A simple delicious vegan recipe for Orecchiette with Creamy Carrot Miso Sauce, topped with a bright and flavorful Carrot Top Gremolata (optional) and Toasted Bread Crumbs. If you are a fan of the Orecchiette with Broccoli Sauce I know you’ll appreciate this too! Flavorful and healthy! 

 Orecchiette with Creamy Carrot Miso Sauce, topped with  Carrot Top Gremolata (optional) and Toasted Bread Crumbs. Flavorful and healthy! #orecchiette

We’ve been loving this vegan Orecchiette Pasta lately and I think you might too. It features fresh, happy carrots, not just the roots, but the tops too!  The Orecchiette pasta is the perfect little scoop for the creamy carrot sauce. Pillowy cups of goodness.

The carrot sauce is so simple to make and basically simmers while the orecchiette pasta cooks, very quick and efficient – and then it is blended into the creamiest silkiest sauce that glows with nutrients.

The vibrant green carrot tops are turned into a tasty, herby Gremolata Sauce. Double the flavor and double the nutrients!

 Orecchiette w/Creamy Carrot Miso Sauce! | 45-second video

Why this Orecchiette works?

It hits all the marks for me:

  • satisfyingly creamy -yet surprisingly vegan!
  • so much depth and umami (from the miso)
  • gratifying texture and crunch (from the toasted bread crumbs)
  • bright and tangy flavors from Carrot-Top Gremolata
  • full of nutrients!

Altogether it is an orchestra of flavors- and basically- it just makes me happy!

Try it and see if it makes you happy too. Just curious. 😉

 

It starts with fresh sweet carrot and their tops. If you can’t find carrot tops, feel free to sub flat-leaf parsley.

Slice the carrots thinly for the fastest cooking, and rough-chop the garlic and shallots.

Saute the shallots and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until golden and fragrant.

Add the carrots, water, and cashews, and let simmer covered until the carrots are tender- about 15 minutes. At the same time cook the Orecchiette pasta.

When the carrots are tender, stir in the miso. I like to use white miso here to help keep the sauce bright and orange.

Then you will blend it into a silky smooth sauce.

Creamy carrot sauce - vegan!

creamy carrot miso sauce

To make the Carrot top Gremolata, pick a 1/2 cup of tender carrot tops.  Alternatively you can use flat-leaf parsley.

Place in a food processor with parsley, lemon zest and a garlic clove. Pulse repeatedly.

Carrot Top Gremolata

Add olive oil, a squeeze of lemon and salt.

Carrot Top Gremolata

Set aside.

Carrot Top Gremolata

Toast up some bread crumbs.

Here I’ve toasted panko with a little olive oil, salt, and granulated garlic. You could make your own bread crumbs with leftover crusty bread- sourdough if you are on that train. 🙂

The bread crumbs add the PERFECT TEXTURE to the creamy pasta. TRUST ME!

Drain the orecchiette pasta and pour the creamy carrot sauce over top.

creamy carrot miso sauce

It will almost feel like creamy mac and cheese but wayyyyyyy better.

 A simple delicious vegan recipe for Orecchiette Pasta with Creamy Carrot Miso Sauce, topped with  Carrot Top Gremolata (optional) and Toasted Bread Crumbs. Flavorful and healthy! #orecchiette

Divide among bowls and sprinkle with bread crumbs.

 A simple delicious vegan recipe for Orecchiette Pasta with Creamy Carrot Miso Sauce, topped with  Carrot Top Gremolata (optional) and Toasted Bread Crumbs. Flavorful and healthy! #orecchiette

The pasta is good without the Gremolata, but the gremolata really elevates it.

 A simple delicious vegan recipe for Orecchiette Pasta with Creamy Carrot Miso Sauce, topped with  Carrot Top Gremolata (optional) and Toasted Bread Crumbs. Flavorful and healthy! #orecchiette

I hope you have beautiful weekend friends.  You’ll find the freshest carrots (and their vibrant green tops) at the farmers market this weekend so get outside, get some fresh air and go get some carrots.

xoxo

Sylvia

More Recipes you may like:

