hearty plant-based potatoes with pasta garnished with a stem of fresh rosemary

Vegan Rosemary Potatoes and Pasta is a hearty, gluten-free, Italian-style comfort food made with fresh herbs and a creamy, plant-based, dairy-free, cashew cheese sauce.

Did you catch the potato part in the recipe title? And do you know that potatoes are the secret to a happy life? 

Ha! Maybe not, but doesn’t life feel better when there’s plenty of potatoes to dig into?

You’ll never guess one of the coolest things about this gluten-free Italian comfort food dish. Besides the classically cozy combo of potatoes and pasta in vegan rosemary potatoes and pasta,  this easy pasta comfort food recipe comes together quick!

And another important quality comes to mind about this recipe.

You’re going to be floored at how impressive this easy pasta comfort food favorite tastes!

I’m not entirely sure if the potatoes or pasta get to take the credit for that part. In this case I think the real flavor pleasure may be all about the sauce. Easy to make, vegan rosemary potatoes and pasta with dairy-free cashew cheese sauce is both surprising and memorable in all of the right ways.

There’s So Much to Say About Gluten-free Italian Comfort Food

In this article you’ll find a generous selection of our personal comfort food favorites gathered just for you . You can trust these recipes to give you secrets of how to make creamy textures and cheesy flavors. It’s especially exciting to share the method for making the new dairy-free cashew cheese sauce in this recipe for vegan rosemary potatoes and pasta. And, do you know what else? It feels pretty cool to say that the creamy flavor arrives without a drop of unhealthy dairy or refined oil.

Since this pasta recipe has a plant-based vegan cheese sauce base, we’ll specifically dive into the topic of which ingredients you’ll need. This dairy-free cheese sauce is going to take your taste buds to the happy cheesy place in a hurry!

Also, we decided to include a little something extra because we know that real life means that we don’t all want to, or have the time to cook every night.

Let’s face it, these are busy times we live in and not every day even has time for something as simple as vegan rosemary potatoes and pasta.

So, we’re providing you with a list of beautiful eateries for the next time you have a plant-based vegan comfort food craving when your in Orlando.  We can’t promise you that these eateries offer delicious whole food plant-based vegan dairy-free cashew cheese sauce like this recipe gives, but the food is comforting, for sure!

In case you haven’t noticed, we like to encourage you to continue to try new things as you embrace your fabulous vegan lifestyle, fully! And while we believe that sometimes that means dining out, it also means learning to try new inspiring recipes at home.

So, for your dining pleasure in the comfort of your own home, we’ve gathered some of our own tasty comfy-cozy recipes in a handy list. I’ll also explain why Mike and I label these dishes as comfort food.

As it turns out, after reading through all of our favorites, we have quite a selection of plant-based vegan comfort food recipes and gluten-free Italian comfort food dishes.

Whew, this is an info-packed article.

We went to this length for a recipe article because we want you to know that being vegan does not mean that you have to give up comforting, crave-worthy food.

FYI: While writing about this gluten-free, Italian, plant-based, vegan, comfort food, we’ve been hungrier than ever! So the craving potential of these recipes is real.

marble background kitchen setting with potatoes and pasta in le creuset dutch oven wooden spoon pink napkin and pasta with green onions slices into circles on side in wood bowl

What Makes Plant-Based Vegan Comfort Food Comforting?

If you’re new to enjoying a plant-based lifestyle, you might mistakingly think that you’ve left the idea of comfort food behind.  

Not so, says all of us long-time vegans. Very thankfully, not so.

But comfort food may mean many different things to different people. Here, it’s a term or phrase that we use to describe food that makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And it’s also often referring to food that provides a sense of nostalgia or evokes sentimental value.  

So maybe to you, comfort food is something that reminds you of that ice cream you would always stop for during summertime road trips when you were a kid.

Sometimes the nostalgia part is personal and specific to a person, but it’s often related to a region or culture. Wherever your sense of nostalgia stems, comfort food tends to feel like a food hug.

