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This was delicious! Thanks so much for the easy recipe! We mixed with broccoli and white beans and it was so yummy!
Megan
This recipe is sponsored by Delallo
You know the times when you need a recipe that is quick, easy, and healthy – and you don’t have time to meal plan or research cause guess what? you’re sitting in the parking lot of the grocery store. no list. no time.
You know what you need, right?
You need a back pocket recipe.
HOW TO MAKE OUR CREAMY TOMATO SHELLS:
Something that no matter what happens in that fateful moment in the grocery store parking lot – whether you have the energy to research meals and make a list real quick or you just end up doing a speedy, chaotic run-through so that your people don’t have to have cereal for dinner again – you are 100% covered.
Three things for making this a basic staple in my life lately:
- Pasta
- Pasta Sauce
- Cashews**
**I know. I’m going rogue on you for this one – normally I would be all about the cheese and cream and all that, but guys, we’re talking about YOU HAVE NOTHING IN YOUR FRIDGE. You’ve just returned from a two-week trip to Europe that was totally amazing, and you ate so much cheese and bread that now what you need is a quick, 3-ingredient, back pocket meal that gives you a comforting little hug for being home without loading you with food guilt.
This Creamy Tomato Pasta is so basic WHICH IS THE WHOLE AMAZING POINT.
You cook the pasta, you add the sauce, and you whiz up the cashews until they are like a luscious nutty butter which you then use to make the pasta creamy.
Voila. Level One Basics.
Obviously if you choose pasta and sauce that is a little *too* basic, things could get boring which is why I highly recommend stocking up your pantry with these two high-quality, high-taste, but still basic and accessible things:
- DeLallo whole wheat pastas of all shapes and sizes (shells in particular are pretty awesome right now);
- DeLallo pomodoro fresco tomato sauces with flavor profiles that get you excited – roasted garlic, tomato basil, arrabbiata, three cheese, that type of thing.
And then, obviously, on to those buttery cashews.
The beauty of such a blank canvas of deliciousness is that it can just become what you want it to be.
Exhibit A: I made a batch of this for a friend who just had a baby and I stuck a few dozen meatballs in there, and topped it off with cheese. Family style creamy tomato pasta bake – easy. done.
Exhibit B: I made this right before our trip as my very last I-have-no-ingredients meal. It’s just too simple.
Exhibit C: I made a mini-batch as my very first welcome-home-to-an-empty-fridge meal, and then thew in some spinach and spicy sausage with the leftovers after visiting the grocery store and re-stocking the home food reserves.
Creamy Tomato Pasta, thank you for being in my back pocket, and thank you for being you.
3 Ingredient Creamy Tomato Shells
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Description
Three Ingredient Creamy Tomato Shells – this trick will make your pasta sauces creamy, velvety, and nutritious with no butter or cream!
Ingredients
- 1 pound of your favorite pasta (we use and love DeLallo whole wheat shells)
- 1 jar your favorite tomato sauce (we use and love DeLallo pomodoro fresco roasted garlic sauce)
- 2 cups cashews
- 1/2 cup water
- garlic clove (optional)
- herbs and salt to taste
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and toss with sauce over low heat to warm.
- In a blender, blend the cashews with the water, garlic, and salt. Blend until very smooth. Reserve half of your “cashew cream” in the fridge for another recipe, and add the other half to the pasta pot. Stir until creamy and wonderful.
- Top pasta with salt, pepper, and herbs, and serve with meat, vegetables, or whatever other combinations suit your fansay.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: tomato vegan pasta, tomato shells, creamy pasta
This post was sponsored by DeLallo and their on-point pastas and sauces!
To see a list of my favorite DeLallo products from pasta to sauce to pizza and beyond – check out my favorites list on their website!
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our collection of easy pasta recipes. Check it out!
Going to cook this tomorrow. I was wondering can you put ground beef with it?
Sure!
Just made this. So delicious! Thank you for the recipe. I added arugula and store bought Italian sausage at the end. Only thing I will tweak the next time I make it is to finish the sauce off with a little acid (squeeze of lemon) since the cashew mutes the flavor of the sauce quite a bit.
Can I replace the 2 cups of cashews with heavy cream or half and half? Don’t get me wrong, I love cashews, but they’re very caloric. Even more than heavy cream.
Thanks,
kazy
Sure can!
Read comments about using raw cashews and bits and piece however should the cashews be salted or unsalted? Thanks!
