasta
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Creamy Vegan Pea Pasta is lathered up in the most delicious, luscious sauce made with fresh (or frozen) English peas and mint without a lick of dairy! Happy little shells cradle a vibrant, creamy green sauce made up of peas and mint.
Ingredients
6 ounces medium pasta shells (or sub orecchiette, elbows, etc.)
Creamy Vegan Pea Sauce:
- 2 shallots, finely chopped (or 1/2 cup onion)
- 4–6 garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
- 1 1/4 cup water, more as needed
- 1 lemon (lemon juice and zest for garnish)
- 1/3 cup fresh mint, packed (or substitute part flat-leaf parsley, but mint is so good!)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon miso paste
- 3 tablespoons hemp hearts
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice plus some zest for garnish
Optional additions: pea shoots or spinach, Vegan Cheesy Sprinkle or grated pecorino, microgreens
Instructions
- Make Pasta: Set generously salted water to boil for pasta, and cook pasta according to directions.
- Start sauce: At the same time, chop shallots and garlic. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute shallots and garlic for 4-5 minutes, stirring until golden and fragrant. Lower heat to low. Add peas and give a stir. If using fresh peas, cover with a lid so they gently steam, 3 minutes or until tender and bright. If using frozen, just saute until completely thawed and tender.
- Blend Minted Pea Sauce: Measure out 1 1/2 cups of the pea-shallot mixture (leave the rest in the pan) and place in a blender along with water, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, mint leaves, salt, pepper, miso paste, and hemp seeds (or use almond butter or tahini paste). Blend for a full minute until very very creamy and smooth. Add a little more water if needed to get the blender going. Set aside.
- Combine: To the skillet with the remaining pea-shallot mixture, add the pea shoots or spinach, and gently wilt, stirring for 30-60 seconds over low heat. (Either set these aside for garnish, or feel free to combine with pasta.) Add the drained pasta and pour in the sauce from the blender and give a good stir. Rinse out the blender with a couple of tablespoons of water, adding this to the pan, gently warming the pasta up.
- Taste. If needed, season with salt, lemon zest, and more pepper if you like. If you want a “looser sauce” feel free to stir in more water. For extra richness, store in a generous drizzle of olive oil or truffle oil.
- Serve immediately. Garnish with Vegan Cheesy Sprinkle or Pecorino cheese (obviously not vegan, but tasty). Top with microgreens or sprouts if you like, or seeds!
Notes
Leftovers keep 3-4 days in the fridge and will reheat nicely -feel free to stir in a little more water to loosen when reheating.
For added protein, feel free to top with a piece of salmon, shrimp, chicken or tofu.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 1/2 cup
- Calories: 486
- Sugar: 8.4 g
- Sodium: 685.8 mg
- Fat: 20.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 62.3 g
- Fiber: 7.4 g
- Protein: 16.4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: pea pasta, pasta with peas, pasta with mint and peas, vegan pea pasta, spring pea pasta, pasta with pea shoots, vegan pea pasta, vegan pasta recipe
This looks incredible! I am allergic to soy though, so need a substitute for the miso. I see online that vegetable broth or tahini can be used, for example, but I’m unsure of how much to use. Do you have advice?
★★★★★
You can just leave it out Catherine- it is for depth. Adjust salt to taste? Or veggie boullioun paste might work too?
Oh man, I was so disappointed that this wouldn’t purée in my Ninja food processor. I used frozen peas and I think the issue was that the peas do need to be cooked until very soft prior to purée, not just thawed. If I try this again, I would also only add water incrementally to the purée, as it just seemed to be water with chunks 😫
Oh Shoot Kim! So did you thaw the peas first in the pan until tender? Or were they still a bit frozen? Sounds to me like it just wasn’t blended long enough- or perhaps your blades are dull? It should get creamy in the blender. Sorry about that.
This sauce was so flavourful. It is nice to have an alternative to a tomato pasta sauce that is full of veggies and protein! Thank you!
★★★★★
Glad this worked for you Lauren!
Mine didn’t look nearly as green and vibrant but maybe because I’d had to use frozen peas? Initially my blender sauce was way too runny and I was afraid I’d have to add corn starch or something to thicken it up, but after a few minutes cooking, not 30-60 seconds as in recipe, things thickened up. I added frozen Spinach too to get more green colour into it. Turned out quire delicious. I topped mine with a sprinkling of hemp seeds, some raw sunflower seeds and a twist of freshly cracked black pepper. Yum! Thanks for the recioe!
★★★★★
Thanks so much, mandy!
Followed the recipe exactly, using mint and tahini, and found it to be very bitter even without the lemon zest. We liked the idea but would likely search for a different variation or try to make some changes to make the sauce more palatable.
★★
Hi Kate- sorry it was bitter- my guess is either your olive oil or tahini was bitter. They often can be, which will throw the whole dish off. It has happened to me too. I always taste before using now. 🙂
Delicious!
★★★★★
Thanks Leanne!
This was a win for sure. The sauce is absurdly rich and complex, but without the heavy creams and cheeses that most pasta sauces have. It was a bit like a pesto sauce, but smooth and appreciated by my kids as well as my guests. I didn’t make any changes per se, and I did not follow the recipe super carefully but I did use all the crucial ingredients- tamari, miso, mint. I also think that shallots instead of onions are important in this one.
★★★★★
Thanks Alison- appreciate this!
I love plant-based food that is meant to feature the plant, rather than using plants as a “replacement” for meat. This fit the bill so perfectly! I used gemelli pasta and tahini in my sauce. I also added some parsley in addition to the mint called for. This was absolutely delicious. The sauce had a very nice, clingy consistency unlike some other vegan sauces I’ve had that slide off the noodles and pool at the bottom of your bowl. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
★★★★★
Awesome Whitney- glad you gave this one a go! I really enjoy this pasta too. 🙂
This was so delicious and perfect for spring! It was toddler friendly with “elephant ear” pasta (orecchiette). Love your blog. Thank you!
★★★★★
Thank you Prianka!
Excellent summer recipe. Used tahini paste as it was on hand. Also, to make it ahead, I kept the sauce refrigerated in a separate container from the pea,shallot mixture to add together each time we are ready to eat it. I did add the lemon zest with the pea mixture. My carnivore loving husband thought it was fabulous and I’d not added the Pecorino cheese yet…. so I may leave that out! Being able to make it in advance by storing it in this manner, combined with adding Pecorino if desired later allows it to be multi enjoyed by vegan and cheese lovers too! Thank you Sylvia for another fabulous recipe. You never disappoint! Yum Yum.
★★★★★
Thanks Tracy- so glad you both liked it!