Comfort foods or, feel-good foods, may also be characterized by dishes that are high in calories and carbs – uh oh. 

On the brighter side, comfort food is also usually reasonably simple to prepare. (Admittedly, that’s a personal favorite!)

As you’ll see in this next section, there are plenty of plant-based vegan comfort foods to meet your cravings – no matter where the nostalgia originates!

Why Are These Healthier-Type Plant-Based Vegan Comfort Food Recipes So Dang Comforting?

Many of the recipes we share here on our site easily fit into the category of comfort food. Think descriptive words like, cheesy, creamy, memory-loaded, satisfying, and delicious! 

Here are a few of our recipes that we label as plant-based vegan comfort food. We list them in categories for you based on how and why we find them comforting. 

Though this list is lengthy, it was fun to think of why these dishes represent comfort food. 

And as always, when it comes to recipes we create for you, you can trust that all of the dishes are vegan and gluten-free.

Rich and Creamy Comfort Food Recipes:

30-Minute Cream of Broccoli Soup – This soup is ridiculously creamy. It’s so creamy that you’d think we threw in some unhealthy cheese and fatty creams, but never, will we ever, because there is no need! Since this recipe comes together quickly, it’s a terrific idea for times when you could use just a little more time for yourself.

Vegan Macaroni and Cheese – The sauce for this mac and cheese is no-cook, and yet it’s wonderfully decadent, in all of the right ways! And since it taste so rich and creamy, it’s ideal to enjoy as an incredibly comforting meal or side.

Sage & Cashew Cream Cheese Spread – Who knew that sage would play nicely with cashews and nutritional yeast to make a quick and savory cheese spread? We’re talking cheese that’s spreadable, so, no need to explain its bazillion comfy factors, right? This cheese tastes lovely topped with roasted tomatoes and pine nuts.

Hemp, Potato, and Carrot Cheese Sauce – Our first attempt at vegan cheese sauce is still one of our favorites; now that’s saying something! I think I’m pretty nuts over the fact that this recipe depends on healthy veggies and hemp seeds to deliver cheesy flavors. Once again, cheesy is a word that immediately conveys happy food vibes.

Creamy Cashew Garlic Cheese Oh my goodness, there is nothing I enjoy more than this cheese spread on a slice of gluten-free toast with a few leaves of arugula. Yep, Mike and I have to do a post of that simple combo soon. We love that simple sandwich paired with our 20-Minute Sun-Dried Tomato Mango Soup.

Kale Mac & Cheese – Okay, it’s probably evident that the comfort food part of this dish is the pasta and cheese. But to be honest, kale is kind of comfy to me – I’m crazy about kale even though admitting that makes me sound odd.

I’ll never forget bringing this dish to share with another family for a relaxing, family-style dinner. I remember watching them all go in for seconds, and then the Dad in the family asked to stash a bit to enjoy as leftovers the next day. Do you want to know why I remember that detail? He wasn’t vegan – none of them were. The other happy part of that memory is that we were sharing our newly discovered lifestyle through a casual cozy meal with friends.

Remembering times like that of sharing vegan food so effortlessly with non-vegans makes me happy. This dish will be on my list of favorite vegan and gluten-free comfort foods forever.

a kitchen scene with a le creuset Dutch oven in the background and a bowl filled with easy vegan comfort food of potatoes and Italian pasta and a fork

Savory Carb-Forward Comfort Food Main Dishes and Sides:

Is carb-o-licious a word? If not, it should be! Sometimes there’s nothing as satisfying as a fork full of bread-y healthy carbs. Easy pasta comfort food is certainly one of the most universal comfort food categories of all.

Healthy Mashed Potatoes & Gravy with Cannellini Bean Cream – These mashed potatoes and gravy blow the lid off of the nutrition chart. We’re betting you’ve never experienced a classic side as healthy and delicious as this tasty duo.

