Red Lentil Pasta w/Veggies & Homemade Vegan "Parmesan" - Food Photography

So I think we all knew someone who put parm on everything at some point in our life. Well for me, I was that person 🤭 I used to put it on every pasta dish ever & many other things. So you can imagine I was a bit excited to find this alternative that is much healthier than it’s dairy-based counterpart. 

I have certain health goals & I plan to stick to em! Thankfully this recipe is simple, delicious & still healthy helping me smash all those goals ☺

If you haven’t tried red lentil pasta, I find it takes a bit longer to cook than regular pasta, however it’s only by a couple of minutes & it’s so worth it because red lentil pasta is seriously great!

Okay let’s talk about that vegan parmesan thoooooough. It needs to be discussed because it’s so realistic, and perfect as a substitute, or simply adding it on top of all of your salads/pasta dishes... like I do haha! It’s made from nutritional yeast & cashews, and trust me a little goes a LONG way... it keeps in the fridge for 1-2 months (I haven’t kept a bottle more than roughly that long so I can’t say if it keeps longer than that and stays good). 

As for the veggies used in this recipe it is entirely up to you what you want to do! Broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes & cucumbers are just what I had on hand at the moment so I went with it but feel free to get creative! That’s the thing about my recipes, you can be inspired by them, but alter them to fit your own tastes/desires! ☺

Also, my fridge is looking really empty & I need to go grocery shopping today. I plan to take you all virtual shopping with me, and show you what I end up getting for groceries for myself & my husband this week in a vlog! I always LOVE watching vegan grocery haul videos so I figure why not make one of my own! ☺

Red Lentil Pasta w/Veggies & Homemade Vegan "Parmesan"

• Prep Time: 15 minutes 
• Cook Time: 15 minutes 
• Total time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 1 serving (the "parmesan" can be as many servings as you wish!)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup dry organic red lentil pasta (I used trader joe’s brand)
• 1.5 cups frozen (or fresh) broccoli
• 1 handful of chopped romaine (or greens of choice)
• 1/4 cucumber, diced
• 1 roma tomato, diced
• 1/2 an avocado

For the tomato sauce:

• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp black pepper

For the "Parmesan":

• 1/2 cup of raw dry cashews
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 small tsp salt (optional)

Instructions:

1. for the salad; cook pasta as per instructions on packaging. Roast brocolli until it reachws your desired texture (I like it juicy but with a bit of crisp to the edges - so I roasted it for 10 minutes and broiled on high 3 minutes & it came out perfect)
2. once everything is cooked, add all salad ingredients to a bowl
3. for the tomato sauce, add ingredients to a bowl and whisk together with water to create a sauce. I used about 1/2 cup of water but you can use more or less depending on your desired consistency
4. for the Parmesan, add all ingredients to a blender and pulse until crumbly & combined!
5. Top your pasta with sauce & parmesan!
6. ENJOY! 🥗

ALL CONTENT IS MINE & ORIGINAL. Taken with Nikon D5600 w/18-55mm lens and edited by me. For more info about me check out my intro post.

Connect With Me:

Website • Facebook • Instagram • YouTube • Pinterest

🥗Check out my other healthy vegan eats!🥗

• FRY-DAY Taco Baked Potato Fries (Oil Free + VEGAN
• Vegan High Protein Lettuce Boats
• Traditional American Macaroni Salad (VEGAN, Oil Free & GF)
• Superfood Açai Cherry Nice Cream
• Raw Vegan Peach Cheesecake (Oil Free + GF) 
• Gluten + Oil Free Chocolate Cherry Pancakes
• Icy Berry Yogurt Squares
• Chickpea Lentil Salad
• Homemade Vanilla Almond Milk
• Raw Oil Free Beetroot Hummus
• Mango Pineapple Fruit Fluff Smoothie Bowl