  1. Creamy Spring Pea Pasta (Vegan)
  2. Orecchiette with Broccoli Sauce
  3. Spring Orecchiette with Asparagus and Peas 
  4. Vegan Alfredo
  5. 25 MUST-TRY Vegetarian Pasta (that are not boring!)
  6. North African Carrot Soup with Chermoula
  7. Carrot Salad with Quinoa and Almonds
  8. Roasted Carrots with Tahini Sauce
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 A simple delicious vegan recipe for Orecchiette Pasta with Creamy Carrot Miso Sauce, topped with  Carrot Top Gremolata (optional) and Toasted Bread Crumbs. Flavorful and healthy! #orecchiette

Orecchiette with Creamy Carrot Miso Sauce (Vegan)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 148 reviews
  • Author: Sylvia Fountaine
  • Prep Time: 20
  • Cook Time: 25
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 3-4 1x
  • Category: vegan, pasta
  • Method: stove top
  • Cuisine: American

Description

A simple delicious vegan recipe for Orecchiette with Creamy Carrot Miso Sauce, topped with a bright and tasty Carrot Top Gremolata (optional) and Toasted Bread Crumbs. Flavorful and healthy! #orecchiette


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 810 ounces orecchiette pasta, cooked in salted water, according to package directions.

Carrot Miso Sauce:

  • 2 shallots, rough chopped (or 1/2 an onion)
  • 46 garlic cloves, rough chopped
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 heaping cups carrots, thinly sliced (3 medium carrots)
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/4 cup raw cashews (or sub raw hemp seeds)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 3 tablespoons White Miso Paste

Carrot Top Gremolata (optional, but tasty)  

  • 1/2 cup carrot tops (small tender leaves) packed or sub 1/2 cup more Italian Parsley
  • 1/2 cup Italian parsley
  • 1 fat garlic clove
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest ( zest from one med lemon)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup– 1/2 cup olive oil (make sure it is not bitter-taste it!)
  • 12 teaspoons lemon juice.

Toasted Bread Crumbs


Instructions

  1. COOK PASTA: Set 6-8 cups salted water to boil for pasta, and cook according to directions.
  2. COOK the SAUCE: Heat oil in a medium pot, over medium heat. Saute shallot and garlic until fragrant and golden, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add carrots, cashews, water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat to low and simmer gently until carrots are fork-tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the 3 tablespoons of miso ( it doesn’t need to dissolve fully) and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
  3. While the carrots simmer make the optional Carrot Top Gremolata and Toasted Panko or Bread Crumbs (see notes!) 
  4. BLEND THE CARROT MISO SAUCE: Once the carrots are tender and slightly cooled, place all in a high-speed blender, covering tightly with a kitchen towel, blend on the lowest setting, gradually increasing speed, until fully blended, creamy and silky smooth about 1- 1 1/2 minutes. Take your time here and get it SMOOTH!!!
  5. Drain the pasta and pour the sauce over the pasta, gently warming if needed. Taste and adjust salt. (If you didn’t salt your pasta water, chances are you’ll need salt.)
  6. Divide among bowls, and sprinkle with toasted bread crumbs and spoon the flavorful Carrot Top Gremolata over top.

Notes

Feel free to toss in 1 cup of other veggies into the cooking pasta at the end to steam. For example, sometimes I’ll add a cup of peas to quickly blanch in with the pasta at the last minute.

You can make the sauce ahead, refrigerate and warm up before serving.

Carrot TOP Gremolata

  1. Place carrot leaves, parsley, lemon zest and garlic in a food processer and pulse repeatedly until finely chopped. Add the salt and oil, pulsing a few more times until incorporated (but not too smooth). Add more oil if you prefer a looser version.

Toasted Bread Crumbs or Panko

  1. Place a 1/2 -1 cup of bread crumbs or panko in a large skillet over medium heat, and drizzle with just enough olive oil to lightly coat. Add a good pinch of salt and granulated garlic if you like. Stir until golden, about 5 minutes. Let cool.

 

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: without bread crumbs or Gremolata
  • Calories: 393
  • Sugar: 6.7 g
  • Sodium: 201.3 mg
  • Fat: 12.8 g
  • Saturated Fat: 2 g
  • Carbohydrates: 59.7 g
  • Fiber: 5.4 g
  • Protein: 11.5 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg

 

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Comments

  1. Lovely colour and fantastic taste!

    I was looking for a new vegan pasta sauce and voilá! I found this recipe on Tuesday and two days later, I just tried it and loved it.

    I never thought that miso would go well with cashews, it was just great.

    Thanks a lot for the great recipe.