Mama’s Vegan Southern-Style Potato Salad – Just like it’s named, this a vegan remake of that lovely yellow potato salad that everyone always piles high on their plate like it’s healthy – this time, it is!

Creamy Savory Cardamom Rice – We make this rice at least once a week, if not three times, lol! We love it paired with anything with curry but especially with a no-cook dish we call Tofu Curry in a Hurry. It’s convenient and satisfying – it doesn’t get any comfier than that!

Sometimes Comfort Food is Sweet:

It’s funny to me that to some, all carbs and sweet treats deserve a bad rap. I totally disagree. I think there are plenty occasions when we may actually need something sweet to eat. The problem is that we could often choose a much healthier treat than we do. These recipes are better choices to help you navigate those sweet tooth cravings in a more health-minded way.


Chocolate Elvis Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie – Our Vitamix has been on call ever since my daughter created this recipe. Sydney, my daughter, blends one of these at least once a day and I have one whenever I crave chocolate. It’s such a healthy drink that it may be tough to look at the ingredients and imagine them bringing comfort, but they do. Just last might I sipped one during a writing session and felt very met.


Best Ever Oatmeal Chia Banana Bread – My, oh, my. This recipe has been a favorite by so many because it’s gluten-free bread that’s as moist and wonderful as any. And when it comes to comfort food credibility, people do confess to eating the unbaked batter with a spoon. This bread is the bomb of all gluten-free, vegan, oil-free, baked goods. Enjoy a slice with a cup of coffee or tea sometime. Once you try it, leave Mike and I a thank you in the comments; every bite is a pleasure.


Chocolate Chip Skillet Scones – If you have one, bake these babies in an iron skillet. The thought of cooking in an iron skillet sends my heart flying high. So many good memories surround those sturdy cooking vessels.

There are the ones of my Grandmother making breakfast gravy to enjoy with homemade biscuits. She was a patient lady and use to allow me to help cut the dough into circles. Mostly, I played with the tender dough, but she didn’t mind. I remember her setting dough aside at the end for me to play with as the rest of the breakfast came together.

And then there’s my Mom’s corn bread. Mom always baked her corn bread in an iron skillet. Oh, and there were her potato patties she make out of leftover mashed potatoes. She always cooked those comfort food classics in her iron skillet, too.

Anyhow, these skillet scones are crispy, flaky, on the edges and tender and melty on the inside. There’s not a drop of butter or oil but you’d never know from the taste. If I say that you need to make a batch because they taste so good you’ll wonder where they’ve been all of your life, will you think I’m bragging?

No matter what you think of my confident endorsement, you’ll agree as soon as you bake a batch. I make these on occasions where I intend to share a few for good reason. Sharing these scones is not just for the rave reviews, but to save myself from eating every last one!


Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cookies – This is a little chickpea cookie that by all rights and purposes should taste like beans, but it doesn’t. It’s a buttery tasting treat that will have you standing in your kitchen in awe of yourself. It’s a small batch recipe for a reason. These cookies disappear almost instantly even if you’re the only one in the house. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.


Oatmeal Cookies with Bananas Cranberries & Walnuts – Here’s a recipe that came about because I had read so many quick cookie recipes that used horribly unhealthy ingredients to accomplish the goal of ease. But guess what? You don’t have to use nutrition empty flours, fats, and sugars to create quick, delicious, cookies. These cookies are proof that easy comfort food can be healthier than you might think.


Oatmeal Raisin Chunky Monkey Muffins – There are muffins and then there are Chunky Monkey Muffins. You can have all of the other muffins as long as I get to have one wonderful Chunky Monkey Muffin.

These muffins are healthy enough to call breakfast even though they taste like a treat. I think that’s all I have to say about these, the rest is obvious. Make the muffins.

dairy-free cashew cheese sauce with gluten-free pasta in a pot with two handles

Nostalgic Food Hugs:

Vegan Fakin’ Bacon – Who else has happy childhood memories around the sounds and scents of bacon sizzling? This recipe is amazing! No mess, no yucky, sad, unhealthy animal fat. It’s the easiest bacon I’ve ever made, including the traditional kind.

Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta  – Do you remember something called, Prince Spaghetti Day. Prince was a brand of pasta with one heck of a marketing strategy. And no, I’m not going to say how many years this ad has stuck in my mind. I’m sharing recipes, not my age!

Oil-Free Confetti Macaroni Salad – My only sister was a teen when I was born. So, she was grown and away at college and then married for much of my childhood. This salad is from the memory of a beautiful macaroni salad she brought to our big family gatherings. 

There were six of us kids altogether. My siblings were all married and starting families of their own by the time I was eight or nine. Sunday family dinners were bustling with siblings, babies, and fun, and everyone brought dishes to share.

Southern Style Stuffing Muffins – These muffins taste like a southern Thanksgiving dinner; no further explanation is needed. But I will say this one thing, I make these muffins throughout the year. Life is too short to save all of the good flavors for the holidays!

Vegan 7-Layer Salad – This was a favorite of my Mom’s that I made for the first time when I was thirteen or so. From that point on, she and I made sure to have this salad sometime during the holiday season. Now I make this vegan version – she’d be proud, I’m sure. 

Easy Vegan Tofu Egg Salad Sandwich – Though my Mom rarely made egg salad, I remember eating it with friend’s. So, lunch at Tia, Kathy, Jo Lynn, Jody or Marie’s house was always a treat.  It was kind of fun to recite those names. Can you remember the names of childhood lunch buddies?

20-Minute Sun-Dried Tomato Mango Soup – Childhood lunches on cold winter days in the midwest was the perfect time to warm up a can of Campbell’s Soup. This dish is nearly that easy but tastes tons better than watery canned soup, and I do mean tons!

More Food Hug Recipes:

Instant Pot Black Beans  – Though beans aren’t fattening or rich in that indulgent way, a bowl of beans or lentils may just be my love language. Growing up, my Mom made a fresh pot of pintos that she called, soup beans, weekly, without fail.

Gluten-Free Corn Bread Muffins – Fresh cornbread baked in the oven while the soup beans simmered. Oh, my, what a happy food memory to hold!

1-Bowl Super Simple Chickpea Salad – This simple chickpea dish replaced tuna salad for my family and I. I don’t know about you, but I grew up eating and also fed my kids before going vegan. We love this chickpea salad – I swear it makes you feel like everything is going to be okay when there’s a bowl of this ready to go in the fridge.

30-Minute Blueberry Lemon Oat Crumble – My Mom was not a baker, but she was a peach cobbler queen. It’s funny. I remember her food so vividly and it always tasted so good! Much of what she cooked was plant-based vegan comfort food without even trying. This dish is a healthier fruity dessert with a cobbler feel, thanks to the way the generous amount of fruit stands out when served warm from the oven.

Coconut Ambrosia Fruit Salad – This is a fabulous vegan remake of a mid-century dessert-type fruit salad with an improved healthiness factor. I promise it tastes even better than the original. I’m positive that my Mom smiles and nods up there in heaven every time she notices me making this dish. While nobody could love coconut more than my Mom loved it, she did pass that pleasure down to me, but she’s still the queen.

As nostalgia heavy as this list may be, I want to be sure to mention that new vegan comfort food faves are born every day. Our Buffalo Tortilla Tofu Bowl is a perfect example of such an occurrence.  

I found out about the beauty of budget-stretching scrambled eggs, flour tortillas, and hot sauce back when I was in college. 

Now I skip the eggs and make a plant-based gluten-free comfort food version using nutritious tofu and corn tortillas. That’s how one of our newer gluten-free comfort food faves, Buffalo Tortilla Tofu Bowl, came to be one of our top recipes!

gluten-free Italian comfort food in a pot with a wooden spoon

5 – Restaurants, Plus New Disney Dining Options Offering Plant-Based Vegan Comfort Foods!