We used unsalted.
What herbs did you use?
I’m don’t think we used any herbs in the pasta shown in the photos, but we’d suggest using basil!
Know you used raw cashews but were they salted or unsalted?
Looks easy and delicious! Can’t wait to try!
I believe they were unsalted!
I’m wondering if I could substitute cashew milk for the cashews and water?
We haven’t tried, Julie! There is quite a difference in consistency between cashew milk and the cashew/water combo. The cashew/water combo is like a really thick and hearty sauce whereas the cashew milk will be more liquidy. It may work though, but the sauce won’t be thick. If you give it a try, we’d love to hear back!
Amazing!!! So good and so easy. I added roasted onion, mushroom, and broccoli and smoked Gouda cheese.
Sounds lovely, Kathryn!
This pasta look delicious. Thank you so much Lindsay for the recipe.
Enjoy, Deeksha!
Hi Lindsay,
I have one question, can I substitute half almonds, the recipe calls for 2 cups of cashews. I find cashews are pricy. Would it compromise the taste?
It might be a little less creamy without the additional cashews, but it’s worth a shot! Let us know how this goes for you, Helen!
https://waterfallmagazine.com
Aw, this was an incredibly good post. Taking a few minutes and actual effort to make
a great article… but what can I say… I put things off a lot and never manage to get anything done.
Is the arugala in your picture just regular arugala? Or did you dress it somehow? Looks delicious!
These are actually just some microgreens pictured, nothing on them though. 🙂
my favorite recipe to make even now as things are uncertain. really gives me some comfort when I’m away from family. thank you for the good food.
Glad you enjoyed it, Vivian!
This pasta was super YUM! Just made this last night and it was everything the recipe described – creamy, quick & easy to make and wonderfully yummy! Will definitely be making this over and over again 🙂
Glad you enjoyed this, Laurie!
Why not list 1 C cashews and 1/4 C water as the ingredients for the cashew cream if you are only using half of what the ingredients list? Seems like a waste. We don’t tend to snack on cashews and I would have preferred not to have bought double what I needed. 🙁
It depends on your blender, but we found that just 1 cup of cashews with that much water didn’t blend as well.
Ahh, perhaps an asterisk with a note at the bottom would help. I did need to add a little more water to get the creamy texture for my cashew cream. Of course (as with most PoY recipes!), the end product was delicious! Even my husband loved it, despite looking at me funny when I said the cashews were for the sauce. 🙂 We had this with the PoY anytime baked meatballs and a side of roasted broccoli, but I really like the idea of the people above using white beans and spinach/basil! Yum!
New to your recipes and loving them. I notice a lot of your recipes call for cashews to add creaminess. Do you have to use raw cashews for this or will roasted due? Sometimes hard to find raw cashews in the bulk section. Thanks
Either will work. 🙂
This is SO GOOD. We made it because I’m dairy free at the moment and super sad about the cheesy pasta dishes I can’t do. It was good as is, but a little spicey sausage, red pepper and extra garlic made it so so so yummy. Trying now with some added spinach. THANK YOU.
Sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing, Alison!
This was delicious! Thanks so much for the easy recipe! We mixed with broccoli and white beans and it was so yummy!
Sounds so yummy, Megan! Thanks for the tips!
YUM! Made this for dinner last night and it was scrumptious! Make sure you use a tomato sauce that you really like since that overrides the cashew flavor, but the cashews make it so creamy and delicious!
This has become a regular meal for me – absolutely love it. Thank you so much!! I love the creaminess and that the cashews add protein 🙂 (I dont have a food processor yet but thankfully my blender did the trick:) your recipes are amazing..thank you!
I made this tonight and, as is the case with all your recipes, it was amazing. I found I needed more water to make the cashew cream but that’s nbd. I added a few handfuls of spinach and some fresh basil. Totally keeping this in my rotation. Also, I tried to tag you on Instagram but apparently I’m 900 and don’t know how to use it (I’m 38, why don’t I know how to use Instagram?!) Anyways, thanks for another delicious recipe, keep up the great work!
What kind of cashews? You went into detail down to the BRAND of pasta you used but you didn’t say are the cashews raw or roasted? I have never found raw cashews
What is the green garnish in the bowl with the pasta? Bean sprouts?
Just some micro greens!
How long does the cashew sauce stay good in the fridge?
do you need to soak the cashews first?