  2. We are not a vegan family. I tried this recipe because of hosting a friend that is vegan. Everyone loved this dish I could make most of I ahead of time which was great and I will make it again.

  3. Wow I’m impressed. This turned out really great. It’s definitely not Mac n cheese but it’s great anyway!

    I added some nutritional yeast to the sauce. Yum!






  4. Love this recipe, my husband who is a serious carnivore even loved it and thats saying a lot!
    Would this freeze well? I would love to make extra and have it in the freezer!

    Thank you!






  5. Loved this recipe! The sauce is so creamy and the toasted breadcrumbs on the top really make it. I didn’t change anything with the recipe and I definitely won’t going forward. New staple dish! I can’t wait to try other recipes from the site.






  6. This recipe is incredible, I can’t stop making it! Seriously one of the best things I’ve eaten and made! I want everyone to try this to see how good vegan food can be! Also a great way to work on using up the mass harvest of carrots from my garden. Thank you for such a fabulous recipe!






  7. Love the sexy creaminess and the no waste approach! this is the second recipe from feasting at home (first I tried the frankies!) and two out of two delish meals so far! and counting 🙂






  8. Really loved this recipe! I have a cashew allergy so used some almond crema I had in the fridge and it was perfect! I am a new fan and will be trying more of your recipes.






  9. Do you think a different type of nut would work in place of cashews? I really want to try this, but my son has a cashew allergy.

  10. Awesome recipe! I am not vegan but this is now printed out and in my recipe binder to make again. It was so flavorful.






    1. The pasta was bursting with flavours! And my dad kept adding more gremolata to his plate with every helping! Thank you so much for introducing us to this wonderful recipe!






  11. Fantastic recipe! Delicious, creamy, filling, healthy but feels indulgent. Going in the “meals we like” file for future use.






  12. This is so delicious. I made a batch and ate it for 3 days…and then immediately bought ingredients to make it again because I’m obsessed! Love the Gremolata-but I think it’s better the next day, so if you have time to plan ahead I’d make this one day sooner.






  13. I have not yet made this recipe. I have a question before I do so. There are 2 places in the recipe that have a bullet point but there’s no ingredient by either of them. One is in the sauce. The other is in the gremolata. Is this just a typo or are there ingredients that are missing? I’m reading the recipe from my phone but that should not be a factor.

    1. Nothing is missing. 🙂 It’s how I try to break up the ingredients according to the steps. Maybe it is weird.

  14. This was my first creamy vegan sauce since saying bye to dairy, and it didn’t disappoint! I substituted rocket (as I had so much) in the gremolata (divine too) and the bread crumbs really replaced the parmesan. Also tried this with potato the next time round and added mushroom, spinach, spring onion and bacon to appease the hubby – still amazing!






  15. This dish is incredibly delicious!!!! My husband described it as something you would expect to be served at a 5 star restaurant, and I agree. Thank you for sharing. I can’t wait to try your other recipes.






  16. Hi – about to try this recipe – looks amazing. Is there any alternative to Cashews ( trying not to use any nuts) Please let me know,
    Thank you

  17. Just made this. Yes it is time consuming and requires a lot of clean up, but I think it would get easier with more practice. Also, the Gremolata is a MUST. That with the toasted panko was a game changer. I made it with red miso paste as I didn’t have white miso, and just put slightly less than 3 tablespoons. Overall delicious and my second recipe from your website this month!






  18. Wow!! I will be making this on repeat for the foreseeable future. Sauteed shitake’s would be great with this. Also wondering if adding nutritional yeast to the sauce would make for a tasty vegan nacho cheeze.
    I don’t often leave comments for recipes but this is SO good I felt compelled to. Thanks for creating/sharing!






  19. This recipe is amazing (and one of my favorites that I have made from your site)! Everything about it was delicious! Thank you so very much for sharing your incredible recipes online!






  20. This is a great idea…I accidentally made soup b/c I added way too much water to the carrots…(4cups)…so how much water does the recipe call for? Not the pasta, but the sauce..:the accidental soup is tasty..:but I was hoping for sauce…

  21. My son does not like vegetables, so I didn’t tell him what this was until he was on his second bowl. Now he asks me when I’m making it again!
    The gremolata takes it over the top and adds a delicious complexity of flavor






  22. I have never left a recipe review on any site…but this is so good I had to! Agree with others that the garnishes are critical and really balance out the dish. I put this on basically anything! Does anyone know if it freezes well?






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