Whether you’re vacationing with us or lucky enough to call The Sunshine State home, we’re proud to share that Orlando has excellent vegan dining options!

To make our tropical state an even more visitor-friendly destination, many of these vegan restaurants also offer delicious gluten-free items on the menu.

By the way, if you’re gluten-free and vegan, you know that last part is no small feat. Finding vegan and gluten-free options while dining out can be tough.

Dandelion Communitea Cafe – This place is one of my personal favorites because of the mellow, laid-back neighborhood feel, creative entrees, wholesome organic ingredients, and impressive ice tea! I’ve plugged it before, and I’m likely to mention it again. Whenever I have a minute to sit outside at Dandelion and enjoy a second sweaty glass of ice tea, you can bet I’m feeling fine.

Ethos Vegan Kitchen – Ethos is another neighborhood vibe type of restaurant that makes excels in casual, diner-style, vegan comfort food. Located in lovely Winter Park, Ethos is a vegan’s dream come true, but it is a fun place to eat no matter what your preference. We love their Hippie Wraps, and the Blackened Tempeh is incredibly satisfying. And everything on the dessert menu is a keeper, including the cookies. There’s an excellent selection of organic vegan wine and beer, too

Dixie Dharma & The Vegan Hotdog Cart – These two favorite mobile food venues are tops in the world of casual vegan comfort food in The City Beautiful, aka, Orlando. Serving up dishes like BBQ jackfruit nachos, orange bird, brew burger, fried green maters, chili mac dogs, there’s no end to how many times you’ll want to return to these talented vendors. Follow each on Instagram to know where they’re serving and then find them! Dixie Dharma has many sit down locations throughout the state in addition to the food truck, So, yep, this one is catching on like wildfire

The Sanctum Cafe – Offering a chic take on modern casual, this is a restaurant with a plant-based, sustainable menu that offers delicious drinks, wine, and specialty craft beers. Come hungry, stay awhile, and try a bite of everything! We especially appreciate some of the gluten-free Italian comfort food dishes prepared to perfection at The Sanctum. The Sanctum also boasts multiple locations, and the sky’s the limit when it comes to growth potential!

Disney World Plant-Based Vegan Comfort Food – This is such a huge advancement in the world of plant-based comfort food dining at the parks that there is an entire website devoted to dining veggie style at the parks!

Being from Chicago initially, we’re especially excited about the new addition to Disney Springs of The Hot Diggity Dogs food truck, which offers plant-based Chicago-style hotdogs!

As a vegan family living near the Disney and Universal parks for over a decade now, plant-based food offerings from Disney is music to our Mickey Mouse ears!

vegan rosemary potatoes and pasta

4 – Ingredients to make Dairy-Free Cashew Cheese Sauce for Vegan Rosemary Potatoes and Pasta!

Sometimes we foodie types can get all up in the pinches and smidges of this and that. It doesn’t take long before we’re sharing a list of ingredients a mile long. And that’s just for the sauce!

So here’s some good news, the dairy-free cashew cheese sauce in this recipe for vegan rosemary potatoes and pasta is anything but complicated. Luckily, less is more when it comes to creating cheesiness that’s dairy-free.

For the dairy-free cashew cheese sauce in this Creamy Vegan Rosemary Potatoes and Pasta recipe, the list of healthy ingredients is short and sweet. And when you taste this gluten-free Italian comfort food dish, you’ll be amazed at what a few simple ingredients can do!

And remember, easy pasta comfort food is thought of as comfy because it tastes great and is easy to make!

Dairy-Free Cheesy Sauce Ingredients List:

For this easy, make it in the blender vegan cheese sauce, you need:

  • lite unsweetened coconut milk – lite coconut creates creaminess with less fat
  • plain plant-based yogurt – yogurt adds cheesy tang to this dairy-free cashew cheese sauce
  • nutritional yeast – nom, nom, nom – it’s not dairy-free cashew cheese sauce without it
  • tahini – natural oils and the slight bitterness of ground sesame seeds add depth

The reason the ingredients are so few is that the veggies create hands-free flavor as they cook! All you have to do is stir the seasoning into roasted potatoes, onion, and rosemary. The dairy-free cashew cheese sauce magically comes to life when it hits the bits and pieces of those cooked potatoes and herbs.

In some ways, this dish reminds me of a sheet pan recipe. Sheet pan recipes are those time-saving methods where everything cooks on one baking pan. You chop up the ingredients, throw them on a baking sheet, and sip on something lovely while you wait for dinner to bake. Nice!

And if you’re surprised about tahini in a cheese sauce, I recommend you try our Creamy Vegan Blue Cheese Dressing . That recipe marks the first time that I realized what tahini brings to the table when it comes to recreating cheesy umami in a plant-based way.

Whenever possible, use the brands of tahini and nutritional yeast that I use. To get the cheesy vegan flavor I’m rambling on about here, it pays to start with trusted ingredients. 

When it’s time to blend your dairy-free cashew cheese sauce for this vegan rosemary potatoes and pasta dish, if you prefer, you can opt to use a whisk

But if you have a blender or an immersion blender, those are the first choice. Using a blender or immersion blender helps smooth things out effortlessly and creates a little extra creaminess in your dairy-free cashew cheese sauce. The right tools help add volume and a super smooth texture without adding excess fat, and that’s a huge plus!

We’ve been enjoying a refurbished Vitamix, like this one, for more than five years. We use ours multiple times per day and baby; there’s nothing in our kitchen considered as precious as our Vitamix!

plant-based vegan comfort food

How to Make Sure Your Delicious Vegan and Gluten-Free Italian Comfort Food Turns Out “Perfecto!”

Making gluten-free Italian comfort food as effortlessly as photos try to make it look is not always so easy. Even picking the right pasta is no small task. If you are the one doing the grocery shopping, you don’t need to be told that there’s a ton of pasta varieties these days. And even if you’re making gluten-free Italian comfort food, the choices of pasta are still daunting.

Never before do I remember having so many decisions to make when planning a pasta dinner. Picking a pasta shape use to be the hardest part of planning a vegan and gluten-free Italian comfort food dinner. Now, even big-box stores (notorious for having a selection from a single maker) is getting into the alternative pasta scene.

On that note, let me say that if gluten is not something you’re avoiding, this recipe is still for you. Whatever diet you follow, simply use your favorite pasta to make your Creamy Vegan Rosemary Potatoes and Pasta. Seriously, this dish is easy pasta comfort food at its finest – don’t miss out over noodle preferences!

But for those of you looking for gluten-free pasta for your comfort food noodle needs, there are options for you. Here are a couple brands of gluten-free pasta that we’ve tried and enjoyed!

First up, I must confess that I prefer rice noodles to the gluten-free bean types of noodles we’ve tried. I want to like them as much as rice-based noodles in my easy comfort food recipes, but I just don’t.

Here are two brands of gluten-free rice noodles that I like most when making easy pasta comfort food. And I almost always use one of these two options when preparing vegan and gluten-free Italian comfort food.

This may be TMI, but I feel a rush of panic when there’s no rice noodles in the pantry. My pantry is usually stocked to the brim, ready to make some quick and easy pasta comfort food on demand!

plant-based vegan comfort food

Rice Noodles Brands We’ve Liked

Tinkyada Rice Noodles are excellent to use in most easy pasta comfort food recipes. This brand is available at most grocery stores. I describe these noodles as outstanding because they do not get overly sticky like some rice noodles. Short of overcooking to an alarming degree, Tinkyada noodles are incredibly forgiving! 

By the way, gluten-free noodles can get pricey, so shop around. I often find Tinkyada at Walmart for a very reasonable price. I also purchase Tinkyada pasta from Thrive Market, which I’ll explain in a moment. I’m sharing Tinyada’s website here so you can be familiar with the packaging so it’s easier to find when you shop, this is a link to Tinkyada’s website.

Rice Noodles from Thrive Market Work Well in this Recipe for Vegan Rosemary Potatoes and Pasta!

Thrive Market now packages a their own brand of beautiful organic rice noodles. The Thrive brand cooks just as nicely as Tinkyada, and it’s pretty easy on the wallet! You do have to join Thrive Market to order from them, but it’s worth every cent. (I’ll give you a link in just a couple more sentences if you’re interested in joining Thrive Market for savings.)

Thrive gives deep discount incentives to counteract the fee for joining. On your very first order you get a huge discount. And after that first order, you’ll find that Thrive Market routinely has special discounts on well known and trusted vegan brands.

And last but not least, Thrive offers free samples galore!  The free samples give you a chance to try things before buying them. Ultimately, samples are fun to receive and save you the stress of buying blind online.

I shop Thrive Market regularly for organic pantry staples. Most of my rice, oats, dried beans, peanut butter, spices, nuts, seeds, and plant-based milk come from Thrive. I love the ease of having staples I depend on delivered to my doorstep. They also have lovely natural health and beauty products and terrific sustainable, clean-living household faves like Dr. Bronner’s and such. Can you tell that I adore Thrive Market? 

Let me be clear and say that Thrive Market did not ask me to write this rave review. But because I’m a Thrive member, when you join Thrive Market from this link, I will receive a one-time discount when anyone signs up using this link. The discount opportunity for me stops there; no strings attached. It’s just Thrive’s way of thanking their loyal member for a recommendation.

The cool thing is that when you enjoy Thrive Market you’ll likely share a link with your friends and family. When you share Thrive with them, you’ll be the one getting a thank-you discount on your next order. When your friends hear you’re getting excellent products delivered to your door, they’ll ask you how to join!

Thank You For Joining Us – Now, Go Enjoy Some Easy Pasta Comfort Food!

This gluten-free Italian comfort food recipe is a pleasure to share with you because vegan rosemary potatoes and pasta is a doable dish. Oh, and let’s not forget that this easy pasta comfort food recipes has a pretty short ingredient list!  So, even when doing something as grand sounding as making your own dairy-free cashew cheese sauce, it’s quick and easy!

Tah-dah, that’s the definition of plant-based vegan comfort food that I’ve been trying to convey since the first paragraph!

When you make this dish and love it, and I do bet you’ll love it, let us know!

It’s always a pleasure to hear from you. It’s quite a kick to hear that you’re making something delicious, like, vegan rosemary potatoes and pasta, that we were able share with you. That right there is what takes plant-based vegan comfort food recipe sharing to a whole new, comfy-cozy, incredibly satisfying level.

Happy Eating!

a bowl of potatoes and pasta with a creamy dairy-free cheese sauce and herbs with a pale pink napkin
a natural earthy looking bowl filled homemade plant-based vegan rosemary potatoes and pasta

Creamy Vegan Rosemary Potatoes and Pasta

  • 10
    Prep:
  • 50
    Cook Time:
  • Yield: 10 Servings

Comfort food is probably best described as any dish that a person uses to feel better. And boy, oh, boy, if you love pasta and potatoes, this recipe is going to take you to your happy place in a hurry! It’s sure to be a hit with friends and family too since it has all of the palate pleasing favorites such as potatoes, noodles, and healthy plant-based oil-free cheesy flavor! This recipe is generous, too.  It makes about ten generous servings without stretching it a bit, thanks to all of those lovely, nutritious, potatoes and the pasta.

Ingredients

  • 16 oz box or bag of pasta, cooked - We used gluten-free rice penne in ours.  
  • about 1 1/2 pounds or 24 oz of small potatoes 
  • 1 tsp of pink Himalayan sea salt, or another salt to taste
  • 4 to 6 cloves of fresh garlic, finely chopped
  • one medium to large onion, diced
  • about 2 cups of vegetable broth, or water
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 15oz can of lite coconut milk
  • 3 tbsp of tahini
  • one cup of plain plant-based yogurt - We like the plant-based brand called Kite Hill.
  • 1/3 cup of nutritional yeast
  • 3 tbsp of fresh rosemary, minced and divided, or about 3 tsp of dried rosemary
  • about three fists or so of fresh organic spinach or 10 ounces of frozen spinach thawed and squeezed dry
  • 1 cup of our Pine Nut Parmesan or our Cashew Parm for topping
  • top with 4 to 5 green onions, dark green, and white parts, thinly sliced
  • optional sliced cherry tomatoes and a wedge of lemon, for serving

Instructions

  1. Begin by preheating your oven to 375ºF.  Then, wash and slice the potatoes into bite-sized chunks and place in a large Dutch oven along with the chopped onion, garlic, and half of the rosemary. Add in the two cups of vegetable broth, stir, and sprinkle of a bit of salt and pepper.  Bake, covered, for 35 to 45 minutes or so while you make the cream sauce, prepare the additional toppings, if using, and cook the pasta according to label instructions for al dente doneness.
  2. To make the sauce, to a blender or container for an immersion blender, add the lite coconut milk, tahini,  plain plant-based yogurt, and nutritional yeast.  Blend until smooth and set aside.  Optionally, you can blend this sauce by hand, too, but the goal is to get it blended incredibly well.  Be sure to taste the sauce, and season it a bit with a little salt and pepper to taste, before you stir it into the veggie mixture. Getting the best flavors from your efforts in the kitchen depend a lot on seasoning as you go.
  3. Once your pasta is al dente, drain the pasta.  Carefully remove the veggies from the oven. Check the potatoes and other vegetables to be sure they've begun to soften, and if so, add the pasta, spinach, blended and seasoned sauce, remaining rosemary, and stir. Cover and return the veggies and pasta to the oven. Bake for another 15 to 20 minutes or so until bubbly.
  4. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with our Cashew Parm or Plant-Based Pine Nut Parm and freshly chopped green onions. This recipe is easy and incredibly impressive at the same time!  Serve with a few sliced tomatoes and a sliver of lemon for an optional bit of acidity.

Notes

  • Whenever possible, we use vegetable broth rather than water.  But it isn't a have to item in this recipe, just a suggestion.  Either way, this recipe will taste terrific!
  • We like to pass bulk-buy deals whenever we happen to find them like this one on twelve cans of unsweetened organic lite coconut milk that has no guar gum fillers or other additives.
  • If you're using dried rosemary rather than fresh, be sure to note that for each tablespoon of fresh rosemary, you only need to use about one teaspoon of dried.  Dried rosemary can often be very strong in flavor.
  • We suggest using a Dutch oven or other lidded baking pan so that you're sure to cover this dish when baking.  For best results, you want to keep the moisture where you want it, in the sauce. We've recently added a nice cast iron pot or two to our cookware collection made by Le Creuset and, oh my, is it ever a pleasure to use! The Dutch oven you see in the photos is available here in the same color we have which is called Truffle.  It's a modern looking brownish color that's very neutral and earthy looking.  The next pan on our Le Creuset wish list is a smaller lidded braising pan like this one in white. We're choosing different colors for different pans to keep thing interesting. After that, I'm thinking maybe something in green or blue.

Nutrition

% DV

Calories Per Serving: 400
  • Total Fat 16.8 g 26 %
  • Saturated Fat 2.8 g 14 %
  • Cholesterol 0 mg 0 %
  • Sodium 389.3 mg 16 %
  • Carbohydrates 57.4 g 19 %
  • Fiber 5.3 g 21 %
  • Sugar 3.8 g ---
  • Protein 11.9 g 24 %
  • Vitamin A 28 %
  • Vitamin C 31 %
  • Iron 22 %
  • Calcium 5 %

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Comments

  • This is a lovely recipe, and one I would definitely try. This particular combination sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing!

    1. Thank you for your kind words! And for the record, I’m with you on this combo of ingredients… may there be plenty of potatoes, pasta, and rosemary for all!